Episode 16 - Making Space for Women to Live Unapologetically with Shaquanda Reese

By Jessica Garrison

Welcome back, everyone! After taking off a couple of weeks for the holidays, we’re back with an incredible guest, Shaquanda Reese. Not only is she a founder/CEO of her own business, but her business helps to spread awareness about mental health, clearly showcasing how thoughtful and intelligent she is. She speaks with Melissa about her professional, personal, and internal journey, as well as how she’s living her life authentically.

Shaquanda considers self-care to be internal work and about caring for your emotional needs. She encourages “prioritizing inner peace” and incorporating these efforts into everyday life.

Being a Black woman, boundaries come fairly naturally for Shaquanda. With the weight of the world on her shoulders, Shaquanda has always been told how strong she is. However, she wants to be known as both strong and fragile. Normally we see fragile as an insult, but her explanation of this sentiment makes everything come together.

Setting intentions for the day has helped Shaquanda take care of her emotional health as much as her physical health. The business she’s created as a way to help others start the day like this is called Burst Beans Coffee. Don’t worry, there’s a link to the website at the end of the blog, so you can enjoy your own burst of enjoyment each morning.

Shaquanda shares that when a woman loves herself, she is able to love other women. It’s a shame how much internalized misogyny exists in the world, and rather than taking other women down, we should be uplifting them. In supporting women, Shaquanda also mentions the importance of listening without judgment to give other women the opportunity to just be heard.

Prior to her coffee business, Shaquanda had a podcast, which focused on the front we put up in the social media world. This was a way she could advocate for mental wellness publicly, and the impact she leaves with her various projects is astonishing. After listening to her speak and hearing everything she’s accomplished with her authentic self, Shaquanda’s values should be praised by all.

Everyone has complex layers, but Shaquanda has learned that perfection isn’t a realistic possibility. She’s learned to allow forgiveness and grace to not only those in her life, but to herself as well. Differences are beautiful, and they should be celebrated instead of being buried inside of us. Shaquanda recalls an example with fruit to help explain her points, and I never thought I could relate so much to an apple.

You can visit Shaquanda’s coffee business online, Burst Beans Coffee, to purchase your own blend to enjoy in the morning, setting yourself up for a day full of self-care and success.

Ways to Engage: Shaquanda emphasizes the idea of “intention” in this episode, which is not a new idea to the podcast. Have you tried doing your self-care with intention? If so, think about how it’s changed your perception of self-care. If not, see how adding this into your routine affects it. As always, we love to hear about your experiences and how ideas from The F.E.E.L Podcast have affected the way you embrace your layers.