Today we’d like to introduce you to Nanayaa Amponsah.
Nanayaa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I was young, I will always get bullied because I didn’t fit society standard of beauty. Also, being raised in an African household, they have an expectation on how a woman should act, what she should wear, and how she is an image for her family. While growing up, I didn’t go to my parents to tell them what happened at school or what people said about me because they didn’t understand. I remember telling my parents when I was younger that someone told me I was ugly, and I was African Booty Scratcher, they didn’t understand because they were immigrants, so I had to hide my emotions every day and become strong. All these emotions lead to aggression, assertiveness, and made me an angry person in general. I wasn’t allowed to speak and voice my opinions, so I was always quiet. I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t voice my opinions which lead me to be insecure of my body, facial features, that sometimes when I got in relationships, I would want a man to validate my beauty. I reached my breaking point when I turned 18 because I realized that I don’t need to be strong and hide everything. I had so much emotions built up that it affected other relationships with people. I realized before I can put myself out there into the world, I would need to love myself, know my worth, who is Nanayaa Amponsah, what is she living for? Is it for herself or is it for her family? I had to learn to break away from the stereotypes and confront people about their expectations for me because that is the life I did not want to live.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been a rough road because I am trying to show people the real me, but there are things that sometimes hold me back such as my family. I don’t want to make my parents feel that they didn’t raise a good child and that they immigrated to America for nothing because they went through a lot to get here. My family is very religious and traditional, so when I have views different from them it would lead to arguments, which I don’t want, so I am always usually quiet at the end. Because I am not traditional as my parents it makes it hard to rely on them, so I usually do things on my own, and go to them when I really need assistance. I would consider myself independent at a young age because I always had a job and on top of that I always did an internship because I wanted to find my passion and didn’t want to ask my parents for money all the time. There’s a total of five children which makes it hard to provide for all. I was always in clubs or extra circular activities to find a family that understood and to get my mind off things that bothered me. My advice to women would be “communicate,” because communication is key in life, in order for people to hear your voice you cannot be quiet, YOU MUST VOICE YOUR OPINION. You are not alone. There are people who are out there in the world that would support you. Don’t let other people stop you from reaching your goal, just listen to the voice that you were born with.
So let’s switch gears a bit and tell us more about your work.
I am a blogger who writes about being an African American Woman in a traditional household. In addition, being a woman learning to self-love, know her self-worth and showcasing it to other women to fight for what they believe in. Unadulterated means complete and not mixed with other things, that is why I named my blog site Unadulterated Reign. It is to showcase the true me and what my life is really like. I even have an Instagram called @unadulterated_reign and a personal account called @__nanayaaa_.
I am a blogger that writes about my challenges that lead to my accomplishments and how it has shaped me in my life. I am born and raised in the Bronx. My website is unadulteratedreign.wordpress.com. I wanted to show people the life of Nanayaa Amponsah, raised in a traditional household but also a person who made an image for herself. When I created this, it was a way to express my emotions. At a young age, I was writing a lot, especially poetry. It was a way to round up all my emotions. It was a way for me to recognize my progress in life and how much I changed. I am different from others because I am assertive, I don’t have time to dwell in sadness, and my confidence and tenacious attitude. If I didn’t have these things in life, I would not be as strong as I am right now. In the future, as expand my brand I hope to inspire other women to voice their opinions and be confident in what they do.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
There are many opportunities that women can take on. It is sad to see how society does not see women equal to men and hold jobs just like them. I believe is the main thing that motivates women to become something great and prove society wrong.
Advice I gave myself that I want to share are:
- “Don’t Doubt just do it”
- “Self Care is the best care”
- “Turn negativity into positivity”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://unadulteratedreign.wordpress.com/
- Email: nanayaa.amponsah00@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__nanayaaa_/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/unadulterated_reign/
Image Credit:
Vialexa Abreu – https://www.instagram.com/shotsbyv_/
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
