Welcome to SisterGirl Sessions Podcast: Our Journey Begins

Introduction to Sister Girl Sessions Podcast

The first episode of the Sister Girl Sessions podcast features hosts Niecee and Voni introducing themselves and their new podcast. They discuss their backgrounds, including their family upbringing, careers, and personal experiences. The sisters emphasize the importance of community and family in their lives, sharing stories from their childhood and how their parents instilled strong values in them. They express excitement about the journey ahead and invite listeners to join and engage with them. The podcast will cover various topics, with a focus on life experiences, love, relationships, and personal development, infused with a Gen X vibe.

00:00 Introduction to Sister Girl Sessions

01:11 Meet Voni and Niecee

05:26 Importance of Community and Family

08:18 Childhood Memories and Lessons

11:41 Influence of Church and Community Centers

18:31 Final Thoughts and Closing

Transcript

niecee---voni_2_12-01-2024_135258: 0:00

Yeah, we're going to do an intro. Uh, all right. We are here, Voni. Ooh, we are doing it. Okay. All right. We didn't get an error message. We're cooking with Crisco. All right. All right. All right. Welcome to the Sister Girl Sessions. This is going to be our first session for our new podcast. My name is Niecee. I'm Voni and we are creating this podcast to talk about our experiences in life., Love, relationships, work, anything that we feel like we want to talk about basically. Um, but we welcome you to come and join us in this podcast and us sharing our experiences with a little Gen X vibe. You get what I'm saying? So So, sit back, relax. Uh, today is our first session. And so we thought what we would do today is just kind of give a brief introduction about ourselves, tell you a little bit about ourselves so you can get to know us. And so with that, I'm going to turn it over to Voni and let her introduce herself first. She would do that with me first, right? All right. Um, Voni, I am, uh, the oldest of Five children. Our parents had, I am, working, uh, in healthcare. I am a mother of one daughter, grandmother of one granddaughter. Um, and, but you'll learn about us as we kind of go through this podcast, we have. A much larger extended family, but, um, at a very high level. That's Voni to start. Yes. Yes. Um, what should I say about myself? I'm Niecee, as I said before, I am a mother, first and foremost, mother, grandmother. And just recently I became a great grandmother just a couple of weeks ago. Thank you. I had a great grandson, Mauriair. He's the newest member of our family, but I have two daughters. And five grandchildren and now one great grandson. I also work in, um, like, what you call corporate America. Um, I am, unlike my sister here, she was born for corporate America. I was not, I'm more of a creative spirits spirit here. Hence us being here at this podcast and I'm real, they're in my world a little bit, I'm more of a creative spirit, but you know, you gotta do what you gotta do to make it in this world. You know what I'm saying? So I, uh, I do work in corporate America. I work in healthcare as well. Well I've recently left the deeper part of healthcare and I'm working more high level in the healthcare space right now. Um, But it's a really great company, really great journey. I've learned a lot in the work world along my way. I'm thankful for the experience because it helped me grow and evolve as a person and in my connections and relating to different types of people. Um, like Voni said, we are, our family is a big part of our lives. And so, Whew. Yeah, that will come up a lot during the podcast. Uh, I will share with you. I will probably talk a lot about that. Um, I used to have problems with substance abuse, uh, mainly alcohol. I did dabble in the wacky tobacky, if you know what that means. We all had our little moment. Yes. Yes. I dabbled in that a little bit, but you know, uh, it's just, Uh, one of those things that I have worked to overcome, I'm really big into personal development as Voni knows. And so, um, let's talk about it. It's a lot of things in life that causes twists and turns and, and what we have to experience in the world and how we respond to it. And so that's some of the things I like to explore with this podcast. What do you, what do you think? I love it. Yeah. Let's go for it. All right. Jump in. Let's jump in then. All right. So, um. What are we talking about today? I don't think I had a really good topic already set out. Let's talk about this. Matter of fact, let's go to the list because I still think it's still about the introduction. So what could be a lead in to give us a more introduction. Yeah. So I got the, the sister girl sessions intro, who we are. We just gave them an update of who we are. Um, childhood perspective, moving into the ghetto, importance of community and children. You want to start kind of at the beginning. The beginning. Hmm. I think we go back to that. I think the community and family piece, since we've kind of did a little bit on that in the intro might be good just to kind of say the importance of, and kind of tying in our parents a little bit about, you know, how we create, like Jackie said, the, we don't adopt. Animals we adopt people or you know, some of that and show the intersection of family. All right I don't know. That's about yeah. Yeah All right. So for today's topic, um now that we've gotten our introductions out of the way Maybe we can talk a little bit about community and how children really need a community as you and I growing up, we kind of grew up in a community environment and we were involved in different community activities and I think a lot of that is important for children these days and it seems like sometimes in some families, a lot of kids do still have that, but. I don't see it as prevalent as I did when we were growing up. Yeah. What's your thoughts on that? When we were growing up, I would say our parents gave us a sense of family. So we had a much larger extended family, mostly on daddy's side, right? Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, but we got to interact with that community a lot. And then in the different neighborhoods that they moved us to throughout our childhood, Yeah. We were fortunate enough to. For our mama, mostly to be a connector. She made lots of friends around the neighborhood. Uh, we ended up being babysat by different people based on my mama's friendships, but through all of those different journeys, we, we got to connect with different people. I remember auntie, we call them auntie. We never called people or it was either miss or auntie or mister. We never could go and just call people by their first names. That was inappropriate. No adults, mom and daddy didn't play that. Uh, but I remember auntie Shirley, auntie Beverly, you know, people who used to babysit us when we used to live, uh, In one, one complex we used to live in, but the most profound one community that I remember, um, was Parker square when we moved there. And it was, it was a lower income people with different social income. It was low incomes, different, different backgrounds, lots of single parent families. Uh, but a really big sense of community and I remember when you and I first moved there, I probably was about seven, seven. I was five. You were five and it was kind of terrorizing for us initially because we came in lots of, uh, You the new kid on the block. And so people have to test you and try you. And we went on a lot, uh, trying to find our way there. Our parents gave us a little bit of tough love, told us we had to go figure it out. So we come home crying sometimes for us, you know, didn't understand why they were trying to get us to that self sufficient state, but it was, it was very much impactful to my life as I grew up. I agree. I agree. As I always think back and you know, you and I have talked about this when we went down there, it was like we were when I was born, we were living in this same area, but we have moved away while I was still a baby. And so when we moved away, and we were away from that environment, we were in a common environment, not so many people and things like that. And coming back to that environment as a five year old, and, uh, Back then they had like the tall buildings with many floors and people living in these buildings behind the fence. And you know, then you got this, all these different complexes on each side and all of them were low income. So a lot of people moving around on foot, a lot of people in different stages of life. And so when I was, when I got there as a five year old, I was sitting there and all like, you know, this is, this is a lot, this is a lot, you know, Uh, what are they, what are they doing? What are they doing? You know? But you were, you were also curious. I was very curious. You were very curious. You wanted to understand what I was seeing and, and I wanted to explore it, like you said. Then you get out there and, and we came in kind of like, yay. Hey, and I got some toys. You wanna play with my toys? I got a big will and them kids, they tore up our stuff. They tore up our stuff. The little boys down there in the hood, as we call it, they took us. Stuff and tore him my pole. Little inchworm, if anybody know from way back in the day, had an inch worm, I had an inchworm tore my inch worm up. Yep. And it, like you said, we just go in cry, mom, like we ain't in the same neighborhood. Y'all gotta get, be get it together, get it together, stand up for yourself and things like that. But at the same time, some of those same kids or Mm-Hmm. people we Mm-Hmm. Lifelong friends. Yes. Lifelong friends that we are still connected with today. Absolutely. And so the community piece of it, like we used to have. Uh, squabbles, as you wanna say, and Mm-Hmm. and, and disagreements in the neighborhood, but it was mainly we, we all were interconnected. Yeah. And those things would fly by, we'd be playing again. Mm-Hmm. Um, one thing also is like the summer camps. Yes. Day camps, church, you know. Yes. Different things like that. Mm-Hmm. We couldn't sit idly by. Oh, no. Mama said, uh, what is it? Idle mind is the devil's workshop. Yeah. She believed in that wholeheartedly. So we always had to have something. Summertime, we couldn't just sit around and do nothing. We had to have activities all the time. And whether even in school time, we had to have afterschool programs and stuff like that. So, you know, and developing those relationships, which were a lot of the same people that were in the neighborhood. Um, when we were at camping and sharing those experiences of the different places we went, the different activities we did, built strong bonds and even people from our old neighborhood, we are still very interconnected and care about each other a whole lot. And it's, it's kind of historical, uh, the people within those, uh, different apartment complexes that grew up in that era during that time. Oh, still, you know, you know, you connect with, you travel with, even now, even as adults, we interact with all of those people. But one of the, the one area to me that was a staple and it was actually two, two things. And they were both churches in our community. Uh, that was St. Mark's church. Yes. And then First Christian Church. First Christian Church, which was also Which also called Together Center. That was the community center side of it. But we went to the church for a little while. We did grow up in church. Our parents and grandparents, you know, we very much I won't say every Sunday, but most And when we were heavily into church, we went two or three times a week and we had aunts and relatives and different people who were, uh, you know, practicing and, and, and preachers and different things in the family. So we were very tied there, but we went to, we, we met, um, Gary Thomas was one of the people who was very instrumental, influential in my life and your life. Uh, and in that community, uh, when we first moved down, uh, to Parker square, he and a lady named Christie came and knocked on our door. And my mother, it was like, I think she said it was like 25 to 20 for the whole summer. Now see how cheap that was. You guys could never imagine this today, but it was like 20. That was a big deal for my, our family at that time. By this time we all of us, For all, for all of us to go$20. But even still, if you understood our family dynamics, it was all, uh, did we have, yeah, we had, it was all four. No, Zell wasn't there yet, were they? Zell wasn't born yet. Zell wasn't there yet. But it was for, yeah, it was just for me. And you, Eva would, Eva wasnt the Sunshine. Sunshine kids. Kids. Yeah. She sure. Because I, Zell came to later. Yeah. Yes. Yep. So all of us went for$20, but they came knocked on the door. And invited us there. And like you said, many of the kids in the neighborhood were also a part of that. And even in some of the surrounding complexes and that at really young age too, was some of the foundation of the relationships we have. I mean, that's where I got into. Now, Niecee is very creative as it relates to a lot of this, but I'm more, I guess I call it the artsy side of Creativity. Yes. I like dance. I like musicals. I like, uh, uh, those things because of my experience in Together Center. I was in the dance squad in high school. So it was always something that I've, I've always resonated from, but I got that from Together Center. Oh yeah. She has to let out her creativity. Hers just expresses itself differently than mine. Mine is totally different, but yes, definitely a creative person. I love that about you. Yeah, but I got it from together. Yes. Yes. I participated in it. Did you hear that they are about to do, uh, The Wiz? I did. I saw it on social media. That's one of the Broadway. Oh my gosh. We know every song, every song. We performed that in so many talent shows. I saw that. I was like, hold up, hold up. I need to go and see. I need to go to this play and watch the performance. I was so excited. It's coming to our town. Yeah. I can't wait to see it. I participated in all that, but I think it resonated in your experience way more. It was great for me, but I had other aspirations. I'm like the type of person I'd be willing to touch a little bit of everything. You know, she likes to try things. I usually stick to it. I stick with stuff. Make it work. Verniece try it. I mean, all over the place. I was like, well, and I don't look at it as just being like flighty. You want to see what works for you? Yes. Yes. I'm still on that journey. Yeah. I'm still on that journey, but it's a good journey. So, um, yeah, but I even noticed that. Like with my grandchildren, uh, that a set of them that grew up in apartment complex and they had like a community center that they could go to, that they've developed lifelong relationships, like some that they were playing with when they were from so that they are still very close with to this day. So community for children to me is huge and, and finding ways to get them connected. I know a lot of people get their kids in sports or, you know, um, acting or, you know, gymnastics, you know, all different types of things. There's different avenues that you could, Go to to get that for your children. But I think it made a huge difference for us. And it was, it was a regular thing that, uh, even for those that were dealing with poverty in our day, more so that I see a lot of the children that are dealing with poverty that I come across now, they just kind of hang out and they, they're just kind of sitting idle. And so when, um, To me, my takeaway is if you have an opportunity to get your kid more exposure to different people, different types of scenarios of life, because that's what that gave me some of those experiences. I saw that there was more than what we were seeing in our environment, which sometimes can be a little rough. Um, you know, no, it's scary. Yeah. You know that not everybody lives the same way you do Yeah, and even even you some people can become resentful of it, but I think our exposure to it gave us And desire, a desire to go do those things or to have those things. So I can say, I can do that. I want to go there. And that's what we did. Yes. You know, even through our lives as, as adults, it gave me my travel, uh, outlook. I was one of the influencers of me wanting to travel around the world because I would just see different. Uh, plays different stories, and it I dreamed through some of that right about what I could go do. Right? And they gave me a, uh, inspiration to. Like live in different environments. I know I was one of the first people like in our in our family to move into like one of the neighborhoods that were like What's she doing here? My kids were only black children in school, but I was like I want to experience that lifestyle. I'm going to move over there. I'm going to do that. If they can do it, I can do it too. I've seen different people. I've met people. I learned how to talk to people. You know, I could do it here, you know, as a young, in my twenties, I took off and did that. So I followed right behind her. Yes. Yes. Yes. I did. I spent a little time going back and forth with my habits that I had and stuff like that, but hey, experiences, it's experiences, you know? That's what I took away from it. Any final thoughts? I think we might be about to wrap this up. Just trying to give you all a little bit of who we are, where we come from. I will say what I was going to add. One of the things that you said that I resonate with our community and with our parents is that our parents raised us to, with the attitude that there was nobody, you're not better than anyone else, but that don't mean they are better than you either. And that's why I think we, you were confident enough to go try it, go out and go live somewhere else. You're right. You're right. Those things, those are the things, those are the things that we were instilled to be and know that we could have or do. You do work hard. You go figure it out. You can go live there. You can go have that item, whatever that make those people better than you. Don't make you better than me. No. But it was greatly instilled in us greatly, greatly. And to accept people for who they are. I mean, you don't always have to have your whole world centered around people that look and act just like you, you know, that that's one thing that, uh, that our parents instilled in us and stand strong and be proud of who you are. And I'm forever thankful for that because it helped develop us and it helped in us. Teaching that to our children and grandchildren because they have all have unique perspectives and our family is like a colorful little rainbow and I love it. Yes, I just want to hear y'all out there watching. Hi. We're talking about you. We'll name you in a little while. We'll get your name. We'll start name dropping. Yes, we will. Awesome. Yes, so. This has been really great. I'm looking forward to this journey of the sister girl sessions podcast because we we could touch on a lot of things. Let's dive into some stuff. If you're out there, we would love for you to, uh, like subscribe. If any of this resonates with you, if, if you'd like to tune in and hear our perspective, I mean, we are not here to oh. Teach anything, but we would like to pour it to you and add value and offer different perspectives on how to look at various things. So. Everybody, and we leave us a comment. Let us know your thoughts. Let us know your experiences. Let's take the journey together and enjoy the ride. We will be having videos come out every week. I haven't decided on exactly what day of the week we will drop those on, but we will definitely post that. Um, uh, maybe and some community posts. I would love to have this become a community. For us to all communicate and vibe together is just like we're talking about being connected to people is important and we are not meant to walk this path alone. So join us on the journey. We look forward to sharing the experience with you all. Do you have anything you want to say to close out? No. If you hear something that resonates with you, give us some feedback about what you want us to dig into a little bit more. Yes. We'd love to, to offer that. Definitely. Leave us some, leave us some tips on some topics you'd like to discuss. We have a list going of different things we'd like to talk about, but we welcome the feedback again. It's gotta be a community. So, um, let's get started. Let's do it. And we will go ahead and sign off for now, but we appreciate you taking the time to listen if you're still here and we will see you on the next one. All right. All right. Bye bye. Bye bye. Peace.