Notes to Our Younger Selves

In this episode of Notes To Our Younger Selves, we welcome our first ever guest to the show, Sydney Hicks! Educator, non-profit leader, and good friend of co-host Nico, Sydney joins us to explore the topic of intersectionality & identity. The episode starts out with Sydney providing a background on her experiences and recent career transition before we dive into her upbringing and some of her earliest memories as a young black girl growing up in Michigan. We dive deeper into how her family dynamics and tight bond with her older brother influenced her affinity for athletics and academics at a young age. She provides further stories and anecdotes that speak to her passion for performance and how some of her most formative experiences in the theater were attached to trauma and microaggressions. From there, we discuss how many instances of our childhood were shaped by a desire to be accepted and loved, no matter how backhandedly any acknowledgement or compliments were; we actively sought them out to counterbalance the otherness we carried each day. We touch on the role of academic institutions and the lack of overall safety and support many black and brown young boys and girls feel in these spaces . We briefly touch on how black men can be better and more accountable to supporting and uplifting black women through active listening and operating from authenticity instead of ego and bravado . We end the episode sharing our thoughts on academic institutions and their pivotal role in childhood development and the type of young adults we’re preparing to step into the world.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Sydney’s identity and its linkage to her career as an educator & non-profit leader (2:40)

Sydney’s childhood and formation of her identity as a young black girl (6:32)

Microaggressions & eurocentric beauty standards and their effects on one’s psyche and worth at a young age (16:00)

The impact of academic struggles and mental health on one’s identity and self worth (28:05)

The weaponization of language on young black girls and negative stereotypes that are casted upon them (32:42)

How black boys and black men can do more to uplift and support black women (35:11)

The impact of educational institutions and environments on childhood development (38:38)

Key considerations and decision-making when selecting academic institutions for children and the type of youth we’re producing as they step into the world (42:28)

Questions answered:

What are some of your earliest memories and formative moments of your upbringing? (6:30)

Do you have memories of others questioning your presence as a young black girl in a space or environment where you were not the majority? (10:40)

Can you offer examples of how academic performance influenced your perception of your self worth as a young adolescent? (27:00)

What can black boys and black men do more to support and uplift black women? (34:54)