Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Bravo Bravo.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
“Who am I?” Three simple words that combine to make a short question that can spark a long train of thought. In society, who we are is defined by factors such as age, skin color, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, cultural expectations, financial standing, immigration status, region of birth or residence — the list goes on and on. For me, I would live roughly 26 years of my life only knowing a small percentage of who I really am at my core. So, Who am I?
Growing up I had two homes. I lived with my parents on Long Island, but since they worked many hours, I stayed mostly with my grandmother in Brooklyn. To me the people in my neighborhood on Long Island were the same as those in my neighborhood in Brooklyn. It was only when I became older that I would begin to understand the huge social gaps. On Long Island I was the “black” girl, in Brooklyn I was the “white” girl, to my family I was just “Amanda” and race was not typically discussed. I was not sure who I was and this made me feel like an outcast from all the social groups in school. Due to racial stereotyping I spent many years trying to mimic what saw around me just to gain approval.
Like most people, I have faced struggles of my own. Some were normal growing pains, while some were experiences that no one should have to endure. These experiences left huge emotional wounds that led to unhealthy relationships, low self-confidence, body image issues, identity crisis, and overall psychosomatic health issues. As far back as I can remember, no matter what was going on in my life, I always made it to my childhood dance studio; A Step Above performing Arts in Massapequa New York.
In college, I found a dance team on campus and while my insecurities forced me to shy away my first semester, second semester my friend convinced me to audition for a dance. I learned the dance on a whim, tried out, and made the team. The next semester I decided to choreograph and made sure to make it a point that everyone was encouraged to join and all would be accepted as is. When I showed up for my first practice there was a motley crew of fifty girls waiting to learn choreography. There were all different personality types, body types, backgrounds, styles, experiences, and nationalities all ready to unite in one movement: Dance. That next year I became Chairman of the company and made it my mission to create an open door policy for my team and gained the company a record of 130 members of girls and boys.
My time as chairman was filled with hours of recital planning and choreography, but the things I remember the most were the personal experiences I got to share. I was able to help my peers grow and they taught me more valuable lessons than any text book could. It was during this time of exploring myself through movement I realized that I did not fully know who I was, but gut told me I was on the right path. Once I graduated from college I was on a journey to “find myself” and figure out who I really was, authentically, at my core. I packed up my little Nissan Altima, and booked it to Boston in hopes to get into my dream program at my dream school- Lesley University.
As part of Lesley’s Dance Movement Therapy program, all students are required to maintain an internship throughout their enrollment, and it was from this mandate that I first began my work at Chica Project. Chica project is a non-profit organization based in Boston MA. This organization’s mission is to close the opportunity divide for Latinas by empowering them with the skills, confidence, and network necessary to thrive personally and professionally. I was tasked with planning expressive arts based sessions that foster a sense of identity and empowerment in the schools in which we ran programming. Not only was I able to facilitate a sense of self in the young girls in the program, but I was able to learn so much about myself.
Through my connections at Chica Project, I was recruited to join a committee of Latinas who were coming together to put on an event unlike any I had heard of before, and the best part was that the proceeds of this event would go directly to the girls I was serving at Chica Project. Our mission was to raise awareness of the multidimensional Latina experience and to build a platform that unites Latinas to tell our stories, changes our narrative, and gives back to our communities. The event was later named Yo Soy LOLA (Latinas Orgullosas de Las Artes) and took place on Oct 8, 2017 at Oberon in Cambridge, MA. It was a thought-provoking multimedia experience showcasing Latinas in the arts via spoken word, acting, dance, music, film, and more. Not only did we sell out the house, raise $5,000 more than our goal in scholarships, and throw an amazing celebration of culture after the showcase, but the experienced connection in the room was one that was nearly indescribable.
My whole life I had been a performer or an audience member and never had the opportunity to work behind the scenes on event such as this one. A moment I will always cherish is one that gives me goosebumps no matter how many times I tell the story. At one point during the show while I was witnessing both the performers and the audience, there was an unexplainably compelling energy in the room paired with a stillness that I will never forget. In that moment, a Latina was able to tell her narrative, on her terms, for a room full of people who were actively listening, and empathically connecting to her story. What I realized in that moment was that the power of this Latina’s performance, besides her incredible artistry, came from the fact that she told a story that everyone knew all too well. The narrative of being LatinX in this country and never quite feeling like enough. In every other setting, the people in this room were always the one Latino at the job, or the one Latina in your class, but there, in that moment, all of us ones joined in a room together to celebrate narratives which connect us so deeply that we felt one with each other. I experienced a connection with my Latina roots on my own terms in a way I never had the opportunity to before.
In that moment, I knew exactly who I was. From that moment on, I vowed to be unapologetically authentic to myself, and rather than feeling like I was not “enough” of anything in particular, I felt lucky to be able to connect to so many varying cultures because of my life’s cumulative experiences.
So, who am I? I am the various dichotomies, embraced and sanctioned; an amalgam of authenticity.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Is there such thing as a smooth road? I have this theory that if the road was smooth and perfect we would all be very bland individuals with a lack of strength and a void of personality. With that said, anyone who knows me knows that I am neither weak, nor bland, and I’ve got a pretty… well… let’s just say I have a very impassioned personality.
I’ve had my fair share of struggles along the way that have made me who I am today. I personally have experienced trauma in many forms varying in severity from finding out my pet turtle who I loved so much was murdered by my neighbors annoying cat, to abuse from bullies and those who I believed loved me. Depression was always a battle for me, but growing up in a pretty old school Puerto Rican family you come to believe that you are not “depressed;” “you’re lazy.” After falling short and failing time and time again, despite the level of effort I put into things, I began to believe that maybe I was lazy. Maybe I was failing because who I was not enough. I barely graduated undergrad with a 2.7 GPA in an art program which didn’t make sense to me because I loved art so much. Most of the struggle was that getting out of bed was hard, and doing work was harder. Must have been my “laziness.” I used to be a very different Amanda before I embraced that I had many experiences that were problematic and I was not the problem. I was just dealing with a problem. Once I had that epiphany, it was easier for me to shift my negative view of myself to a more empathetic understanding of my environments influencing that I was in that moment. Those moments were fleeting at first, but the more I worked on my physical, mental, and spiritual self with a holistic view, those moments became longer and longer until they were my constant.
Please tell us about Chica Project, Yo Soy LOLA, Lesley University, and Urbanity.
I am affiliated with some amazing groups of people who have pushed me to get where I am today. Currently, I am a recent graduate of Lesley University’s dual degree Master’s program of Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Dance Movement Therapy, the Expressive Arts Program Coordinator at Chica Project, the Founding Committee Member/Digital Strategist/Connectivity Manager at Yo Soy LOLA, and the Urban World Dance Artist/Movement Mends Artist at Urbanity. I spend the rest of my time providing conferences, trainings, and workshops such as “Do the Expressive Arts Therapies Aid in Identity Formation and authenticity in the Latina Community?” At the New England Dance Therapy Association Conference, “Express Yourself Series director 1.0, 2.0, & 2.1” at Chica Project, and presenting at Lesley University’s Community of Scholars Presenter.
I have coordinated and executed a handful of workshops tailored to identity exploration and authentic living for the Latina community and look forward to continuing this project for larger groups of individuals.
I think that what sets me apart from others is that I work my hardest to acquire as much knowledge as I can yet I stay grounded in who I am at my core while still managing to stay silly, sassy, yet relatable Amanda.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
There are many times when I reflect on my life course and think “I should have told someone what was going on,” “I should have punched that bully in the face,” “I should have started my education at this school in this program,” but I am a strong believe that things happen the way they are meant to, and that the universe has my back. While erasing some of my struggles from the past may have alleviated weight off my back, being able to have insight into what rock bottom feels like makes me more empathetic and more capable of alleviating the suffering of others as I work in the field of mental health counseling and healing.
Although getting a dog way earlier in life probably wouldn’t hurt anyone because my dog Giles is pretty dope!
Contact Info:
- Email: AuthenticallyBravo@gmail.com
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