Whenever I am asked to share about myself, I always lead with professional — so much of my identity is wrapped up in my career and it’s something I am actively trying to unlearn.
My name is Shonique — my friends call me Sho and my family calls me Kim. Don’t ask me why, it’s a Jamaican thing, lol.
My upbringing was varied — I was raised in Brooklyn, New York and Kingston, Jamaica and I really struggled with belonging as a child.
Living in New York, I wasn’t “Black” enough for the spaces I occupied, and attending high school in Jamaica, I was told I wasn’t “Jamaican” enough. The recurring theme is a feeling of not being enough and not belonging, and it took me some time to heal from that.