Hey lady! This week Terri and Dr. Dom pump up the volume and encourage you to do the same as you listen to the fun and inspiring wisdom from Dr. Arlene Gordon-Hollingsworth, co-founder of the uber popular Gracie’s Corner, a show dedicated to showing Black kids that learning is fun and something they can be excited about!
Arlene and her husband Javoris were inspired to create the energetic, engaging kids YouTube show during the pandemic. They noticed that while they searched for educational programs for their toddler and infant they also needed a form of edutainment for their eldest daughter Gracelyn, the muse and voice actress for her eponymous show. One day Javoris turned to Arlene and let her know he noticed the lack of representation in those shows and wanted to do something about and thus Gracie’s Corner was born! The two parents didn’t have a huge team or financial backing to get the show off the ground. They just had a deep belief in their mission and desire to figure it out with the tools at their disposal.
The dynamic husband and wife team credit the bulk of their success to keeping a focus on the family and maintaining their authenticity. And, supporters have noticed! They’ve attracted a loyal fanbase that tune into the show in the billions of views. Yes, you read that right, Gracie’s Corner has more than a billion views. Thanks to superstar contributors like Snoop, Big Freedia, Charlie Wilson, and Paul Wall the show keeps a fresh perspective on education and entertainment.
So, if you have a little person in your life and looking for ways to turn screen time into enjoyable enrichment time, tune in to this week’s episode and find the groove that will keep you and your loved one uplifted and singing along with Gracie!
Quote of the Day:
"Don't you know that you are special?"
– Gracie's Corner
Goal Map Like a Pro Workbook
Cultivating H.E.R. Space Sanctuary
Where to find Gracie’s Corner:
Website: Gracie’s Corner
YouTube: Gracie’s Corner
Instagram: @graciescorner
TikTok: @graciescornertv
Twitter (X): @Gracies_Corner
Facebook: Gracie’s Corner
Resources:
Dr. Dom’s Therapy Practice
Branding with Terri
Melanin and Mental Health
Therapy for Black Girls
Psychology Today
Therapy for QPOC
Where to find us:
Twitter: @HERspacepodcast
Instagram: @herspacepodcast
Facebook: @herspacepodcast
Website: cultivatingherspace.com
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cultivating-h-e-r-space-uplifting-conversations-for-the-black-woman--5470036/support.
Arlene and her husband Javoris were inspired to create the energetic, engaging kids YouTube show during the pandemic. They noticed that while they searched for educational programs for their toddler and infant they also needed a form of edutainment for their eldest daughter Gracelyn, the muse and voice actress for her eponymous show. One day Javoris turned to Arlene and let her know he noticed the lack of representation in those shows and wanted to do something about and thus Gracie’s Corner was born! The two parents didn’t have a huge team or financial backing to get the show off the ground. They just had a deep belief in their mission and desire to figure it out with the tools at their disposal.
The dynamic husband and wife team credit the bulk of their success to keeping a focus on the family and maintaining their authenticity. And, supporters have noticed! They’ve attracted a loyal fanbase that tune into the show in the billions of views. Yes, you read that right, Gracie’s Corner has more than a billion views. Thanks to superstar contributors like Snoop, Big Freedia, Charlie Wilson, and Paul Wall the show keeps a fresh perspective on education and entertainment.
So, if you have a little person in your life and looking for ways to turn screen time into enjoyable enrichment time, tune in to this week’s episode and find the groove that will keep you and your loved one uplifted and singing along with Gracie!
Quote of the Day:
"Don't you know that you are special?"
– Gracie's Corner
Goal Map Like a Pro Workbook
Cultivating H.E.R. Space Sanctuary
Where to find Gracie’s Corner:
Website: Gracie’s Corner
YouTube: Gracie’s Corner
Instagram: @graciescorner
TikTok: @graciescornertv
Twitter (X): @Gracies_Corner
Facebook: Gracie’s Corner
Resources:
Dr. Dom’s Therapy Practice
Branding with Terri
Melanin and Mental Health
Therapy for Black Girls
Psychology Today
Therapy for QPOC
Where to find us:
Twitter: @HERspacepodcast
Instagram: @herspacepodcast
Facebook: @herspacepodcast
Website: cultivatingherspace.com
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cultivating-h-e-r-space-uplifting-conversations-for-the-black-woman--5470036/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
On this week's episode of Cultivating her Space.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
You can't pour from an empty cup, So how do
we create the things we're creating and give what we're
giving if we're not nurturing and giving ourselves what we need?
Speaker 3 (00:15):
First?
Speaker 4 (00:18):
Hey, lady, have you ever felt like the world just
doesn't get you? Well we do.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Welcome to Cultivating her Space, the podcast dedicated to uplifting
and empowering women like you.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
We're your hosts, Doctor Dominique Brussard and educator and psychologists.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
And Terry Lomax, a techie and transformational speaker.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
Join us every week for authentic conversations about everything from
fibroids to fake friends. As we create space for black
women to just be.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Before we dive in, make sure you hit that follow
button and leave us a quick five star review. Lady,
We are black founded and black owned, and your support
will help us reach even more women like you.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Now, let's get into this week's episode of Cultivating her Space.
Speaker 5 (01:12):
It's doctor dom here from the Cultivating her Space podcast.
Are you currently a resident of the state of California
and contemplating starting your therapy journey? Well, if so, please
reach out to me at doctor Dominique Brusard dot com.
That's d R D O M I N I q
(01:34):
U E b r O U ss ar D dot
com to schedule a free fifteen minute consultation. I look
forward to hearing from you.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Okay, listen, lady.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Normally we're calm, cool and collected over here. But today's guest,
oooh child, you might just hear us break out into
the ABC's or the phonics song.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Okay, so bear with us.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
You are about to hear from the brilliant doctor Arlene Collingsworth.
She's a licensed clinical psychologist with nearly twenty years of
experience in children's mental health and the co founder of
the viral sensation We All Love Gracie's Corner. Alongside her
husband Divorce and their daughter Gracelynd. They launched this groundbreaking
project to address the lack of diverse representation in children's edutainment.
(02:25):
Since its creation during the pandemic in twenty twenty, Gracie's
Corner has grown into a viral phenomenon, amassing billions of
views worldwide. In addition to her work with Gracie's Corner,
doctor Arlene serves as the director of two private practices
and has previously held academic roles as an assistant professor
(02:45):
at Texas Southern University and Baylor College of Medicine. She
remains actively involved in the Houston community, volunteering her time
with local organizations, and Doctor Arlene's passion for creating inclusive,
uplifting content for families continues to drive her work as
a clinician, educator, and creative partner. Doctor Arlene, welcome to
(03:07):
cultivating her space.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to
be here.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
We are so excited to have you.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
Yes, we are definitely looking forward to this conversation. And
so we will move next to our quote of the day,
which will sound familiar to you because it's one of
the affirmations from one of my personal favorite of Gracie's songs.
Our quote of the day, don't you know that you
(03:38):
are special? And I'm gonna say that one more time
for the folks in the back. Don't you know that
you are special? Doctor Arlene. When you hear that quote
and you know what song it comes from, and you
think about what all goes in to the lyrics of
(04:01):
the songs that you and your husband co write, what
comes up for you with.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
This particular lyric intentional. I think one of the most
important things that we intentionally did, and it's something we
do as parents to is try our best to affirm
and give positive attention and praise to our children. They
can't get enough. And I think it's important for people
(04:27):
to be able to do that for themselves, you know.
And so the song kind of says you are special,
regardless of who you are, what you look like, where
you come from, which your hair looks like the color
of your skin, you're specially, you're beautiful, you're wonderful, You're
made perfectly just the way you are, and so and
intentionally making sure kids sing a song where they are
(04:49):
saying that to themselves.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
And is so powerful and so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
And we have so many questions for you, or couldn't
it ask about your origin story and all that kind
of stuff, But can you just take us back back
to twenty twenty when you and your husband are at
home right working from home, raising your.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Three beautiful little people, is I like to call the kiddos.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
And realizing that there is not content that's a representative
of your children, Can you just paint that picture that
moment for us where the idea was sparked to create
Gracie's Corner. And what were those first few steps emotionally
and creatively for you all.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Yeah, So during quarantine during COVID hoa to COVID, when
everyone had to stay home, Unfortunately, we still had to work.
Students at the time, I was a professor at Texas
Southern University, students still had to be taught online. We're
doing everything virtually. On top of that, my daughter still
(05:44):
had to take classes virtually. My husband was a professor
assistant professor at the University of Saint Thomas in Houston, Texas.
So we're sitting here working and I was still seeing patients,
and so I had patients, and of course during the pandemic,
anxiety was heightened and so I had a lot more
patients that needed care. So all this was happening, and
(06:07):
I also had two very small children. One was two,
the other one was nine months around that time, and
because we had to work, Gracie had to go to school.
We had to entertain them. And it's crazy because you know,
in the very early phases of being a parent. I
say early phases because I've learned, like now, sometimes you
(06:27):
gotta do what you gotta do. I'd never imagined I'd
be putting so much screen time in front of my children,
but it was required. And so at the time, we
were finding things we could put them in front of
that were educational. It was important for them to have
learning videos and it had to be for their age range, because,
like I said, they were like preschool pre you know,
(06:50):
infant ish age, and needed stuff they can look at
that we felt could be beneficial and teach them. And
we ended up seeing that the characters did not look
like our children, and my husband, Javories, was the first
one that said something like, I don't like that. I
don't like how none of the characters look like them.
(07:10):
It's important that they're able to see themself. And so
he said that and I heard him, but I didn't
realize how serious he was about it. I agreed, but
it wasn't until I saw him later that evening doing
research and I was like, oh, he's serious when he
says we need to do something about it. I don't
(07:31):
like it. And so a little background on him. He
is an organic chemist and so he has a PhD,
actually had two majors. When he get his PhD. Macromolecular
chemistry and organic chemistry, so very I call him a
brainiac because everyone knows, like I thought that organic chemistry
was a very difficult class for me. So the fact
(07:53):
that that's what he does, that's what he loves, is crazy.
But I think that science is exactly why he was
able to do research to figure out how to make
something like Gracie's Corner. Because most people would look at
something like that and assume it takes a lot of money,
(08:17):
you have to actually build an animation studio and don't know, Hey,
you can start off by doing research, finding what the
components are, and that's exactly what he did. Found out
how to what equipment he needed to record the music,
found out how to find freelance animators. So yeah, that
(08:40):
was the start of Gracie's Corner. Wow.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
Okay, so we have one half your husband who has
this training in this science background, right, but we're also
not gonna I mean your background is amazing as well, right,
(09:05):
husband is great.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
And also you.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Are a licensed clinical psychologist with a background in children's
mental health. Yeah, and so how did your background come
into play once you all decided to start creating this content.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
I think you know we actually are about to celebrate
our fifteen year anniversary actually in ten days, so like
I guess that would be like June twelfth, but coming
up soon. And so he's been with me long enough
to know how I think. And I think that was
a big part of it because there were things he
(09:47):
knew were important to incorporate. I didn't necessarily have to
say because he's heard me say it's important to speak
positive words. It's okay, it's important to reinforce your children.
And you know, unfortunately we as black and brown people,
because we know how hard it is in society, we
do really put a lot of energy on making sure
(10:12):
they're the best they are. There's a lot of correction,
and I think it comes from a good place, and
it's important for us to remember, like we have to
make sure there's a lot of positive or reinforcement. We
have to speak a lot of positive words, you know,
And I think sometimes are and I'm speaking as myself,
my anxiety as a parent sometimes knowing that they have
(10:33):
to work harder, be better a lot of times will
make me sometimes just like oh, you know, fix this,
do this, do that. And I've had to be intentional
about saying, Okay, you're doing a great job, Gracie. I
love this. I love that even though I still correct
her and correct my other children in different areas. So
he knew from the very beginning. Okay, we know we
(10:54):
have to speak affirmations. We know a lot of self
love has to go in there. We also know a
lot of early developmental things have to go in there.
I'm big on and everyone learns. Different children learn different.
For some children, repetition isn't necessary, but our content can
be really helpful for young children that do benefit from repetition.
(11:19):
And so we've had several parents reach out that have
children that maybe have language delays that say, wow, this
actually was one of the only things that helped my
child learn how to say their ABC's or to count.
And so I think that was my way of saying,
he knew me long enough to note important concepts. But
also I definitely voice those things to him. And so
(11:40):
I do play a big role in a lot of
things that you'll see on the channel, like, for instance,
we have a deep breathing song that actually speaks to
diaframatic breathing, and anyone that hears it knows like, Okay,
I know for a fact Arlene played a role in
saying the steps to that as well as there's one
(12:01):
the Be Brave song that actually I was trying to
speak to like a gradual exposure to something that you're
fearful of. And so you'll see definitely sprinkles of the
psychology hat in there for sure. But I think because
we're both we were both at one point and still
are in a sense educators, and you know, we do
(12:23):
have this background where we work, we try to do research.
I think we still are very intentional and do a
lot of research to understand what content is important to
put out there.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
That's so amazing, what a transformative trio. You all are
just thinking about how you are leveraging your different strengths
for this incredible project. And I know our community is
just so grateful for the work that you all are
doing so that we can see ourselves. I find myself
singing the songs when my daughter's not around. I'm just like, wait,
it must have She's not even here and I'm jamming
to the music. So I want to ask you, what
is one thing about creating Corner that no one sees
(13:01):
but that takes the most heart and effort behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
So Gracie is a child, She's a child first. I'm
her mom first. Javorius is her dad first. With that
being said, anyone that has been around children, Auntie, mommy, grandma,
children are going to be children, and children aren't always
going to want to record. They're not always going to
(13:28):
want to sing. And so that's Gracie sometimes, you know.
And one of the things, and I know we may
talk about this later, has always been to make sure
she's okay, she's good, she wants to do this, but
she's going to have her off days. She's going to
have her days where she doesn't feel good, you know,
where maybe because what's singing. Sometimes if your voice is
(13:50):
and anyone that's to sing her knows if you may
have a day where your voice is off. It could
be because of allergies, it could be because you were
screaming at the TV yesterday. And so we just have
to be mindful, like there's gonna be days where we
want to record and we can't record, and that's okay,
And so you know, unfortunately, you'll have some people that
(14:11):
will say, well, why can't you crank out ten songs
a month? Because it's a real little girl involved. And
there's also a creative process too. Every song is an
original song from them well we have well not every song,
but every song has an original spin, I should say,
because even when we use nursery rhymes, we put our spin.
(14:31):
But we also do original songs. And with that being said,
there's a lot of creative energy that goes into the
development of each song. So it's not something where you
can just snap your fingers and wilaw you have ten songs.
Like any other artist, it takes time to create, you know,
(14:53):
a song that you feel you want to pet on.
And there's been times we've made things and we're not
fans of it and it sits on the shelf, be honest,
you know, because we're really mindful of it. So I
will say that's what people don't see. People don't see
that at the end of it, we're still a family.
We're not a big corporation with hundreds of people working
for Gracie's corner. Gracie is the voice of Gracie. She
(15:17):
sings every single song. As she's getting older, you hear
how her voice is changing, but it's still her. We
don't have anyone else that's come in to see those parts.
Every now and then you may hear like a feature
from her little brother or her little sister, or sometimes
I'll have like a hahaha part or something like that.
(15:37):
But because it's her, and because it's us and we're
a small team, you know, we aren't able to necessarily
push things out really fast like that, and we don't
want to because for us, we want to stay true
to our core and there's a certain quality we want
everything to have.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
I appreciate earlier you use the word intentionality, and as
you explain this process, like I hear the intentionality behind it.
And so I want us to back up a little
bit because one of the other things that you mentioned
in your answer is that you all at the core,
(16:20):
you all are our family and you and so that
means you are real people doing this work and creating
this amazing content. But let's let's back, let's back all
the way up. Who are you and doctor Arlene? What
(16:42):
is your origin story? How did you get to this point?
Because we started with the pandemic and the creation of
Gracie's Corner, but we also mentioned that you're an educator,
a mom, a wife, all of these things before Gracie's
co owner came to be, and so tell us how
(17:02):
you got to this point.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
You know, from an early age, the psychologist's part was
something that happened early age. I think I would watch
TV shows and back then they used to call them shrinks.
I'm like, oh, I would see what they were doing,
and I'm like, that looks pretty cool. Didn't know how
rewarding but complicated being a psychologist is. I wouldn't trade
(17:26):
my profession for anything. I love helping people, but from
early age I knew that was the goal. My journey
didn't look like everyone else's journey because it took some
time for me to get there. I wasn't someone, you know,
just kind of backing up, you know, I had a
(17:47):
family where my parents were divorced. I was being raised
by my mother. My father was in my life, but
with that being said, she worked like three jobs, and
so it was one of those things where I didn't
really have people to really necessarily helped me with homework
when I was in school, and so I remember in
(18:08):
high school it was probably honestly like my last semester
and a counselor was like, what are you doing after graduation?
And The crazy thing is I hadn't really thought about it,
like you only have a semester left. I hadn't applied
to any colleges. That's the crazy part. So when you
(18:28):
know that, and complete opposite of my husband. My husband
small rural town. He's actually one of the first individuals
to go to college. The town that he's from has
like less than two thousand people. It's in Georgia, and
from an early age, there were people coming to his
community to teach children's stem and he kind of gravitated
(18:51):
towards it early on, and it was one of the
most I guess, if you look back, the most important
thing that happened for him, because a lot of people
in his town don't graduate from high school, they don't
go to college, you know, so he's like one of
those rarities. Me, on the other hand, I didn't. I
(19:12):
literally figured it out late in the game. And so
because of that, I think I applied to like a
couple of colleges, got into like one that's the one
I went to. Maybe my first year. I was still
trying to get my footing side.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
You know.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
I wanted to be a psychologist, but I didn't want
to get there because no one told me you have
to have fantastic grades, you have to have a high
GPA in undergrad And to be honest, what really helped
was mentorship. I cannot emphasize how important mentorship is. Without mentorship,
(19:49):
I would not be who I am. I am who
I am because people mentored me, and my mentors were
still living, and I'm so thankful. It was actually my
a freshman year when I went to the University of
Houston for my undergraduate degree, and it was my freshman
year and there was the African American studies professor who
(20:12):
for some reason gravitated towards me, and I was so
one serious. I was just like, Oh, what do you
do with your life? I don't know. He was like, well,
let me introduce you to a psycho, because I told
him I wanted to be a psychologist. And he was like, well,
let me introduce you to a psychologist, and he did.
Her name is doctor Shiva Jenkins. She's a really phenomenal
psychologist in Houston. Introduced me to her. The rest is history.
(20:37):
She mentored me. And there was another psychologist, doctor Lisa
jen Jennings mentored me. Without their mentorship, I would not
have turned my grades around, ended up going from having
a GPA that was barely a three point zero my
first year in college to all of a sudden making
all a's. And unfortunately that still wasn't enough to get
(20:58):
me into that PhD. I had to go get a
master's and prove myself. But I say all that because
I kind of speak to I think even the creation
of Gracie's Corner speaks to everything doesn't have to be
a straight line. Sometimes getting there is a journey with detours,
(21:20):
with turnarounds and all kinds of stuff, and then at
some point get on that straight path. And that's what
it looked like me. But like with me becoming a psychologist,
even with Gracie's Corner, people are like, well, how did
you do this? Because you're sitting here getting nominated for
and winning in AACP Image Awards, You're getting nominated for
(21:42):
Kids' Choice Awards. And we're not a big production company.
We're family. We have hired a couple of employees, we
have two full time employees. We're a small, growing company.
It's funny that this family started venture is now considered
I guess a animation company, production company, But that's what
(22:04):
it is, but everything doesn't have to be this straight
path and mentorship is how I became who I was.
I ended up, after three times trying to get into
clinical psych PhD program, I got into a program at
LSU in Baton Rouge, and that was actually the program
my husband actually ended up getting into too. He went
(22:27):
to a program in chemistry, and we were both starting
our first year of our PhD programs at LSU. So
it's funny how things work because never in my life,
I never wanted to leave Texas, and I end up
applying to this program because one of my bosses at
the time was like, hey, you should apply here. I'm like,
(22:47):
I don't want to leave Texas, but I'm not sure,
end up applying, end up going there, end up meeting divores,
and so it's just this crazy and another way to say,
sometimes things work out the way they're supposed to work out.
You don't understand it. You're upset. Why did it take
me three times to get into a clinical program? Why
did I get so many rejections? Because I was supposed
(23:10):
to end up there. If I didn't end up Bear,
there'd be no Gracie's Corner, it'd be no Gracy, So.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah, full circle divine alignment is what I hear as well.
You said so much here one. Your story is so inspiring,
so I think sometimes we see people who are successful,
then you make assumptions about their journey and well, they
must have had it easy. So thank you for pinging
that picture for us with your Orgin story and highlighting
the fact that mentorship was so important. And I love
(23:39):
that you said everything doesn't have to be a straight line.
I'm over here taking notes as you're sharing. But one
of the other things I'd love to dive into is
if we have a listener who's tuning in right now,
they have a quiet dream in their heart, what would
you say to them to take that next step toward
creating something meaningful when it doesn't seem like the path
is well lit for them and they're just trying to
(24:00):
figure it out and then maybe they're discouraged and this
is their third time creating, Like, what advice would you
give to that person?
Speaker 2 (24:06):
I would say fear is a natural emotion, and I
feel like all great things you're going to have some
amount of anxiety uncertainty, and that can be hard to navigate.
It didn't seem like something for us. Initially, Graci's Corent
(24:27):
didn't seem like it would become what it became when
we first started. When I talk about fear and uncertainty,
fear and uncertainty is saying I have this idea. I
think it's a great idea, and you start investing time,
you start investing the money you do have, and initially
the only person looking at it is ten people. So
(24:50):
to start, we had like family members looking at it,
and we're like, okay, we're li sitting here spending money,
working hard and investing money into this because animation is
not free, and so we're spending time, we're spending money,
and fear creeps in, Doubt creeps in, and certainly creeps in,
(25:11):
and you're saying, hey, is this going to work out?
Are we really doing something that is resonating with people?
Because we're only getting ten views. And it's funny because
just something told us keep going and it would slowly grow.
We'd go from ten to one hundred and then all
of a sudden like okay, that's okay, this is great,
(25:35):
And to be honest, it was that one. The one
song that really put us on the map was actually
the Phonic song. Before the Phonic Song, we were getting views.
But that was truly when all of a sudden everyone
started paying attention and we started getting a lot of views.
(25:57):
And so I guess what I would tell that person
that's listening is you have a great idea. I know
there's some uncertainty. You're trying to figure out how to
make it happen. We didn't have millions. We worked hard
so to be transparent. We were both professors. We weren't
(26:20):
making we were at small over art colleges. We weren't
making tons of money, even though we had PhDs and
we had three kids, and so that was difficult for us.
And in order to make Gracie's Corner happen, I had
to see a lot of patients. So private practice, my
private practice was honestly the way we made it happen
(26:40):
because I did a lot of evaluations. I saw I
was working my job and teaching, that was my full
time job, but I was still seeing twenty different, twenty
five patients every week to try to make those videos happen.
So I say, like that person, you don't have to
(27:01):
have a ton of money, but I'm not gonna lie
and say there's no investment. Unfortunately, you got to buy equipment,
but find ways where you can slowly build and get
to that. And I would say those great ideas that
you keep dreaming about and thinking about, they're there for
a reason. They're there. Listen to it. You feel it's
(27:21):
an important thing because it is. There's that void. You
see it the same way we saw it, and a
lot of things they just need time and any patience
because let me tell you, Gracie's Corner, we did not
get monetized until like a year and a half and
that's a lot of videos we made and a lot
(27:42):
of time and energy. So it took time. And I
think our first check was nineteen dollars.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I laughed.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
I was like, oh, look at other things, so we
got nineteen dollars ooh yeah. But I would say patience,
time and just knowing that those emotions you have are normal,
but one of the best things you can do is
face it, and that's how you can actually push through it.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Thank you for that. I love that advice. And I
know that there's some listener, multiple listeners, who are hearing
this and they are going to take it to heart
and tap into following their dreams, and so as you
all have made these terms like you.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Award winning. Now with all.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
Of that, all of the accolades and all of the recognition,
naturally the critics are going to follow. The critics are going.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
To show up.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
And like we keep stating, you all are a real family.
Gracie is a child, and so how do you all
navigate conversations with Gracie or conversations amongst you and your
husband around handling the critics.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
So early on my husband said, don'try comments, don't look
at them, and sometimes I'm guilty I do. But I
think one of the most important things I've learned is
you work hard with hopes that you can create something
that resonates with everyone. But that's not realistic because you know,
(29:39):
Gracie's corner is fantastic. But I know that some parents
it may not be their cup of tea for their children.
And like I said, every children, every child has a
different learning style. They may have different kinds of learning
content they want to put their children in front of.
But I think early on I learned, Okay, there's going
to be people who have been to say that's okay.
(30:02):
I try to not read comments too much. But you
can actually learn from criticism too. So that's the reason
why sometimes I'll still take a peek and you know,
we'll get some feedback and we'll use it. I'll give
a good example our phonic song, which was one of
our most popular songs. It actually taught the phonemes not
(30:28):
using pure sounds. And so there were a lot of
teachers in our comments in the very beginning that were
dragging us, like why would you do this? Why would
you make songs that don't teach those reading fundamentals the
way they're supposed to be taught. And the crazy thing is,
(30:49):
if you go back and look at other similar videos,
they do the same thing. I think what happened is
with research and advancements, things change, so you learn not
to say sounds a certain way and there's a new
way it's taught. And so we actually took that feedback
and we actually made a new song. We made a
(31:10):
pure letter sound song to actually respond to those teachers
because we heard them. We're like, okay, you know, one,
there's no way to make a song like phonic song
with pure sounds, because the sounds are to a song
and they have in order for them to have that
melody like bub but bug. If you do a pure sound,
(31:34):
it's not going to have that going on. But we
listened to them, took their feedback, and made a pure
letter sound song. So I say that because criticism is
going to come, and I've learned to look at comments,
look at feedback. But if someone's being nasty and ugly
and they're not saying something that can actually help, then
(31:58):
I don't give it much weight. I just moved past that.
I've learned not to be commenting. Because there was one
point where people would make a little comment about my daughter,
I'd be trying to jump on and be like, hey,
don't be talking about her. And I got to the
point where I learned like, okay, girls, stop engaging, like
leave it alone. Let people talk. Teach her that regardless
(32:21):
of what you do, regardless of how great you are,
regardless of how great your intention is, people are still
going to have something to say. And so look at
those comments that maybe are helpful, see what you can
do with them. But people who are not being helpful,
then try your best just to understand that comes with
(32:45):
the territory and pay more attention to your positive comments.
So I think music psychologist's like that mindfulness stuff like, Okay,
what are you going to pay attention to? Are you
going to pay attention to the negative things the positive things?
And I choose to pay attention to the positive comments more.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
I love that you pointed that out. And I think
there is so much importance around constructive feedback because, like
you said, sometimes you can really learn a lot from
the feedback that people share. And also, we won't play
about our baby, so I totally feel you on being
in the comments like hold on, don't we talk about
my baby? And speaking of your baby, Gracie, you're a
big girl now, I guess.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
So.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
She touches on a lot of topics on the show, right,
We have things like facing your fears, self affirmation, bullying
and more, how do you find a balance between the
show and your own unique journey? And then also, are
there any topics that you definitely like would not approach
for the show.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
I think that so first, she's a child first, we're
family first, and so I've always told her she always
knows if this ever becomes something you don't like, you
don't have to do it. I think that ends up
being the beauty of animation. She's an animated character, and
(34:06):
at any point if she decides, you know what, I
want to go start my solo career in seeing, or
you know what, I want to be a basketball player,
or I want to focus only on my academics, whatever
that looks like. We're very fortunate that our content's animated,
and you know, we do have the ability to like
(34:30):
Pepa pig has I think many people who have voiced
that character. That's an example, but there's a lot of
characters that change whoever does the voice over over time.
And so although she can keep doing it, you know,
for years to come, if at any point she decides
this is not something I want to do, then you know,
(34:51):
we'll pivot. And she always knows that. Another thing for
us is we want to make sure she understands that
being a child is your priority. And so when she records,
she records maybe only once a week. Of even that,
we're at the point where sometimes she doesn't record for
like two weeks. You know, there was one point where
(35:14):
we were recording every week, and it's really gotten to
the point because she's in school and those classes are
getting harder. This past year, Homegirl was bringing back geometry algebra,
and she had a lot of problems, so she would
be up doing that homework late. And so realistically, she's
in school. You know, that's a priority, her being a kid.
(35:37):
And then she was playing basketball. Oh my goodness, that
was so hard. But it's one of those things it's like, well,
i'd love to have you record every week, but if
it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit, and we'll figure it out.
And I feel like that's what we've done, is we
prioritize her being her and her feeling like she has
a voice, because every child should feel like she has
(35:59):
a voice, Like her decision to go to school was
her decision. Because a lot of people in this field
have told us she should be homeschooled. Why are you
not homeschooling her because she doesn't want to. We asked her,
and we've had some people who've critiqued us and said,
you're making a mistake because you could really be developing
(36:20):
her in this area and she should be auditioned. And
I say, you know what, at the end of it,
this child's going to be an adult. And me, as
a psychologist, I've worked you know with adults who has
children did not feel like they had control or had
a voice, and I've seen how damaging that can be.
And while I'm not perfect, I do everything I can
(36:44):
to make sure she feels heard. So that's the first thing.
You know, that balance, you know, is so important. And
with regard to song topics, I feel like as a family,
we discussed topics we do and it's so funny, like
we'll meet and we'll be like, hey, what do you
think about this? There's some things I've brought to Javores
(37:08):
and you know it hasn't come to fruition. But I'll
give an example the ABC affirmation song, which is like
my favorite song. It was an idea brought to Javores.
I said it'd be so cool if we did an
ab CE song with affirmations. And when I first told
him that, he was like, I don't like that idea.
I was like really, he was like no, I don't
(37:29):
like that idea. I'm like okay. And the crazy thing
is maybe a month later he came back and he
was like, you know what that idea you had actually
sounds like a good idea. I was like, ha ha,
I know, I know I read what ideas. But an example,
like we bring things to each other. He'll ask me, Hey,
(37:49):
want to make a song about being brave? What are
the steps to doing that? You know? And so we
talked about things. Are there topics we won't talk about?
I mean, not really that I can think of. I
think as we continue on this journey, there's gonna be
there will be songs that will have Like we have
(38:11):
a song coming out soon that's actually about the no
touch zone, you know. So it's so important. Yeah, a
difficult subject, but a really important topic to talk about,
to know what is good touch, what is touch that
is not good? You know? And so I say that
(38:32):
because we have to talk about those difficult subjects, they're important.
Speaker 4 (38:39):
Wow, that that is important to touch on the things
that parents sometimes hesitate. And so by creating this content,
then that opens the door for conversations in families. And
so earlier you mentioned balance, and I love how you
(39:02):
emphasize the importance of Gracie having balance and allowing her
to have some voice in what she's doing. But what
about for you as mom in the background, helping to
manage and navigate this journey. You mentioned before that you
(39:25):
were at one point teaching full time and seeing twenty
five clients a week. On top of that, I know
from my own experience how intense all of that is,
on top of creating content, managing your family. How do
(39:49):
you find balance?
Speaker 2 (39:52):
I think one of the most important things I do
is I figure out what my priority are. I say,
you know what my priority first is being a wife,
a mom, and being myself.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
You know.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
I say that because George and I were funny. We
intentionally make sure we always take trips to our friends
and so everything's not a family trip. Everything's on a
couple trip. I last year went to Europe with a
couple of my girlfriends. This year we'll be doing that again.
He does that too, and we kind of model this
(40:31):
charge children. I think it's important for them to see, like, hey,
healthy relationships. You know, it's going to be one where
the person respects you and knows that you may need
some you time. You know, so I may need a
time where I need to take a day to myself
and go get myself a good meal. And you know,
(40:54):
one of the things I do is I actually run
half I don't run marathons, I do half marathons, but
I do run and that can be therapeutic for me.
So that's one thing I will do, and I feel
like when I do go for runs, I like to
front outdoors. I can clear my mind. But I feel
like all of us as a family, we kind of understand.
(41:14):
I think he can see sometimes when I'm getting overwhelmed.
I can see when he's getting overwhelmed, and we can
kind of voice to each other, Hey, you know, why
don't you take some time and do this, because sometimes
I don't necessarily see it. And I think we do
do a lot of work for things we love, like
love my family, will do every and anything. I feel
(41:36):
like I have to be a super mom. I'm very
hands on, and not to say anything about people who
are not extremely hands on, but I take them to
all their appointment to all their extra curricular and I
have people that are like girls time to get a nanny,
and I'm like, you know, if I need to eventually,
I will, but right now, I just try to be everywhere,
(41:59):
every minute. And I know that's probably one of the
negative things about me, is that, you know, sometimes I
do think I have superpowers and I try to do
everything and be everything, and so I think that balance
is me. If Javoris is not saying, hey, you know,
you need a little break. It's me kind of saying
to myself like, okay, let me we go run, let me,
(42:23):
you know, schedule this girl's trip. You know, let's take
a couple's trip. Well, you know. So there's different things
I'll do, but even a day like it may be
I need to read a book or I need to
go for a walk. So it's intentional. You're gonna hear
me say, being intentional, it's building those things in because
(42:44):
if you don't, it's easy to lose yourself. It's easy
to lose sight of what you need. And they always say,
you can't pour from an empty cup. So how do
we create the things we're creating and give what we're
giving If we're not nurturing and giving ourselves what we
(43:05):
need first.
Speaker 1 (43:08):
That is so important. That prioritization and taking care of
yourself as an individual, like you said before you pour
into your family and others. That's so important. So, Arlene,
let's say we're ten years down the line and Gracie's
Corner has evolved into a full universe. It's like Grace's
Corner universe, right, the merch the shows all kinds of
(43:28):
amazing things. What does that universe look like from your perspective,
and who is it for? Who might be in it?
Like what are some collaborations you see? Like what does
that look like in action?
Speaker 2 (43:38):
The crazy thing is that's actually happening as we speak. Yay. Yeah,
So as we speak, live show expected to actually kick
off the end of this year, and merchandise talks are
always ongoing, Like we have a hair line, have books,
(44:01):
I know, like a natural hairline starts with like baby products.
It's going to be in some freaking mortar stores and online,
but it's already kind of becoming that Racy's Corner global brand,
that universe, and I think what it looks like is
(44:21):
and why we've been intentional. It's not saying that other
people are not going to nurture and love what we've
built the way we have, but we've been purposeful about
staying involved, Like we still have one hundred percent ownership
of Gracie's Corner, And it's not to say that other
people can't contribute, and like I said, other people may
(44:44):
share our vision, but the ownership for us allows us
to have full control over what everything looks like. So yeah,
another part of why we say we're intentional we're intentional
about especially since there's a little girl involved, like my
daughter's involved, as log is she's involved, you better believe
(45:07):
that we're going to have majority, if not one hundred
percent ownership and have the ability to have that creative
control just because that's important to us. We want it
to remain authentic. So what you can expect is what
you've been seeing. Expect to see it be on other
streaming platform soon. Expect to see long form content like
(45:32):
episodes where you can get to learn about the characters,
so you name it. But we've been very fortunate to
create something that resonates and get so much support. We're
so thankful to our supporters. We're not who we are
without them, and so because of them, we now get
(45:54):
close to one hundred and fifty million views per month,
sometimes more than that. We have, like I know, over
five million subscribers just on YouTube alone, and so we're
just growing and we're so thankful for all the support
because we don't get here by ourselves. We're not even
though we're a small family. We've had a lot of
people lifting us up in this journey.
Speaker 4 (46:19):
Wow, that is so beautiful and we are just so
excited for you all and looking forward to seeing all
that continues to emerge from Gracie's corner. And so, Doctor Arlene,
as we wrap up this interview, is there anything we
have not asked about that you're like, I need them
(46:42):
to know about this.
Speaker 2 (46:44):
No, I think that y'all have asked some great questions
and I appreciate. I think the most important thing I
always like people to get from our story is if
you can dream it, you can see it. I think
that it's one of the cool stories that we can
or one of the cool things about our story we
can share is you know, we're just a family, and
(47:08):
we're not a family that had unlimited resources, but we're
a family that had a vision. We're a family that
work together. We're a family that still works together, and
we're a family that continues to stay true to ourselves.
And I feel like that's why we continue to grow
the way we continue to grow because I think people
(47:28):
can feel it. I think we passed that authenticity sniff
test because people know, like, Okay, these are real people
that are really caring and really pouring into it what
they want their children or what they would want their
children to get from it.
Speaker 1 (47:45):
Well, Arlene this was an amazing conversation. I we're just
going to thank you on behalf of our community because
we know that that just it means so much to
our community, the work that you all are doing. And
I love that y'all have one hundred percent of ownership. Yes,
black family do that. That is so important for us
to own our narratives and what we're investing into our children.
(48:05):
That is so crucial. So thank you for that. We
appreciate you and all the work that you and your
family are doing. And we'd love to let the list
listeners know how can they follow you connect with you
if they're not already? Where would you like them to go?
Like I know, YouTube is one platform, but is there
anything else we can do to support you all?
Speaker 2 (48:22):
Yeah, so definitely check out YouTube. So that's where we
are mainly, but like I said, we'll be expanding the
other streaming platforms in the near future. But you can
also check us out on Instagram, We're on TikTok. We
are also on Facebook by just searching Gracie's corner. And
then I mean, you see our products support us, you know,
(48:45):
I think a lot of our products right now we
have products online, but our most important thing. I will
say this me and my husband, we talk about this
all the time. If you look at our social media,
we don't have a lot of posts we make about
the product that we sell because we don't ever want
that to be the focus. We always want the focus
(49:05):
to be on the content. But if it's out there
and you see it and you want to purchase it,
please do you know. But we appreciate anything you do
to support us.
Speaker 4 (49:15):
Well, thank you so much. This has definitely been a
joy and we look forward to bringing you back on
as things continue to evolve for you and Gracie's Corner.
Speaker 2 (49:28):
Yes, thank you so much. I really appreciate y'all inviting
me on this fantastic podcast, and yes, congratulations on your growth. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (49:38):
If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure of your next steps,
this is for you. Hey, lady, is Tea here and
I just want to invite you to my free goal
map like a pro coaching workshop, where I'll share the
five proven steps to get unstuck and achieve your goals.
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(49:59):
or maybe you just need confidence to start This workshot
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Speaker 3 (50:20):
I hope to see you there.
Speaker 4 (50:23):
Thanks for tuning into Cultivating her Space. Remember that while
this podcast is all about healing, empowerment, and resilience, it's
not a substitute for therapy. If you or someone you
know needs support, check out resources like Therapy for Black
Girls or Psychology Today. If you love today's episode, do
(50:45):
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needs some inspiration, or leave us a quick five star review.
Your support means the world to us and helps keep
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Speaker 1 (50:57):
And before we meet again, repeat after me. My actions
are aligned with purpose leading to continuous transformation. Keep thriving, Lady,
and tune in next Friday for more inspiration from Cultivating
her Space. In the meantime, be sure to connect with
us on Instagram at her Space Podcast
On this week's episode of Cultivating her Space.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
You can't pour from an empty cup, So how do
we create the things we're creating and give what we're
giving if we're not nurturing and giving ourselves what we need?
Speaker 3 (00:15):
First?
Speaker 4 (00:18):
Hey, lady, have you ever felt like the world just
doesn't get you? Well we do.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Welcome to Cultivating her Space, the podcast dedicated to uplifting
and empowering women like you.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
We're your hosts, Doctor Dominique Brussard and educator and psychologists.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
And Terry Lomax, a techie and transformational speaker.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
Join us every week for authentic conversations about everything from
fibroids to fake friends. As we create space for black
women to just be.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Before we dive in, make sure you hit that follow
button and leave us a quick five star review. Lady,
We are black founded and black owned, and your support
will help us reach even more women like you.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Now, let's get into this week's episode of Cultivating her Space.
Speaker 5 (01:12):
It's doctor dom here from the Cultivating her Space podcast.
Are you currently a resident of the state of California
and contemplating starting your therapy journey? Well, if so, please
reach out to me at doctor Dominique Brusard dot com.
That's d R D O M I N I q
(01:34):
U E b r O U ss ar D dot
com to schedule a free fifteen minute consultation. I look
forward to hearing from you.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Okay, listen, lady.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Normally we're calm, cool and collected over here. But today's guest,
oooh child, you might just hear us break out into
the ABC's or the phonics song.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Okay, so bear with us.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
You are about to hear from the brilliant doctor Arlene Collingsworth.
She's a licensed clinical psychologist with nearly twenty years of
experience in children's mental health and the co founder of
the viral sensation We All Love Gracie's Corner. Alongside her
husband Divorce and their daughter Gracelynd. They launched this groundbreaking
project to address the lack of diverse representation in children's edutainment.
(02:25):
Since its creation during the pandemic in twenty twenty, Gracie's
Corner has grown into a viral phenomenon, amassing billions of
views worldwide. In addition to her work with Gracie's Corner,
doctor Arlene serves as the director of two private practices
and has previously held academic roles as an assistant professor
(02:45):
at Texas Southern University and Baylor College of Medicine. She
remains actively involved in the Houston community, volunteering her time
with local organizations, and Doctor Arlene's passion for creating inclusive,
uplifting content for families continues to drive her work as
a clinician, educator, and creative partner. Doctor Arlene, welcome to
(03:07):
cultivating her space.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to
be here.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
We are so excited to have you.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
Yes, we are definitely looking forward to this conversation. And
so we will move next to our quote of the day,
which will sound familiar to you because it's one of
the affirmations from one of my personal favorite of Gracie's songs.
Our quote of the day, don't you know that you
(03:38):
are special? And I'm gonna say that one more time
for the folks in the back. Don't you know that
you are special? Doctor Arlene. When you hear that quote
and you know what song it comes from, and you
think about what all goes in to the lyrics of
(04:01):
the songs that you and your husband co write, what
comes up for you with.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
This particular lyric intentional. I think one of the most
important things that we intentionally did, and it's something we
do as parents to is try our best to affirm
and give positive attention and praise to our children. They
can't get enough. And I think it's important for people
(04:27):
to be able to do that for themselves, you know.
And so the song kind of says you are special,
regardless of who you are, what you look like, where
you come from, which your hair looks like the color
of your skin, you're specially, you're beautiful, you're wonderful, You're
made perfectly just the way you are, and so and
intentionally making sure kids sing a song where they are
(04:49):
saying that to themselves.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
And is so powerful and so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
And we have so many questions for you, or couldn't
it ask about your origin story and all that kind
of stuff, But can you just take us back back
to twenty twenty when you and your husband are at
home right working from home, raising your.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Three beautiful little people, is I like to call the kiddos.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
And realizing that there is not content that's a representative
of your children, Can you just paint that picture that
moment for us where the idea was sparked to create
Gracie's Corner. And what were those first few steps emotionally
and creatively for you all.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Yeah, So during quarantine during COVID hoa to COVID, when
everyone had to stay home, Unfortunately, we still had to work.
Students at the time, I was a professor at Texas
Southern University, students still had to be taught online. We're
doing everything virtually. On top of that, my daughter still
(05:44):
had to take classes virtually. My husband was a professor
assistant professor at the University of Saint Thomas in Houston, Texas.
So we're sitting here working and I was still seeing patients,
and so I had patients, and of course during the pandemic,
anxiety was heightened and so I had a lot more
patients that needed care. So all this was happening, and
(06:07):
I also had two very small children. One was two,
the other one was nine months around that time, and
because we had to work, Gracie had to go to school.
We had to entertain them. And it's crazy because you know,
in the very early phases of being a parent. I
say early phases because I've learned, like now, sometimes you
(06:27):
gotta do what you gotta do. I'd never imagined I'd
be putting so much screen time in front of my children,
but it was required. And so at the time, we
were finding things we could put them in front of
that were educational. It was important for them to have
learning videos and it had to be for their age range, because,
like I said, they were like preschool pre you know,
(06:50):
infant ish age, and needed stuff they can look at
that we felt could be beneficial and teach them. And
we ended up seeing that the characters did not look
like our children, and my husband, Javories, was the first
one that said something like, I don't like that. I
don't like how none of the characters look like them.
(07:10):
It's important that they're able to see themself. And so
he said that and I heard him, but I didn't
realize how serious he was about it. I agreed, but
it wasn't until I saw him later that evening doing
research and I was like, oh, he's serious when he
says we need to do something about it. I don't
(07:31):
like it. And so a little background on him. He
is an organic chemist and so he has a PhD,
actually had two majors. When he get his PhD. Macromolecular
chemistry and organic chemistry, so very I call him a
brainiac because everyone knows, like I thought that organic chemistry
was a very difficult class for me. So the fact
(07:53):
that that's what he does, that's what he loves, is crazy.
But I think that science is exactly why he was
able to do research to figure out how to make
something like Gracie's Corner. Because most people would look at
something like that and assume it takes a lot of money,
(08:17):
you have to actually build an animation studio and don't know, Hey,
you can start off by doing research, finding what the
components are, and that's exactly what he did. Found out
how to what equipment he needed to record the music,
found out how to find freelance animators. So yeah, that
(08:40):
was the start of Gracie's Corner. Wow.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
Okay, so we have one half your husband who has
this training in this science background, right, but we're also
not gonna I mean your background is amazing as well, right,
(09:05):
husband is great.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
And also you.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Are a licensed clinical psychologist with a background in children's
mental health. Yeah, and so how did your background come
into play once you all decided to start creating this content.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
I think you know we actually are about to celebrate
our fifteen year anniversary actually in ten days, so like
I guess that would be like June twelfth, but coming
up soon. And so he's been with me long enough
to know how I think. And I think that was
a big part of it because there were things he
(09:47):
knew were important to incorporate. I didn't necessarily have to
say because he's heard me say it's important to speak
positive words. It's okay, it's important to reinforce your children.
And you know, unfortunately we as black and brown people,
because we know how hard it is in society, we
do really put a lot of energy on making sure
(10:12):
they're the best they are. There's a lot of correction,
and I think it comes from a good place, and
it's important for us to remember, like we have to
make sure there's a lot of positive or reinforcement. We
have to speak a lot of positive words, you know,
And I think sometimes are and I'm speaking as myself,
my anxiety as a parent sometimes knowing that they have
(10:33):
to work harder, be better a lot of times will
make me sometimes just like oh, you know, fix this,
do this, do that. And I've had to be intentional
about saying, Okay, you're doing a great job, Gracie. I
love this. I love that even though I still correct
her and correct my other children in different areas. So
he knew from the very beginning. Okay, we know we
(10:54):
have to speak affirmations. We know a lot of self
love has to go in there. We also know a
lot of early developmental things have to go in there.
I'm big on and everyone learns. Different children learn different.
For some children, repetition isn't necessary, but our content can
be really helpful for young children that do benefit from repetition.
(11:19):
And so we've had several parents reach out that have
children that maybe have language delays that say, wow, this
actually was one of the only things that helped my
child learn how to say their ABC's or to count.
And so I think that was my way of saying,
he knew me long enough to note important concepts. But
also I definitely voice those things to him. And so
(11:40):
I do play a big role in a lot of
things that you'll see on the channel, like, for instance,
we have a deep breathing song that actually speaks to
diaframatic breathing, and anyone that hears it knows like, Okay,
I know for a fact Arlene played a role in
saying the steps to that as well as there's one
(12:01):
the Be Brave song that actually I was trying to
speak to like a gradual exposure to something that you're
fearful of. And so you'll see definitely sprinkles of the
psychology hat in there for sure. But I think because
we're both we were both at one point and still
are in a sense educators, and you know, we do
(12:23):
have this background where we work, we try to do research.
I think we still are very intentional and do a
lot of research to understand what content is important to
put out there.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
That's so amazing, what a transformative trio. You all are
just thinking about how you are leveraging your different strengths
for this incredible project. And I know our community is
just so grateful for the work that you all are
doing so that we can see ourselves. I find myself
singing the songs when my daughter's not around. I'm just like, wait,
it must have She's not even here and I'm jamming
to the music. So I want to ask you, what
is one thing about creating Corner that no one sees
(13:01):
but that takes the most heart and effort behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
So Gracie is a child, She's a child first. I'm
her mom first. Javorius is her dad first. With that
being said, anyone that has been around children, Auntie, mommy, grandma,
children are going to be children, and children aren't always
going to want to record. They're not always going to
(13:28):
want to sing. And so that's Gracie sometimes, you know.
And one of the things, and I know we may
talk about this later, has always been to make sure
she's okay, she's good, she wants to do this, but
she's going to have her off days. She's going to
have her days where she doesn't feel good, you know,
where maybe because what's singing. Sometimes if your voice is
(13:50):
and anyone that's to sing her knows if you may
have a day where your voice is off. It could
be because of allergies, it could be because you were
screaming at the TV yesterday. And so we just have
to be mindful, like there's gonna be days where we
want to record and we can't record, and that's okay,
And so you know, unfortunately, you'll have some people that
(14:11):
will say, well, why can't you crank out ten songs
a month? Because it's a real little girl involved. And
there's also a creative process too. Every song is an
original song from them well we have well not every song,
but every song has an original spin, I should say,
because even when we use nursery rhymes, we put our spin.
(14:31):
But we also do original songs. And with that being said,
there's a lot of creative energy that goes into the
development of each song. So it's not something where you
can just snap your fingers and wilaw you have ten songs.
Like any other artist, it takes time to create, you know,
(14:53):
a song that you feel you want to pet on.
And there's been times we've made things and we're not
fans of it and it sits on the shelf, be honest,
you know, because we're really mindful of it. So I
will say that's what people don't see. People don't see
that at the end of it, we're still a family.
We're not a big corporation with hundreds of people working
for Gracie's corner. Gracie is the voice of Gracie. She
(15:17):
sings every single song. As she's getting older, you hear
how her voice is changing, but it's still her. We
don't have anyone else that's come in to see those parts.
Every now and then you may hear like a feature
from her little brother or her little sister, or sometimes
I'll have like a hahaha part or something like that.
(15:37):
But because it's her, and because it's us and we're
a small team, you know, we aren't able to necessarily
push things out really fast like that, and we don't
want to because for us, we want to stay true
to our core and there's a certain quality we want
everything to have.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
I appreciate earlier you use the word intentionality, and as
you explain this process, like I hear the intentionality behind it.
And so I want us to back up a little
bit because one of the other things that you mentioned
in your answer is that you all at the core,
(16:20):
you all are our family and you and so that
means you are real people doing this work and creating
this amazing content. But let's let's back, let's back all
the way up. Who are you and doctor Arlene? What
(16:42):
is your origin story? How did you get to this point?
Because we started with the pandemic and the creation of
Gracie's Corner, but we also mentioned that you're an educator,
a mom, a wife, all of these things before Gracie's
co owner came to be, and so tell us how
(17:02):
you got to this point.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
You know, from an early age, the psychologist's part was
something that happened early age. I think I would watch
TV shows and back then they used to call them shrinks.
I'm like, oh, I would see what they were doing,
and I'm like, that looks pretty cool. Didn't know how
rewarding but complicated being a psychologist is. I wouldn't trade
(17:26):
my profession for anything. I love helping people, but from
early age I knew that was the goal. My journey
didn't look like everyone else's journey because it took some
time for me to get there. I wasn't someone, you know,
just kind of backing up, you know, I had a
(17:47):
family where my parents were divorced. I was being raised
by my mother. My father was in my life, but
with that being said, she worked like three jobs, and
so it was one of those things where I didn't
really have people to really necessarily helped me with homework
when I was in school, and so I remember in
(18:08):
high school it was probably honestly like my last semester
and a counselor was like, what are you doing after graduation?
And The crazy thing is I hadn't really thought about it,
like you only have a semester left. I hadn't applied
to any colleges. That's the crazy part. So when you
(18:28):
know that, and complete opposite of my husband. My husband
small rural town. He's actually one of the first individuals
to go to college. The town that he's from has
like less than two thousand people. It's in Georgia, and
from an early age, there were people coming to his
community to teach children's stem and he kind of gravitated
(18:51):
towards it early on, and it was one of the
most I guess, if you look back, the most important
thing that happened for him, because a lot of people
in his town don't graduate from high school, they don't
go to college, you know, so he's like one of
those rarities. Me, on the other hand, I didn't. I
(19:12):
literally figured it out late in the game. And so
because of that, I think I applied to like a
couple of colleges, got into like one that's the one
I went to. Maybe my first year. I was still
trying to get my footing side.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
You know.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
I wanted to be a psychologist, but I didn't want
to get there because no one told me you have
to have fantastic grades, you have to have a high
GPA in undergrad And to be honest, what really helped
was mentorship. I cannot emphasize how important mentorship is. Without mentorship,
(19:49):
I would not be who I am. I am who
I am because people mentored me, and my mentors were
still living, and I'm so thankful. It was actually my
a freshman year when I went to the University of
Houston for my undergraduate degree, and it was my freshman
year and there was the African American studies professor who
(20:12):
for some reason gravitated towards me, and I was so
one serious. I was just like, Oh, what do you
do with your life? I don't know. He was like, well,
let me introduce you to a psycho, because I told
him I wanted to be a psychologist. And he was like, well,
let me introduce you to a psychologist, and he did.
Her name is doctor Shiva Jenkins. She's a really phenomenal
psychologist in Houston. Introduced me to her. The rest is history.
(20:37):
She mentored me. And there was another psychologist, doctor Lisa
jen Jennings mentored me. Without their mentorship, I would not
have turned my grades around, ended up going from having
a GPA that was barely a three point zero my
first year in college to all of a sudden making
all a's. And unfortunately that still wasn't enough to get
(20:58):
me into that PhD. I had to go get a
master's and prove myself. But I say all that because
I kind of speak to I think even the creation
of Gracie's Corner speaks to everything doesn't have to be
a straight line. Sometimes getting there is a journey with detours,
(21:20):
with turnarounds and all kinds of stuff, and then at
some point get on that straight path. And that's what
it looked like me. But like with me becoming a psychologist,
even with Gracie's Corner, people are like, well, how did
you do this? Because you're sitting here getting nominated for
and winning in AACP Image Awards, You're getting nominated for
(21:42):
Kids' Choice Awards. And we're not a big production company.
We're family. We have hired a couple of employees, we
have two full time employees. We're a small, growing company.
It's funny that this family started venture is now considered
I guess a animation company, production company, But that's what
(22:04):
it is, but everything doesn't have to be this straight
path and mentorship is how I became who I was.
I ended up, after three times trying to get into
clinical psych PhD program, I got into a program at
LSU in Baton Rouge, and that was actually the program
my husband actually ended up getting into too. He went
(22:27):
to a program in chemistry, and we were both starting
our first year of our PhD programs at LSU. So
it's funny how things work because never in my life,
I never wanted to leave Texas, and I end up
applying to this program because one of my bosses at
the time was like, hey, you should apply here. I'm like,
(22:47):
I don't want to leave Texas, but I'm not sure,
end up applying, end up going there, end up meeting divores,
and so it's just this crazy and another way to say,
sometimes things work out the way they're supposed to work out.
You don't understand it. You're upset. Why did it take
me three times to get into a clinical program? Why
did I get so many rejections? Because I was supposed
(23:10):
to end up there. If I didn't end up Bear,
there'd be no Gracie's Corner, it'd be no Gracy, So.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah, full circle divine alignment is what I hear as well.
You said so much here one. Your story is so inspiring,
so I think sometimes we see people who are successful,
then you make assumptions about their journey and well, they
must have had it easy. So thank you for pinging
that picture for us with your Orgin story and highlighting
the fact that mentorship was so important. And I love
(23:39):
that you said everything doesn't have to be a straight line.
I'm over here taking notes as you're sharing. But one
of the other things I'd love to dive into is
if we have a listener who's tuning in right now,
they have a quiet dream in their heart, what would
you say to them to take that next step toward
creating something meaningful when it doesn't seem like the path
is well lit for them and they're just trying to
(24:00):
figure it out and then maybe they're discouraged and this
is their third time creating, Like, what advice would you
give to that person?
Speaker 2 (24:06):
I would say fear is a natural emotion, and I
feel like all great things you're going to have some
amount of anxiety uncertainty, and that can be hard to navigate.
It didn't seem like something for us. Initially, Graci's Corent
(24:27):
didn't seem like it would become what it became when
we first started. When I talk about fear and uncertainty,
fear and uncertainty is saying I have this idea. I
think it's a great idea, and you start investing time,
you start investing the money you do have, and initially
the only person looking at it is ten people. So
(24:50):
to start, we had like family members looking at it,
and we're like, okay, we're li sitting here spending money,
working hard and investing money into this because animation is
not free, and so we're spending time, we're spending money,
and fear creeps in, Doubt creeps in, and certainly creeps in,
(25:11):
and you're saying, hey, is this going to work out?
Are we really doing something that is resonating with people?
Because we're only getting ten views. And it's funny because
just something told us keep going and it would slowly grow.
We'd go from ten to one hundred and then all
of a sudden like okay, that's okay, this is great,
(25:35):
And to be honest, it was that one. The one
song that really put us on the map was actually
the Phonic song. Before the Phonic Song, we were getting views.
But that was truly when all of a sudden everyone
started paying attention and we started getting a lot of views.
(25:57):
And so I guess what I would tell that person
that's listening is you have a great idea. I know
there's some uncertainty. You're trying to figure out how to
make it happen. We didn't have millions. We worked hard
so to be transparent. We were both professors. We weren't
(26:20):
making we were at small over art colleges. We weren't
making tons of money, even though we had PhDs and
we had three kids, and so that was difficult for us.
And in order to make Gracie's Corner happen, I had
to see a lot of patients. So private practice, my
private practice was honestly the way we made it happen
(26:40):
because I did a lot of evaluations. I saw I
was working my job and teaching, that was my full
time job, but I was still seeing twenty different, twenty
five patients every week to try to make those videos happen.
So I say, like that person, you don't have to
(27:01):
have a ton of money, but I'm not gonna lie
and say there's no investment. Unfortunately, you got to buy equipment,
but find ways where you can slowly build and get
to that. And I would say those great ideas that
you keep dreaming about and thinking about, they're there for
a reason. They're there. Listen to it. You feel it's
(27:21):
an important thing because it is. There's that void. You
see it the same way we saw it, and a
lot of things they just need time and any patience
because let me tell you, Gracie's Corner, we did not
get monetized until like a year and a half and
that's a lot of videos we made and a lot
(27:42):
of time and energy. So it took time. And I
think our first check was nineteen dollars.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I laughed.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
I was like, oh, look at other things, so we
got nineteen dollars ooh yeah. But I would say patience,
time and just knowing that those emotions you have are normal,
but one of the best things you can do is
face it, and that's how you can actually push through it.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Thank you for that. I love that advice. And I
know that there's some listener, multiple listeners, who are hearing
this and they are going to take it to heart
and tap into following their dreams, and so as you
all have made these terms like you.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Award winning. Now with all.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
Of that, all of the accolades and all of the recognition,
naturally the critics are going to follow. The critics are going.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
To show up.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
And like we keep stating, you all are a real family.
Gracie is a child, and so how do you all
navigate conversations with Gracie or conversations amongst you and your
husband around handling the critics.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
So early on my husband said, don'try comments, don't look
at them, and sometimes I'm guilty I do. But I
think one of the most important things I've learned is
you work hard with hopes that you can create something
that resonates with everyone. But that's not realistic because you know,
(29:39):
Gracie's corner is fantastic. But I know that some parents
it may not be their cup of tea for their children.
And like I said, every children, every child has a
different learning style. They may have different kinds of learning
content they want to put their children in front of.
But I think early on I learned, Okay, there's going
to be people who have been to say that's okay.
(30:02):
I try to not read comments too much. But you
can actually learn from criticism too. So that's the reason
why sometimes I'll still take a peek and you know,
we'll get some feedback and we'll use it. I'll give
a good example our phonic song, which was one of
our most popular songs. It actually taught the phonemes not
(30:28):
using pure sounds. And so there were a lot of
teachers in our comments in the very beginning that were
dragging us, like why would you do this? Why would
you make songs that don't teach those reading fundamentals the
way they're supposed to be taught. And the crazy thing is,
(30:49):
if you go back and look at other similar videos,
they do the same thing. I think what happened is
with research and advancements, things change, so you learn not
to say sounds a certain way and there's a new
way it's taught. And so we actually took that feedback
and we actually made a new song. We made a
(31:10):
pure letter sound song to actually respond to those teachers
because we heard them. We're like, okay, you know, one,
there's no way to make a song like phonic song
with pure sounds, because the sounds are to a song
and they have in order for them to have that
melody like bub but bug. If you do a pure sound,
(31:34):
it's not going to have that going on. But we
listened to them, took their feedback, and made a pure
letter sound song. So I say that because criticism is
going to come, and I've learned to look at comments,
look at feedback. But if someone's being nasty and ugly
and they're not saying something that can actually help, then
(31:58):
I don't give it much weight. I just moved past that.
I've learned not to be commenting. Because there was one
point where people would make a little comment about my daughter,
I'd be trying to jump on and be like, hey,
don't be talking about her. And I got to the
point where I learned like, okay, girls, stop engaging, like
leave it alone. Let people talk. Teach her that regardless
(32:21):
of what you do, regardless of how great you are,
regardless of how great your intention is, people are still
going to have something to say. And so look at
those comments that maybe are helpful, see what you can
do with them. But people who are not being helpful,
then try your best just to understand that comes with
(32:45):
the territory and pay more attention to your positive comments.
So I think music psychologist's like that mindfulness stuff like, Okay,
what are you going to pay attention to? Are you
going to pay attention to the negative things the positive things?
And I choose to pay attention to the positive comments more.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
I love that you pointed that out. And I think
there is so much importance around constructive feedback because, like
you said, sometimes you can really learn a lot from
the feedback that people share. And also, we won't play
about our baby, so I totally feel you on being
in the comments like hold on, don't we talk about
my baby? And speaking of your baby, Gracie, you're a
big girl now, I guess.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
So.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
She touches on a lot of topics on the show, right,
We have things like facing your fears, self affirmation, bullying
and more, how do you find a balance between the
show and your own unique journey? And then also, are
there any topics that you definitely like would not approach
for the show.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
I think that so first, she's a child first, we're
family first, and so I've always told her she always
knows if this ever becomes something you don't like, you
don't have to do it. I think that ends up
being the beauty of animation. She's an animated character, and
(34:06):
at any point if she decides, you know what, I
want to go start my solo career in seeing, or
you know what, I want to be a basketball player,
or I want to focus only on my academics, whatever
that looks like. We're very fortunate that our content's animated,
and you know, we do have the ability to like
(34:30):
Pepa pig has I think many people who have voiced
that character. That's an example, but there's a lot of
characters that change whoever does the voice over over time.
And so although she can keep doing it, you know,
for years to come, if at any point she decides
this is not something I want to do, then you know,
(34:51):
we'll pivot. And she always knows that. Another thing for
us is we want to make sure she understands that
being a child is your priority. And so when she records,
she records maybe only once a week. Of even that,
we're at the point where sometimes she doesn't record for
like two weeks. You know, there was one point where
(35:14):
we were recording every week, and it's really gotten to
the point because she's in school and those classes are
getting harder. This past year, Homegirl was bringing back geometry algebra,
and she had a lot of problems, so she would
be up doing that homework late. And so realistically, she's
in school. You know, that's a priority, her being a kid.
(35:37):
And then she was playing basketball. Oh my goodness, that
was so hard. But it's one of those things it's like, well,
i'd love to have you record every week, but if
it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit, and we'll figure it out.
And I feel like that's what we've done, is we
prioritize her being her and her feeling like she has
a voice, because every child should feel like she has
(35:59):
a voice, Like her decision to go to school was
her decision. Because a lot of people in this field
have told us she should be homeschooled. Why are you
not homeschooling her because she doesn't want to. We asked her,
and we've had some people who've critiqued us and said,
you're making a mistake because you could really be developing
(36:20):
her in this area and she should be auditioned. And
I say, you know what, at the end of it,
this child's going to be an adult. And me, as
a psychologist, I've worked you know with adults who has
children did not feel like they had control or had
a voice, and I've seen how damaging that can be.
And while I'm not perfect, I do everything I can
(36:44):
to make sure she feels heard. So that's the first thing.
You know, that balance, you know, is so important. And
with regard to song topics, I feel like as a family,
we discussed topics we do and it's so funny, like
we'll meet and we'll be like, hey, what do you
think about this? There's some things I've brought to Javores
(37:08):
and you know it hasn't come to fruition. But I'll
give an example the ABC affirmation song, which is like
my favorite song. It was an idea brought to Javores.
I said it'd be so cool if we did an
ab CE song with affirmations. And when I first told
him that, he was like, I don't like that idea.
I was like really, he was like no, I don't
(37:29):
like that idea. I'm like okay. And the crazy thing
is maybe a month later he came back and he
was like, you know what that idea you had actually
sounds like a good idea. I was like, ha ha,
I know, I know I read what ideas. But an example,
like we bring things to each other. He'll ask me, Hey,
(37:49):
want to make a song about being brave? What are
the steps to doing that? You know? And so we
talked about things. Are there topics we won't talk about?
I mean, not really that I can think of. I
think as we continue on this journey, there's gonna be
there will be songs that will have Like we have
(38:11):
a song coming out soon that's actually about the no
touch zone, you know. So it's so important. Yeah, a
difficult subject, but a really important topic to talk about,
to know what is good touch, what is touch that
is not good? You know? And so I say that
(38:32):
because we have to talk about those difficult subjects, they're important.
Speaker 4 (38:39):
Wow, that that is important to touch on the things
that parents sometimes hesitate. And so by creating this content,
then that opens the door for conversations in families. And
so earlier you mentioned balance, and I love how you
(39:02):
emphasize the importance of Gracie having balance and allowing her
to have some voice in what she's doing. But what
about for you as mom in the background, helping to
manage and navigate this journey. You mentioned before that you
(39:25):
were at one point teaching full time and seeing twenty
five clients a week. On top of that, I know
from my own experience how intense all of that is,
on top of creating content, managing your family. How do
(39:49):
you find balance?
Speaker 2 (39:52):
I think one of the most important things I do
is I figure out what my priority are. I say,
you know what my priority first is being a wife,
a mom, and being myself.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
You know.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
I say that because George and I were funny. We
intentionally make sure we always take trips to our friends
and so everything's not a family trip. Everything's on a
couple trip. I last year went to Europe with a
couple of my girlfriends. This year we'll be doing that again.
He does that too, and we kind of model this
(40:31):
charge children. I think it's important for them to see, like, hey,
healthy relationships. You know, it's going to be one where
the person respects you and knows that you may need
some you time. You know, so I may need a
time where I need to take a day to myself
and go get myself a good meal. And you know,
(40:54):
one of the things I do is I actually run
half I don't run marathons, I do half marathons, but
I do run and that can be therapeutic for me.
So that's one thing I will do, and I feel
like when I do go for runs, I like to
front outdoors. I can clear my mind. But I feel
like all of us as a family, we kind of understand.
(41:14):
I think he can see sometimes when I'm getting overwhelmed.
I can see when he's getting overwhelmed, and we can
kind of voice to each other, Hey, you know, why
don't you take some time and do this, because sometimes
I don't necessarily see it. And I think we do
do a lot of work for things we love, like
love my family, will do every and anything. I feel
(41:36):
like I have to be a super mom. I'm very
hands on, and not to say anything about people who
are not extremely hands on, but I take them to
all their appointment to all their extra curricular and I
have people that are like girls time to get a nanny,
and I'm like, you know, if I need to eventually,
I will, but right now, I just try to be everywhere,
(41:59):
every minute. And I know that's probably one of the
negative things about me, is that, you know, sometimes I
do think I have superpowers and I try to do
everything and be everything, and so I think that balance
is me. If Javoris is not saying, hey, you know,
you need a little break. It's me kind of saying
to myself like, okay, let me we go run, let me,
(42:23):
you know, schedule this girl's trip. You know, let's take
a couple's trip. Well, you know. So there's different things
I'll do, but even a day like it may be
I need to read a book or I need to
go for a walk. So it's intentional. You're gonna hear
me say, being intentional, it's building those things in because
(42:44):
if you don't, it's easy to lose yourself. It's easy
to lose sight of what you need. And they always say,
you can't pour from an empty cup. So how do
we create the things we're creating and give what we're
giving If we're not nurturing and giving ourselves what we
(43:05):
need first.
Speaker 1 (43:08):
That is so important. That prioritization and taking care of
yourself as an individual, like you said before you pour
into your family and others. That's so important. So, Arlene,
let's say we're ten years down the line and Gracie's
Corner has evolved into a full universe. It's like Grace's
Corner universe, right, the merch the shows all kinds of
(43:28):
amazing things. What does that universe look like from your perspective,
and who is it for? Who might be in it?
Like what are some collaborations you see? Like what does
that look like in action?
Speaker 2 (43:38):
The crazy thing is that's actually happening as we speak. Yay. Yeah,
So as we speak, live show expected to actually kick
off the end of this year, and merchandise talks are
always ongoing, Like we have a hair line, have books,
(44:01):
I know, like a natural hairline starts with like baby products.
It's going to be in some freaking mortar stores and online,
but it's already kind of becoming that Racy's Corner global brand,
that universe, and I think what it looks like is
(44:21):
and why we've been intentional. It's not saying that other
people are not going to nurture and love what we've
built the way we have, but we've been purposeful about
staying involved, Like we still have one hundred percent ownership
of Gracie's Corner, And it's not to say that other
people can't contribute, and like I said, other people may
(44:44):
share our vision, but the ownership for us allows us
to have full control over what everything looks like. So yeah,
another part of why we say we're intentional we're intentional
about especially since there's a little girl involved, like my
daughter's involved, as log is she's involved, you better believe
(45:07):
that we're going to have majority, if not one hundred
percent ownership and have the ability to have that creative
control just because that's important to us. We want it
to remain authentic. So what you can expect is what
you've been seeing. Expect to see it be on other
streaming platform soon. Expect to see long form content like
(45:32):
episodes where you can get to learn about the characters,
so you name it. But we've been very fortunate to
create something that resonates and get so much support. We're
so thankful to our supporters. We're not who we are
without them, and so because of them, we now get
(45:54):
close to one hundred and fifty million views per month,
sometimes more than that. We have, like I know, over
five million subscribers just on YouTube alone, and so we're
just growing and we're so thankful for all the support
because we don't get here by ourselves. We're not even
though we're a small family. We've had a lot of
people lifting us up in this journey.
Speaker 4 (46:19):
Wow, that is so beautiful and we are just so
excited for you all and looking forward to seeing all
that continues to emerge from Gracie's corner. And so, Doctor Arlene,
as we wrap up this interview, is there anything we
have not asked about that you're like, I need them
(46:42):
to know about this.
Speaker 2 (46:44):
No, I think that y'all have asked some great questions
and I appreciate. I think the most important thing I
always like people to get from our story is if
you can dream it, you can see it. I think
that it's one of the cool stories that we can
or one of the cool things about our story we
can share is you know, we're just a family, and
(47:08):
we're not a family that had unlimited resources, but we're
a family that had a vision. We're a family that
work together. We're a family that still works together, and
we're a family that continues to stay true to ourselves.
And I feel like that's why we continue to grow
the way we continue to grow because I think people
(47:28):
can feel it. I think we passed that authenticity sniff
test because people know, like, Okay, these are real people
that are really caring and really pouring into it what
they want their children or what they would want their
children to get from it.
Speaker 1 (47:45):
Well, Arlene this was an amazing conversation. I we're just
going to thank you on behalf of our community because
we know that that just it means so much to
our community, the work that you all are doing. And
I love that y'all have one hundred percent of ownership. Yes,
black family do that. That is so important for us
to own our narratives and what we're investing into our children.
(48:05):
That is so crucial. So thank you for that. We
appreciate you and all the work that you and your
family are doing. And we'd love to let the list
listeners know how can they follow you connect with you
if they're not already? Where would you like them to go?
Like I know, YouTube is one platform, but is there
anything else we can do to support you all?
Speaker 2 (48:22):
Yeah, so definitely check out YouTube. So that's where we
are mainly, but like I said, we'll be expanding the
other streaming platforms in the near future. But you can
also check us out on Instagram, We're on TikTok. We
are also on Facebook by just searching Gracie's corner. And
then I mean, you see our products support us, you know,
(48:45):
I think a lot of our products right now we
have products online, but our most important thing. I will
say this me and my husband, we talk about this
all the time. If you look at our social media,
we don't have a lot of posts we make about
the product that we sell because we don't ever want
that to be the focus. We always want the focus
(49:05):
to be on the content. But if it's out there
and you see it and you want to purchase it,
please do you know. But we appreciate anything you do
to support us.
Speaker 4 (49:15):
Well, thank you so much. This has definitely been a
joy and we look forward to bringing you back on
as things continue to evolve for you and Gracie's Corner.
Speaker 2 (49:28):
Yes, thank you so much. I really appreciate y'all inviting
me on this fantastic podcast, and yes, congratulations on your growth. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (49:38):
If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure of your next steps,
this is for you. Hey, lady, is Tea here and
I just want to invite you to my free goal
map like a pro coaching workshop, where I'll share the
five proven steps to get unstuck and achieve your goals.
Whether you're feeling overwhelmed by all your ideas, juggling scattered ideas,
(49:59):
or maybe you just need confidence to start This workshot
will give you the clarity, tools and the motivation to
take back control. Reserve your spot for free by visiting
her spacepodcast dot com and clicking on the goal map
like a pro webinar link. Lady, don't miss this chance
to build a roadmap that fits your life and set
you up for success.
Speaker 3 (50:20):
I hope to see you there.
Speaker 4 (50:23):
Thanks for tuning into Cultivating her Space. Remember that while
this podcast is all about healing, empowerment, and resilience, it's
not a substitute for therapy. If you or someone you
know needs support, check out resources like Therapy for Black
Girls or Psychology Today. If you love today's episode, do
(50:45):
us a favor and share it with a friend who
needs some inspiration, or leave us a quick five star review.
Your support means the world to us and helps keep
this space th thriving.
Speaker 1 (50:57):
And before we meet again, repeat after me. My actions
are aligned with purpose leading to continuous transformation. Keep thriving, Lady,
and tune in next Friday for more inspiration from Cultivating
her Space. In the meantime, be sure to connect with
us on Instagram at her Space Podcast
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