Hannah is the personal project queen. While For Black Health was simply a sketch, Hannah dropped her natural hair blog, Quirk Queen, while in college. She has since moved on to her next big project, Awks Podcast, with her cousin, Bianca Duah.
In 2016, Hannah graduated from Brown University with a degree in Science and Society and Africana Studies. Hannah and I quickly bonded over our mutual love for media and entrepreneurship. She’s the girlfriend that keeps you set on your goals and centered on your passions. Hannah and I walked to Alice’s Tea Cup to chat about her perspectives on health.
Right before, we saw If Beale Street Could Talk and both agreed that it was a great movie but just a tad bit slow (don’t @ us).
We said what we said.
This interview was recorded in December 2018. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Isabelle: How has the quality of health in your community impacted you?
Hannah: That is a really hard question. Well, I grew up in Cambria Heights, Queens. I feel like everybody was a home body. So, it’s like…there weren’t that many people outside getting fresh air. It could have been a safety thing. We definitely tried to get out and ride our bikes a little bit. We could go to the track at the high school around the street but you never really saw people outside walking too much. The corner store culture is so real too.
Whenever we had money…we would run to the store and get candy and wouldn’t think about it at all. Zebra cakes, those straws that are sugary, Ring Pops! McDonald’s was also a staple. We didn’t eat snacks because I don’t know…we are African and that’s not a part of our lifestyle. But, McDonald’s was huge because it was quick and easy and on our route to school. Every day, my dad would drop us off at McDonald’s in the morning and then we would take the bus. Something like that…But, literally, every morning we would get a breakfast thing. In middle school, when I would take the bus home, I would get something from the dollar menu or whatever. So, yeah, I didn’t think about it like that. Obviously eating McDonald’s isn’t the healthiest…but it’s food.
Isabelle: How do you think being a black woman affects your health and the health of those that you love?
Hannah: I think it affects it a lot. I see, just around me, a lot of black women that just bear it. Emotionally and also physically and we just keep going. You know, I’ve seen my mom…and I’ve seen other women just do the most to their detriment. In my own life, I’ll get hurt and keep going. I told you I fell on the ground two months ago and my knee still hurts….but, a lot of it is…I don’t know who to go to for help in certain situations. You know…what type of doctor? You know, I’m living in Miami but my insurance is New York insurance. I have a lot of question marks and I feel kind of stuck but the easiest thing to do is to keep on going. I think the mentality as a black woman is to grin and bear it and it’s not the healthiest but we feel like we have to do it.
Isabelle: So, how do you envision self-care for yourself?
Hannah: Self-care for me is…it can be a number of things. It depends on what I need. It depends on what I need to escape from. Recently, I was cleaning out my space and that felt really nice. I was dealing with a lot of anxiety and cleaning out my space….it made me feel so much better. Journaling is nice…definitely helps a lot. I was doing gratitudes for three months or something and it actually works. Not everyone can meditate and not everyone’s mind works that way. I actually did download this app and I learned about in Bible study. It’s called Abide so instead of this app telling you to “empty your mind.” It’s actually a guided prayer meditation and I’ve been doing it every morning. When I’m struggling to wake up, I try to fill myself up with those thoughts to start the day off.
Isabelle: The road to grad school is going to be a long one. How is that going to alter your health? What are your goals for self-care during that time?
Hannah: I honestly don’t think I’ve given enough thought to that. When I started working on applications, I started to remember how stressful and scary school was and like….it takes a toll on your mental health. Yikes! I need to prepare for this but I don’t know what my life will look like and I don’t know who I’ll be around. I think what’s helpful is finding a community because that’s what helped me with my move to Miami. Surviving all the things I’ve been through. First and foremost, that will be it. I think just continuing journaling and gratitude. And everything else…just taking people in doses and following my own North Star. Listen to people who have achieved what I want to do recently and not 20 years ago.
Isabelle: How do you feel like your faith has intersected with your health?
Hannah: There are a lot of things that come to mind. Like, my body is my temple. My dad actually used to tell me that all the time. We have a bunch of girls and we have to tell them some way. I didn’t necessarily equate that to health until adulthood….your choices matter. You have more autonomy over your life. As you get older, you realize that things take effect when you put things on your body or in your body. At my church, one of our values is “Excellence is our spirit.”
I think about that all the time. Even in moments where you are not feeling your best or you aren’t having the best day, you try as hard as you can…do things with joy, passion, and excellence. And I think that can be implied internally. Why would you treat your body badly? You’ve been given this gift. So, that’s what comes to mind.
Isabelle: What are some goals for your family, your community, etc? I guess if you could take Cambria Heights, pushing it ten years – how would you change it?
Hannah: I would love to make education more accessible. You know…telling people how important it is to stand up and walk around. Resources that are safe for kids to mingle… because it isn’t just physical. It’s also mental. There were definitely kids in my neighborhood but I just never saw them. They just seemed hidden away. That didn’t seem necessary. Also, I just feel like there needed to be more community. I feel like that community aspect could be centered around a health initiative.
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