POTENT Issue #2 - The Women's Issue

I hit that question, those are my
favorite moments, and the ones that
seem to resonate with my audience.
POTENT: Naming your site
“SocaMom” it’s clear you have an
appreciation for soca music and music
of Trinidad, where your parents
are from. Do you have a favorite
soca song or artist
SocaMom: My mom is from Belmont
in Trinidad, and my dad is from
Tobago. My mom is a big soca fan,
and my dad enjoys Calypso. I like
artists that are mashups of the two.
While I love a good jump and wine
– if an artist can merge that with a
message I am in. Right now I really
can’t pick a favorite, but Bunji Garlin
is pretty high on the list. His BBC
freestyle was amazing. You have to
check that out. He’s the real thing.
POTENT: As a blogger, explain
some of the hardships you’ve had to
endure, and how have you been able
to balance running a website with
family life
SocaMom: I wouldn’t say it has
been a hardship because blogging
is a choice for me. It isn’t my bread
and butter, so I still enjoy doing it
without too much stress. When
I take on paid opportunities, it is
a job, so there are deadlines and
things like that, but I try to keep
it as light as possible. Do the
work, get it done on time, and
respectfully decline the things
that aren’t a good fit for me. My
husband is extremely supportive,
so I don’t have too much balancing
to do as far as family life, but now
that I am in law school, I have even
less time to blog – but I make it
work. It is a stress reliever for me.
When I have a lot on my plate, I
stop and design a coloring page for
parents to share with their kids,
or make a quick video. It is my
creative outlet.
POTENT: Caribbean women have
made significant contributions
to American history, culture and
communities across the world. But
there is still progress to be made.
What can we do to continue to make
a positive impact
SocaMom: I believe that one way
is to make progress is to continue
to push ourselves. You can’t wait
for someone else to tell you that
you are doing a good job, and you
can’t stop when people say you
have done enough. Figure out what
you can do, and do that better than
anyone else has done it, is doing it
or ever will do it… ever.
POTENT: What was a sage piece
of advice you received from your
mom growing up that informed you
about what it means to be a parent
and mother
SocaMom: None of my mom’s advice
was specific to parenting. I learned
what to do by just watching what she
did. She worked and she expected
me to work. She made sure I traveled,
and I learned as much as possible
outside of school. She supported me
in all of my dreams – every single
one. She thought outside of the
box and let me know that there
nothing wrong with being first to
try something. One of the most
important things that I learned from
watching my mom that I pass on to
my kids is that not every has to get
it. Do what you do, do it well and the
world will just have to catch up. And
if they don’t That is still okay.
POTENT: What do you love about
being a Caribbean-American woman
SocaMom: I love the connection
that I have with Caribbean and
American people alike. I can talk
to people about why you can’t eat
everyone’s curry and why you can’t
eat everyone’s collard greens. People
talk about how diversity unites
people, but I see it firsthand.
POTENT: Any future projects for
Socamom in 2015
SocaMom: So many! I can’t even
go through them all. 2014 was
an amazing year for Socamom.
My goal is to top it. This year
we were able to work (all with
our trademark Caribbean flair)
with great American companies
like Disney, Walmart, AT&T
and LeapFrog, and worked with
Caribbean companies like Beaches
Resorts. Right now we are set to
do some really amazing things in
2015 – some of them have been in
the works since we started! It will
definitely be the best year yet.
POTENT Magazine | NINETY