Q&A - Courtney Payne

• When did you discover your creativity?
  I discovered my creativity when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I used to make jewelry out of string and different beads and give them to my mom. I loved trying out various techniques that I would make up.
  

• What would it look like if your wildest dream came true? 

  If my wildest dream came true, it'd look like consistent peace. I can't concretely say what that looks like, but maintaining inner peace while adventuring through life, saying yes to more stuff, and keeping a close relationship with God are all that I need to further propel me to achieve any dream that comes to mind.
  

• What’s been the biggest challenge for you and how have you overcome it? 

  My biggest challenge was overcoming my fear of being seen. I'm a curious, quirky person who prides herself on defying social convention and just being herself. For the longest time - especially during my period of deep mental unrest - I was TERRIFIED of being vulnerable and being seen in that vulnerability. I now embrace my humanity and vulnerability every chance I get. 
  

• What are some things you’re researching the most right now?

  I'm researching home ownership. I feel like it's time to own a piece of Earth - the same piece of Earth that my great-greats and great-great-greats and beyond tilled and toiled. I've also been researching website development, business proposals creation, filing for trademarks, etc., for my burgeoning copywriting business. I am so excited to launch that officially and load up my media pages with dope content. 
  

• What does self-care mean to you? 

  Self-care means creating. It means prepping my space and my body and my mind to ALLOW myself to create - anything. For 10 years, I killed my creativity and buried it because I didn't have the mental bandwidth to feel safe enough to create. Self-care means giving myself permission to create unapologetically, without apprehension, and to tap into the imagination that I had as a child - even at 31 years old. 
  

  How do you stay positive in 2020? 

  I stay positive in 2020 by doing what I want. I also stopped code-switching at work. My word choice is how I express myself - I like to be a verbal Van Gogh every now and then, so I'm no longer reluctant to use my colorful words to express my thoughts or opinions anymore.