Today we’d like to introduce you to Salina Trahan.
Hi Salina, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
They say it takes a village to raise a child and I certainly have to give credit to my support system of phenomenal, educated, and inspiring women. My entire life I have bared witness to seeing strong women handle situations that seem impossible with so much grace. No complaints just pure selflessness with little to no credit. They show up and show out doing the work that has to be done to uplift entire communities. One prime example of this blueprint to being of service to all mankind was my mother, grandmother, and beautiful aunts. Each one of them giving a helping hand time and time again.
As I got older, I did begin to recognize the not so joyful side of being so selfless. Women wear so many hats that we sometimes forget to polish our crowns. We are beautiful queens and deserve to be selfish about our happiness from time to time. I encountered this brutal reality about two years ago as I battled with depression. At the time, I just felt withdrawn, not feeling like I had a purpose or a strong sense of my identity as a developing young woman. At the time, I was 22, feeling like I was living off of a daily checklist and not truly feeling sustainable joy in my heart. I decided to start journaling just to find some form of relief from these inner negative thoughts. As I started to reflect, my creativity started to manifest this vision of helping others who may be struggling with these same feelings. Much like my village, it’s the service to others that sparks a light in my darkest moments. It’s the ability to create in those confusing grey areas that give me a nudge to move forward. I winded up birthing the idea to create a self-care conference specifically targeting students at my alma mater, the illustrious Clark Atlanta University! It was my goal to create a fully interactive experience that would help prepare students with best practices for self-care to ensure they would thrive in that transition from college to career. The joy to plan, create, and collaborate uplifted me out of that negative space. It gave me purpose outside of my normal checklist, it provided a challenge as at the time I was living in Colorado, and it provided me strength to overcome this mental obstacle that had developed. With the support of my fellow classmates and CAU students, the conference was held on March 31, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. It was at this conference, this first step that I choose myself and my happiness to continue to elevate.
Fast forward, I decided to move to Atlanta but my how things can shift when you think you have it all figured out. Many personal elements occurred during that time and it really caused a negative decline in my mental capacity to just “handle it” as I have seen many women do. I felt weak and like a failure for not being able to weather the storm but I was not ok. My first step in acknowledging that was realizing I had no reinforced self-care practices keeping me balanced. Not feeling too comfortable acknowledging my depression, I started to write, pouring out feelings and thoughts. These reflections were focused on love, life, and relationships as these were hot topics causing a negative impact on my mental health at the time. Before I knew it, six months later I had several poetic and vulnerable written pieces. As time went on, I adopted writing as a consistent self-care practice to help me heal from my past and cope with current challenges. Writing gives me a safe space to unload the things weighing in my heart, peace to reflect, and the clarity to understand how to maintain growth. As I shared this journey with others, I realized I wasn’t alone. I realized that every person has or will encounter grey areas that feel like rock bottoms. I have learned that there is always room to shine through it all.
With the courage to freely flow and be transparent, I decided to turn those written works into a book entitled Iridescent, released on April 10, 2021. This is my way to connect with others, identify the feelings impacting our mental health, and be selfish about our self-care.
I have a vested interest in discovering and expanding my awareness of different self-care practices to support mental health. Showcased on my website www.sincerelysalina.com. I have sensational self-care products available along with a candid blog as resources for others. My mission is to help others learn to identify the grey areas love, life, and relationships can produce, thus ensuring sustainable Iridescent Healing. I will continue to expand my platform Sincerely, Salina, and challenge others to make self-care a priority!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest challenge I have had to overcome is self-doubt. Many people may have a grand idea or excellent plan but to execute it can be intimidating. A self-care practice I have used to cope with self-doubt is meditation. During my sessions, I take the time to pray and be specific about my intentions, worries, and goals. This helps to flush out the feelings of being pressured. Next, I like to light a candle to focus on and breathe. Having this quiet time gives my brain a break and gain the clarity that would not have been discovered in my rigorous routine of things to do. Finally, I create a written list of positive affirmations to establish and maintain high levels of confidence to move forward. Mental health can be a struggle to manage but having a consistent self-care routine has truly helped me flourish and transform into a better version of myself!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Women oftentimes wear several hats. I wear the hat of an educator, a nonprofit program coordinator, an author, and a blogger. Inspired by my grandmother and mother, who were also both educators, I am a kindergarten teacher with Atlanta Public Schools. I love being able to uplift the students and families in the metro Atlanta community through providing quality educational experiences. As my connection to education and service is a huge passion of mine, I have the pleasure of working with a phenomenal black-owned nonprofit organization known as Young Authors Publishing. My role is to support the coordination of their outstanding experience program as we hire college interns to mentor youth in the metro Atlanta area to ultimately write, developed, and publish their own books. This dynamic program provides an opportunity to expose youth to concepts about publishing, financial literacy, and public speaking. Lastly, I am growing my Sincerely, Salina platform on social media (@sincerelysalinaa) and my website to build a safe place to uplift others and expose them to many self-care practices. I recently just concluded a special 20-day self-care challenge held during the month of June. It allowed me the space to be accountable but also connect with my followers to encourage one another.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memory is running track for the Montbello Cheetahs in Denver, Colorado. It was a sense of family and we would have that program to look forward to every summer, year after year. I loved having our kick-off meet where it would just be the team. We would compete and cheer for one another the entire day and at the end, we would have the ultimate water fight. It’s pure moments like that that fill young hearts with joy and unforgettable memories. It is my hope to create joyful moments for others in the future that will leave a lasting positive impact.
Pricing:
- $9.99 Iridescent book
- $10.49 meditation candles
- $5.45 ultra-moisturizing soap
- $25.00 Self Care Package
Contact Info:
- Email: info@sincerelysalina.com
- Website: www.sincerelysalina.com
- Instagram: sincerelysalinaa
- Facebook: sincerelysalinaa
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCti7UDSXaXxaUPp1tEDAQfg
Image Credits
Courtney Gurlie Photography
