LETICIA HUNT
Leticia Hunt is the queen of side hustles. She is a military professional by day and a content curator and stylist by night. With her blog, podcast, children's book, styling, and creative direction, Leticia is a busy gal! We are thrilled to have her on our platform for she inspires us to explore our deeper callings. Whether it's her podcast on "Cuffing Season" or her eye-catching styling and creative direction, Leticia amazes us with her work. Please follow Leticia on Instagram @letetecia and check out her website at https://www.leticiahunt.com
WHEN AND WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO PURSUE YOUR BLOG AND PODCAST?
"I had played with the idea of blogging since my senior year in college (2011), but somehow managed to talk myself out of doing it countless times. By the time I made up my mind to do it--I thought that the blogging market was over saturated. I once again, almost siked myself out, until I attended Afropunk in August of 2016. Attending Afropunk and being surrounded by so many free spirits and creatives is really what inspired me to press forward. So, January 2017 is when I committed to blogging and hosting my podcast and I’ve been going hard ever since."
DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A FEMINIST? IF SO, IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU FIND YOURSELF EMBRACING THAT LABEL?
"I actually don’t identify as a feminist but I do consider myself to be a believer of intersectionality. While I am a woman and completely believe and support the idea that women deserve equality, I also wear other identifiers like being black. And because my race and sex often intersect and influence the treatment I receive in society, intersectionality is a more appropriate movement for me. The concept of intersectionality is not an abstract notion but a description of the way multiple oppressions are experienced. Intersectionality includes many of the same beliefs as feminism but is more inclusive in my opinion. I embrace intersectionality by being vocal about the ideas I support, being bold and unapologetic, and encouraging other women to live out their truths."
YOU ARE THE QUEEN OF SIDE HUSTLES! YOU NOT ONLY HAVE A BLOG AND PODCAST BUT YOU ALSO HAVE EXPERIENCE STYLING AND CREATIVE DIRECTING. WHO HAS BEEN MOST SUPPORTIVE TO YOU AND YOUR WORK?
"I am the queen of side hustles! I actually like to call them passion projects and on my journey to pursuing these projects my mother and close friends have been the most supportive. My friends never look at me funny when I express my interest to pursue certain things, they are always encouraging and honest. I wouldn’t trade their support for the world."
DO YOU USE YOUR WORK AS A VOICE FOR CHANGE? IF SO, HOW?
"I am a very intentional person and I make it my business not to produce anything without meaning. I use my work as an instrument for change by allowing the truth to always shine through. We live in a society where we are constantly fed b.s, “fake news” that is only generated for clicks, and one sided concepts of success. As cliché as it may sound-- I just focus on living my truth in hopes that it can inspire others to do the same and eventually we shift the atmosphere so that we are walking amongst individuals versus people copying and pasting their life."
WHO OR WHAT INSPIRES YOU AND GETS YOUR CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING?
"Music inspires me. I rarely watch TV but I could listen to music all day—whether it’s my vinyl player, speaker, or through earphones. I turn on something depending what mood I’m in and let the words convict and cleanse me. It’s something about instruments, harmonies, and melodies that put me in a mood to start thinking and creating."
WHAT'S BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT AND THE MOST ENJOYABLE THING ABOUT PURSUING YOUR SIDE HUSTLES AND BALANCING YOUR DAY JOB AS A MILITARY PROFESSIONAL?
"The most difficult thing has been the actual balancing of personal and professional life. I always want to make sure that I can give 100% to whatever I am doing and committing that much energy to work and my passion projects can be extremely draining. On the flip side, the most enjoyable thing about doing both is seeing the completion of projects and how my work contributes to something bigger than myself."
WHATS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SUCCESS IN 2017? IT CAN BUSINESS OR PERSONAL RELATED.
"My biggest success in 2017 has been achieving complete freedom of thought and realizing my capacity for growth. I said this year that I would be purpose driven and pursue everything that was placed on my heart, I needed freedom to do that. Freedom from societal pressures, family expectations, fear of failing, and doubt. And after I reached a place of total freedom, the realization that I possessed the capacity to grow and accomplish these things followed."
HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN CREATE A BETTER PLATFORM FOR FEMALE/FEMME-IDENTIFIED BLOGGERS?
"Inclusion. We so often preach how important diversity is however, we only support the same type of people and images. We need to stop preaching diversity and be it. Let’s promote and support the others, there’s more of “us” (the different) than them, “they” shouldn’t control beauty standards and/or be the poster children for blogging."
