This interview was recorded in January 2019.
Walking into Stumptown Roasters, Andrea sips on a drink and delicately pulls apart her croissant while discussing her outfit. Her brightly colored orange sweater needed a pop (a little something! A je ne sais quois!) to make the outfit work so she placed a similarly colored turtleneck underneath the shirt. Before we begin the interview, Andrea runs through her life milestones since moving to New York City and starting her job at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. She’s working hard, playing smart, and running through it all in her fast-paced Puerto Rican accent.
Hailing from a small, rural town in Puerto Rico, she grew up in the same house her entire life with her mother, father, and older brother. Until she was 16 years old, she attended a STEM-focused high school until she received an opportunity to attend Choate Rosemary Hall, an elite private boarding school in Connecticut. From there, she attended Brown University where she studied Public Policy and Portuguese Studies. Her travels continued as she was offered a Fulbright Fellowship in Portugal. With all these different communities, Andrea still identifies her roots back to her Caribbean neighborhood. As she reflects on the quality of health of this community, she struggles to pinpoint a single issue but rather identifies a few.
“My community, as traditional of communities of color, doesn’t really put mental health at the forefront. It’s not the way people generally think about their health,” she said.
She grabs another piece of her croissant and lists off a few more items. Physical barriers to movement make the list as well as more support for the elderly. In her town, she reflects on the lack of sidewalks which means that community members have to rely on a car to get around. This means that physical activity needs to have deliberate intention. Then, the conversation takes another direction. Andrea transports the conversation back to Hurricane Maria, the devastating natural disaster that ravaged Puerto Rico.
“There is a real anxiety that is in the community. This happens whenever the power goes out or when hurricane season is approaching,” she notes.
The topic of sexual health rounds out the list. When this topic emerges, her voice becomes a bit more impassioned and deliberate, as if she is stepping onto a soapbox.
“If I had stayed in my town for high school, I wouldn’t have known how to access contraception unless I told my mom I needed her card. I don’t know the equivalent of Planned Parenthood in my town. When I was in Providence, I knew where it was. So, that’s a big thing.”
As she talks, she also recognizes that the topic of sexual health intersects with religious and moral identities, which may make it hard for honest conversations to emerge. But, she still pinpoints sexual education as the resource she believes her community needed.
On Adulting, Health, and Being a Woman of Color
Andrea and I met as co-residential counselors while in college. She is still one of the most well-traveled and reflective millennials that I’ve ever met. After hopping through different communities, countries, and time zones, she has brought her talents back to the city that never has a subway train run on time. With the fast-paced hustle and bustle of New York City, she reveals her own perspectives on her health. According to her, the definition is deliberately broad and has nothing to do with the Instagram crystals, bath oils, deep conditioning masks, or endless time at the gym.
“Health means doing things that make me happy and make me feel good,” she laughs and continues. “Like, this snack I’m having right here is making me feel good.”
More specifically, she is trying to find balance within her workout schedule. With an hour commute to work, she quickly realized that her goal of attending the gym two or three times a week was not realistic. In reality, she’s going once a week in the mornings and she’s completely okay with that. To Andrea, health is not only the physical. It’s also the emotional aspect. She also strives to dedicate time to the health of her relationships. But, she ensures that she always puts herself first.
Numerous articles have been written about women of color and the pitfalls of “Superhero Syndrome,” a belief that black women should be emotionally and physically responsible for “saving” their communities. There is currently research being conducted to explore the correlation between this belief and black women’s health. The “Superhero Syndrome” can be seen across the diaspora as women of color are often seen as the backbone of our communities.
“Something I’ve done, consistently since college, is go to bed at a reasonable time. I’ve never romanticized the hustle of ‘Oh, I stayed up all night.’,” she said.
But, pouring into herself was not always Andrea’s mindset. She admits to being a work in progress. Shifting the conversation towards her past relationship with health, she pinpointed numerous areas in which she had an unhealthy relationship with exercise and food. At 12 years old, she had a concerning relationship with her body image.
“I used to tell myself the difference between you and the other girl that is not as skinny is as you is this workout video,” she said. “I wasn’t feeding myself with the amount I was exercising.”
Now, Andrea wants to reintegrate a sense of self-focus to her workout routine without the guilt or the pressure to be superhuman.
On Future Generations and Looking Forward
“Never call your body disgusting,” she begins.
When I asked Andrea about her message to younger women, these words tumble out of her mouth almost instantly. She wants young women to know that internal dialogues are impactful and powerful. She begins to laugh as she tries to remember her favorite quote from Akeelah and the Bee. Then, she quickly pieces together the quote that has inspired her during moments of self-doubt.
The quote is from Marianne Williamson who stated, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”
Looking forward, Andrea laughs about imagining her quality of life in ten years. Regarding her health, she realizes that physical changes may happen. She may have a child or two. But, she identifies her health quality being at its highest when her life has balance.
“I want to have clear distinctions between my work life and my personal life. But, mainly, it’s three things: boundaries around work, kindness to myself, and healthy internal dialogue.”
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