Today we’d like to introduce you to Faith Morris.
Faith, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a creative lifestyle blogger located in San Diego. Growing up, I always had an interest in all things arts related. I grew up in a family of musicians and artists which nurtured the human I am today.
As a young person, the idea of living an abundant life was one of my core goals. I put a lot of intention into being the most positive, grateful, and empathetic person I can be. Over the years, that idea developed into something bigger, which I jokingly called “the Gratitude Adventure” with my friends. As time went on, it became a daily mantra for me. A reminder of sorts, to be the best version of myself I could.
In my life, I have been inspired by individuals who manifested a dream into something real. I was taught from an early age that no one, except yourself, could make your dreams come true. By combining hard work, belief, and passion, you could accomplish anything.
The community has always played a big role in my life. I have received an abundance of support and love over the years from the different groups I have found myself included in. Through my personal journey, I have been so blessed to meet other motivated and strong individuals of color.
As a mixed girl and one who is white appearing, my sense of self has floundered for most of my life. I was often bullied at school for being “adopted” by my dark skinned mom, who had me as a teenager. Honestly, for most of my life, I let others define who I was because I had no concrete way to describe my ethnicity. I never knew my biological father, though I knew he was Native American and some kind of European. It took me a long time to realize who I was. I am a musician, traveler, DIY-er, foodie, photographer, and loving person.
The process of discovering my own identity was really important and led me to a career working with young people. I wanted to have conversations about racism, identity, and being a change maker in the community with youth. Conversations I wish I had been able to have with the adults, teachers, and mentors I had around me as a kid.
This all comes together with my blog. In some ways, it’s a very public journal, in other ways, it is a catalyst for conversations and discussion with those who read the words I write. I have made so many great friendships just from people DMing me because they either relate to the words I wrote or have questions about something I’ve said.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Has this been a smooth road? Not at all. Sometimes, people just don’t like you, and online people can cyber bully you anonymously. It can be really discouraging when you’re trying to put yourself out there. It can be a very personal attack. When I first started blogging about my life experiences, everyone I spoke to on it had an opinion on what I should do, stand for, say (or not say.) Many people discouraged me from writing about my ethnic background, about my romantic relationships, about the way I view the world or being an advocate for certain causes. They said I needed to be more neutral or else I wouldn’t have a lot of followers. Others said I wasn’t advocating enough.
But I didn’t start doing this to be like. And I realized early on that if pleasing everyone one was my intention, then I was going to be consistently compromising and become disingenuous.
At the end of the day, you have to remain confident in yourself. You can’t put much weight into the opinion of others, you have to follow your heart. It sounds cliche, but it’s so true.
Please tell us about The Gratitude Adventure.
My blog, The Gratitude Adventure is a collection of my thoughts, life, and furthering the work of decolonization; which is the practice of acknowledging and undoing harmful biases and stereotypes that were created in the world during and after colonialism.
Decolonization is this really big idea, and doing that work is challenging because sometimes, it’s not objective. Colonialism is what created the USA, it’s the reason why we are such a diverse country and have access to learning about so many different cultures. Why we dress certain ways, why we speak English. It also had harmful repercussions like racism.
But I like to look at all of that and think about how much has changed. I am a multi-racial woman, who is able to freely share my opinions, and who has the ability to connect with others wanting to discuss these topics through The Gratitude Adventure.
Who have you been inspired by?
There are so many women who have inspired me.
I cannot select just a few. Women have been a catalyst for change in the world time and time again. In my 26 years, I have often been witness to women coming together as a sisterhood and community. Women are resilient and strong, we continue on even though from the time we are very little girls society tells us messages about what our place in the world should be. What beauty is, how many hours we should work, that we should be mothers or ladylike and submissive.
My mother, of course, being my first mentor and teacher is the reason I questioned those societal messages for most of my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thegratitudeadventure.com
- Email: faithevangelinemusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: faithskins
Image Credit:
Lorenzo Burroughs, Angela Strohbeck, Felipe Cardenas, Frankie Papango
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