(Ep.87) Feel the Fear & Do It Anyway with guest Sharon Cook

Chuck: 0:10

Hey, welcome back to another episode of Lets Just Talk About it podcast. I'm your host, chuck, and if you're here for the first time, this platform was created to give genuine people just like you an opportunity to share a portion of your life's journey. So, with that being said, on this episode I have influencer, educator, founder and artistic director at the underground performing arts collective, miss Sharon Cook, on with me, where she shares her experience growing up in the city of Norfolk, Virginia, and what she's up to now. So, hey, you don't want to miss this amazing conversation today. As a matter of fact, do me a favor go and grab your husband, your wife, your children, or even call a friend and gather around to listen to my conversation with Sharon, or let's just talk about it podcast. Hey, let's jump right in. Welcome back to another episode of Lets Just Talk About it podcast Today. I have Miss Sharon Cook on with me today. How are you doing today, miss Sharon?

Sharon Cook: 1:08

I am doing quite well. Thank you very much. I'm excited to be here, yeah.

Chuck: 1:14

Absolutely, you're welcome. I appreciate you. How's your day going?

Sharon Cook: 1:17

My day has gone very well. Great great, it's been quite busy. Saturday mornings are always very busy for me because I started a company, a theater performing arts company, so we do some workshop classes Saturday mornings and then we roll into rehearsals after that. But I'm doing well, it's good, it's good busy.

Chuck: 1:38

Good, busy, I like that. So I love to jump right into my interview, sharon, to have those genuine conversations with genuine people just like yourself. So I love to start with this question when are you from?

Sharon Cook: 1:48

I am from Virginia, I am from Norfolk. Wow I am a Norfolk girl. Yes, I am a Norfolk girl. Born, well, born in Portsmouth Naval Hospital but lived in Norfolk, grew up in Ingleside, so the majority of my life has been in Ingleside. Got you From kindergarten on up. Okay, went to Ingleside Elementary School, ruffner Junior High. It was Junior High then, and then Booker T, washington High School. Graduated from Booker T where my dad was also an educator, guidance counselor and head football coach and girls basketball, and I mean he coached everything and girls softball, and then left there, went to Virginia Tech and you know, as they say, the rest is history.

Chuck: 2:37

Wow. So let's go back Growing up in Norfolk, ingleside. How was that for you in that area at the time? I don't know what years you grew up in Norfolk. How was that for you in that time growing up? Is it like? Was it like today, or was it a little bit better?

Sharon Cook: 2:54

It was not like today. We grew up. I grew up on a street called Townsend Court, which is further back Ingleside, right off of the I think that's the Elizabeth River. It was right back then. We lived in a cul-de-sac area right across the street from the water front property and when my father bought our house there it was all white neighborhood. So we were the first African-American family to move in on our street and I believe much of the first African-American family and much of that particular area, not just that street. So it was interesting. Of course, at that time I didn't know, you know I was shielded and protected from issues regarding racism and all of that. But as time went on I began to experience some things. I remember the older teenage boy, white boy. I was walking with another white friend and they were like, oh, you're friends with the nigger, you know? Like what is? this all about Like what's happening right here. So yeah, and then my mom tells me stories of the wads in the neighborhood invited her to go to an exercise class at Ingleside Recreation Center. It was being held at Ingleside Recreation Center. This is crazy because when you think about the demographics now you're like, ah, that really happened then and so it was like an aerobics kind of class and it's when aerobics was first really coming out on the scene, because Jane Fonda and all that. And when they got there, my mom said the instructor asked the other women, who was she? What is she doing here? And they were like she's coming to exercise with us, you know. So it was like this weird thing the woman didn't want my mother in the class. They want her to participate because she was black and everybody else in the class was white. It was all white women. So yeah, so that's where I grew up. I grew up on that side of Ingleside that's how I always refer to it, the other side of Ingleside. And then of course, there was the side that had, you know where, the apartments and all that. So I would ride my bike over there to, you know, meet up and play with friends, and that I went to school with when I, you know, was old enough to do that. My parents trusted me enough to ride my bike across Ingleside Road to the other side, where Scott Street and those streets, you know, all those other houses were located, apartments were located. So, yeah, a little different.

Chuck: 5:38

Yeah, that's why, when you said Ingleside, that's what my mind shot to Scott Street.

Sharon Cook: 5:43

Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh. Yeah, we were a little ways away, deep in the pocket, and a lot of the friends that I grew up with were white and eventually things started to evolve and more black families started to move in and people don't want to believe that white flight is a thing, but it is a thing. You know they won't admit to it, but it is a thing, it's a thing. It's a thing. We come in and then there's this oh, you know, like there goes the neighborhood kind of thing, and then they start moving out. And in fact, one of my friends, one of my white friends shared with me and I probably was about, I want to say I was 11 or 12 said to me, well, the Joneses are moving. And I'm like, oh, they are white, yeah, because they hurt Miss Jones, tell my mom that the neighborhood was getting too black, so they were moving.

Chuck: 6:44

Wow.

Sharon Cook: 6:44

So yeah. So now on that street it's predominantly African American.

Chuck: 6:53

I never knew that, but you said something funny. It made me think about. You said Jane Fonda. Now that's a little.

Sharon Cook: 7:01

That's back. So that's back in the 70s. I'm talking about the 70s, yeah, when she first came on the scene with the little. You know the whole workout.

Chuck: 7:14

Leg warmers yeah.

Sharon Cook: 7:17

Leg warmers and the leotards and the tights and yeah, that whole thing, the headband and the wristbands, yeah, yeah.

Chuck: 7:27

You think about growing up in Norfolk. You said you were shielded. Now being being shielded, okay, when you, when you like, got out of the house. You got grown enough to leave the house. How was that for you, miss Sharon? What was that like?

Sharon Cook: 7:42

I'm trying to figure out what you mean. When I got grown enough to leave the house because my father was strict, my father did not play. I mean like dating was a whole, that was a whole big thing in my house, and in fact, the one gentleman that he was comfortable enough with me dating happens to be my husband today. Yeah, so it was. There were certain rules. I turned 16 and of course my mom was like it's time for her to be able to date. You know, mama was, you know, in my corner and all of that. And my dad was like you trying to make her grown, you trying to make her grow up too fast, and all this and I was 16. And so the ground rule was he had to ask my father. I had to call, ask my father if he could take me out. My father said it could not be like just a single date, it had to be with friends, double dating, whatever. You could not wait in the car for me, you had to come up to the door. And this is the 80s now I'm talking about 80s. All of those kind of rules you know applied and you know, when you're that age, at that time your mindset is you're just in a different place, you know, and you just think the world is against you and your parents are so against you. And but you know, you grow up in. Hindsight is 2020, you realize.

Chuck: 9:10

There was a good thing.

Sharon Cook: 9:11

It was a good thing. I thank God for my daddy. I just I would be like I thank God I had the daddy that I had. He's no longer with us. My father passed in 2015 from Parkinson's complications from Parkinson's disease, heart related issues due to Parkinson's but he was an amazing man. He was a wonderful man. He was amazing provider protector all the things that you look for, that you should look for in a father and a man my father was. I always say he was indeed my earthly example of my Heavenly Father.

Chuck: 9:50

I love it.

Sharon Cook: 9:51

I love it, you know yeah, a firm, disciplinarian, no nonsense, but still loving. I felt I could go to him and talk to him, you know, even if I knew I'm going to get in trouble, but daddy going to help figure this out. And something like that happened when I went to Virginia Tech. I got in trouble yeah, I got in trouble with a class you know, moment of transparency cheated on a test. I was frantic because the test was a math test and I don't know why professors do things like this, like okay, you've got two questions and it's worth 50 points each to answer. You know, I'm like Jesus, you know, and so I panicked on this one question that I was like I cannot figure this out, and my friend and classmate beside me shared his answer and I was so naive this is how sheltered I was I did not know that colleges did A and a B exam, you know. So I had the right answer, but it wasn't for that question. I'm at Virginia Tech now, you know that's predominantly that's a white school, predominantly white institution, and back then in the 80s was very, very much so, and I think there was the African American student body. Population was about 500 of us and we thought at the time my husband and I we were talking about that, we were like dang. We thought it was like a couple of thousand, but it was only 500 of us on that campus of over 20,000 students.

Chuck: 11:31

Wow.

Sharon Cook: 11:32

That's why I understand why people have an issue with affirmative action. Like because that's why I was able to go there was because of affirmative action. That doesn't mean that they just accept anybody and everybody. That just means that they're providing an opportunity for those from underrepresented communities who would otherwise be turned away. Um, I had to have the grades. I had to have you know all of the criteria and the qualifications, but at any rate, I digress there. But yeah, so my father pointed me to someone who was a mentor. His name was Calvin Jamison. He was a mentor to African American students on the campus at the time and he and I talked to Madden. He talked with professor and he just stood up for me, he represented me, and so what ended up happening was I had to take an F in the class, but I did get the opportunity to retake the class the following year and I didn't get put out, because sometimes you know they'll put you out for something like that. You know, and because it was a first time offense and my otherwise my grades were all really good and it was just that one thing. And of course, because I panicked. So they had mercy on me. They showed me some grace and mercy and um, and I was allowed to continue on, but I did not finish my degree at Virginia Tech. I got married the summer after my junior year and my husband was in the military. He was commissioned first lieutenant in the military or is it second lieutenant? He was second lieutenant and he was stationed in Kansas, the big red one, fort Riley, kansas. So I finished my degree at Kansas State University, my undergraduate degree, yeah, got you so being sheltered, you said.

Chuck: 13:28

You know your father was strict. Sometimes that has an effect on a child. You know when they get out of the house they like. Oh man, they got a sniff of freedom. You know so that's why I was asking that, you know. So, do you think that affected you a little bit in any way, or was it all positive when you, when you finally, you know went to college?

Sharon Cook: 13:49

But here's the thing when you get out here in the world, then you realize you look back and you begin to kind of be grateful. Yeah, you start counting it up and and reflecting and being and being, like you know what. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was. And then there was that dang. I want to go back home, let me. That's the thought all of us yeah, this is the adult thing. Right, this adult thing is not all that, it's correct. Jump to be. You know you can't wait to get out, but then when you're out, you want to go back in. Yeah, so I feel like there was a balance in my home growing up. You know, my father and my mother both balanced one another in terms of the discipline in the home. I mean, when you're a teenager, you always put you missing something yeah. Right, right, right. But I wasn't.

Chuck: 14:53

Yeah.

Sharon Cook: 14:54

I really wasn't.

Chuck: 14:55

Yeah Well, let me. Let me ask you this, though, being when you are today if you could go back to talk to the younger Sharon, the the 10 year old Sharon, what would you share? With her to prepare her for the day, or just give her some advice for today.

Sharon Cook: 15:13

I think that I would tell her that follow your dreams, follow that thing that you know, that's nudging in the inside, that you can't let go of, that's calling you. Take hold of it and follow it, no matter how scary it may seem. I would tell her that if your dreams don't scare you, then you're not dreaming big enough. Wow.

Chuck: 15:39

Say that one more time.

Sharon Cook: 15:40

If your dreams don't scare you, then you are not dreaming big enough. And I would also tell her to you're gonna be okay. Where you are right now is where you're supposed to be, and you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, you know. So breathe in, breathe out, it's gonna be okay. And don't despise any small beginnings, you know, because little becomes much. Celebrate even the accomplishments that may seem insignificant or seem small, Because I find myself and I don't know where this comes from with me, but I find myself struggling to do that Even now as a full grown woman, Just celebrating it's okay to celebrate the small things. It's okay.

Chuck: 16:32

It's powerful, it's deep.

Sharon Cook: 16:34

But I have a great husband who reminds me of that, Like hey, you just accomplished such a such. That calls for celebration.

Chuck: 16:43

It's okay, you can celebrate. Why do you think we think like that, though I don't. Yeah, that's deep. Let you say that.

Sharon Cook: 16:47

I'm trying to figure it out. I'm trying to figure it out and I think that my next therapy session is going to be just kind of uncovering those layers, like what is in it? Sometimes I wonder if it's just like some of that generational trauma from when we were, you know, living under slavery and Jim Crow and all that Like just feeling like you don't have a right yeah, what you do is not enough and you don't have a right to celebrate. Who are you? That's deep. Who are you to?

Chuck: 17:23

yeah, that's deep. So in saying that, it feel like you gotta, I guess, work twice as hard to prove yourself but you know what?

Sharon Cook: 17:32

Okay, so, yeah, so that's that whole thing too. But I am in a place right now where I am realizing I don't have to prove myself to anyone, To anyone. Let me tell you, I taught school for 30 years. I was an English teacher, english department chair, north Republic schools. I taught 30 years. I've always been a creator, though. I've always been deeply rooted in the arts, from the time I was little to today, and one of the things that I did not pursue when I was going to college was a degree in the arts. But I wanted to, but I didn't, and that's why I say I would tell my younger self you know, go for that. But it was pretty much discouraged because you know how you gonna make a living, how you gonna the starving artists, all of that kind of stuff. But at any rate, I went into education and I found that I do have a gift and a calling in that area as well. And I did have the opportunity to also work as a theater instructor, because I always took theater classes whenever I could, but I just did not major in theater. So recently, over the past four years, god had been nudging at me, knocking at my door, like you know, branch out, you can start something that will be empowering to underrepresented artists in the community. And I was kind of afraid to step out. And I've been working along with this one organization which provides theater opportunities to children and family members and all of that. But you know, when you work sometimes under a certain organization, you start to see things that you're like something right here, something feel right, we don't settle right in you, but then you try to ignore it and act like you know. No, you feel like it'll be all right, just kind of, you know, let's just move along. But then I started the last two years something really, some stuff really stood out to me and I was like you know what? I think it's really time for me to step out and do my own thing for the most part. And so I created an organization, or I developed an organization, a performing arts organization called UPAC, the Underground Performing Arts Collective, underground thing, you know, like Harriet Tubman, and bringing people to the surface, bringing people to the other side, to freedom, through artistic expression. And so my organization just provides a safe and inclusive space to performing artists and creatives and students from underrepresented, diverse populations and abilities, in order to transform communities through artistic expression, collaboration and through education, and I did this because, in a lot of the theater organizations that I've been affiliated with, there just was not a lot of representation, and so I wanted to create this vehicle for people to feel that they were being seen and that they were being heard and that was my aha step out moment.

Chuck: 20:56

you know, let's do this, so that's therapy for you.

Sharon Cook: 20:58

Right, exactly, exactly, exactly, and the overall goal is just to use the arts as a vehicle to transform people's lives. I like you, yeah, to build community and give opportunities to underrepresented to share our stories, because we have stories, yeah, you know, and a lot of times people will think there's no audience for us, but there is. And so, even doing something as simple as okay, I'm going to draft a vision statement. Okay, let me celebrate that. I did it, let me celebrate that. You know our tagline, or the thing that we say, is that representation matters, that's our big thing, and so I just want to give people an opportunity, opportunity.

Chuck: 21:50

To share, to share Right.

Sharon Cook: 21:51

That's amazing, that's amazing, yeah, yeah and it has indeed been a journey as well, and that's why I said to you that thing that's nagging at you, that you feel called to do, since I mean, and I've felt this forever, go for it, just do it. And then one of the things that I used to tell my students feel the fear and do it anyway, and I'm like I need to take my own advice. Yeah, I need to take my own advice, because you never want to live in regret. You never want to say if I would have done it. Right, you know what I mean, right.

Chuck: 22:28

So what makes you come alive? You know like when you wake up in the morning, what drives you, what motivates you, you, know.

Sharon Cook: 22:36

So like purpose Right, and that's what this is for me. So thinking about this is a part of my purpose. So thinking about how I can impact change, thinking about how I can impact my community, thinking about how I can use artistic expression as a way to, like, make people aware of certain issues. Certain, you know, I want to create a play that deals with violence, youth violence, gun violence, street violence, you know and so how can I use the arts to bring awareness to that issue?

Chuck: 23:12

Got you.

Sharon Cook: 23:13

I'm collaborating with a church this summer where we are going to use the arts to bring awareness about mental health issues that plague our youth. So, and then the youth will create their own skits or vignettes. Yeah, and what have you? Music, poetry, whatever about these various mental health issues and do a showcase. You'll have mental health experts on site and do a panel discussion and, you know, educate the community and provide the resources and the wraparound services. So there's a connection there. It's not just about art just for the sake of let's get up and do a play, but there's a message to the message. Right, exactly, I'm always moved and motivated by art, by theater, by any kind of artistic expression that lends itself to that sort of thing. I'm directing the show right now at Little Theater, virginia Beach. It's a raisin in the sun. I thought Everybody knows this story. It's a classic. Lorraine Hansberry was such a genius in how she sculpted this play about this African-American family that are struggling to fulfill their dreams and when I listened to the audience's reaction, I'm like wow, there are people who this is their first time being exposed to this, which tells me, yeah, see, we need to share these stories, because I don't care if that play was written in 1959. It is still very much relevant today because it's the same kind of stuff. I think about the character Walter Lee, and I say I see Walter Lee in my sons who are struggling with their dreams. And you're dealing with society and what society has said about you and the obstacles that are thrown your way. And maybe it's not about that whole overt racism back in that time, but we know that systemic racism is still. It's an issue, it's still with us. It has not gone away. I don't care how we try to act like, oh, that was back then and why is it that every time it's about black people, it's like we need to be getting over it, we need to get over it, but nobody else is told to get over it? I've never heard people to say to the Jewish community get over it, get over the Holocaust that happened then. I don't have my ancestors, don't have anything to do with that or whatever, or I don't have anything to do with that. That happened years ago. But I'm just like no, it's a part of our history and a lot of stuff that we don't know our history. But we say we're getting to repeat it and in many cases we are repeating stuff over and over. I mean, stuff is still happening.

Chuck: 26:10

Yeah, you talked about mental health and having something for the youth.

Sharon Cook: 26:14

What's your thoughts about?

Chuck: 26:15

mental health today, like when you think about depression, because all of us, I believe, go through you know a little bout every now and then. So when you talk about depression. What's your perspective about it?

Sharon Cook: 26:29

I think that I used to say, like is it happening more often now, or is it just that we're talking about it more? And I think it's a bit of both. I think we are talking about it more so we're able to identify it more and put a name to it, but also I do think it is happening a lot more as well because of what we're allowing ourselves to be exposed to on a 24-7 basis because of these devices that you carry on with us Something always talking, yeah. Right, and so we can't give ourselves an opportunity to just rest.

Chuck: 27:10

Ooh, that's good.

Sharon Cook: 27:12

You know we need to find time to rest. I mean when they say that sleep is healing. Healing takes place, your body heals during your sleep cycle, and that's why they recommend what is it? Six to eight hours a week or whatever. Yeah, well, we need to give our brains a break, a rest, because we're looking at all these images constantly, we're bombarded with all this stuff, all these messages, and we're taking all of that in, yeah, in all day. All day.

Chuck: 27:46

Yeah.

Sharon Cook: 27:47

All day, chubb all day.

Chuck: 27:48

That's deep, that's good. That's good. Right there, you said our brains need to rest Because even when you sleep, you wake up and feel like and it's so good. You wake up and feel like you wore out because you ain't stop thinking.

Sharon Cook: 28:01

Exactly. And then what do we do, too? When we open our eyes, we reach for the phone.

Chuck: 28:06

Yeah, so good man. First thing we do is reach for it.

Sharon Cook: 28:11

Yeah, and so because of that, you know, because of all the stuff we're seeing and hearing and all the traumatic things that we're just taking in constantly, constantly, we're on overload.

Chuck: 28:25

So yeah, we're depressed.

Sharon Cook: 28:28

We're bipolar, we're conscious. You know all of the things.

Chuck: 28:35

You're saying the mouthful yeah.

Sharon Cook: 28:38

I try to tell people I'm plugged, you got unplugged. For a while I've had young people someone tell us doing this, and social media, blah blah. They're saying on Facebook, blah, blah, blah, and I'm like why don't you just turn it off? Just turn it off.

Chuck: 28:53

Who cares? We can't. We're too far gone, we can't. We'll do it for a couple of days, but maybe even a week. But we got to go back. Yeah, can.

Sharon Cook: 29:03

I answer your phone.

Chuck: 29:04

Yeah, yeah, so it's too far there.

Sharon Cook: 29:08

So I guess each individual has to know their limits, you know exactly, and that's where you go, knowing your limit, just like you know your limit when, I would hope, when it comes to, you know, drinking and all of that kind of stuff, and even like when we eat and all of that, our diet consists not just of food, food and drink, but it's anything that we take in. So, yeah, and that's what we watch, what we listen to, all of that, oh yeah. And so we talk about detoxing. Sometimes we need to detox from what we're you talk to brain, yeah. Yeah, exactly yeah.

Chuck: 29:47

That's tight. So so, Ms Sharon, I'm going to call you Ms.

Sharon Cook: 29:52

Sharon yeah.

Chuck: 29:53

If people want to know who you are, what would you say to them? Who is Ms Sharon? Who is Sharon Cook?

Sharon Cook: 30:01

Sharon Cook is an introvert, extrovert. I said go to the girl, yeah, yeah, because people are thrown off and like mom, oh, mama didn't realize that about me. She was like, no, you're not, you're extrovert. And I said, mom, I sometimes have to, I fake it and force it and I'm like, okay, I'm going to be out here. I got to you know. But oftentimes I'm like I want to be by myself, right, you know, I want some, I need some by myself, time, you know. Or someone like let's go out. Someone said, okay, sure, right, then they cancel. Ooh, I'm so glad they canceled that, yeah, you're exe you know. I have to actually gear myself up to do the thing, like, okay, I got it, and you know, it's like going to the gym I'm there, I'm okay, but it's just a matter of like pushing yourself to do motivation. Yeah, and I do get overwhelmed by a lot of people no-transcript, you know and I'll feel myself even getting a little anxious when it's just there's too many people. I gotta go, I gotta, you gotta, get out of here.

Chuck: 31:10

That's the. It's powerful that you said that, because Everybody feels like you have to be an extrovert. You got to be a person who talk, you can, you can be in the room. I just thought but it's nothing wrong I want to tell somebody's. Nothing wrong with being an introvert. It's nothing wrong with quiet it right. It means that you can talk when you need to. You don't have to talk all the time. You can talk when you need to. That's power right.

Sharon Cook: 31:34

So you know, if I was describing myself also, I'm just one who I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt. I feel like you know, eventually people gonna show you who they really are anyway, and I don't always, I don't always feel a need to confront people. I just, I just see it for what it is and then I'm like, okay, peace out. You know, you do you and I'm gonna go over here and I'm gonna do me and it's all good. No, you know no big deal, but I do love people. I love helping people to discover their hidden treasures, their hidden values and value, self-value, you know, self-worth, they're hidden talents and helping bring it out. I'm a creative and loves to find creative ways to, to share, because I'm an educator. So creative ways to educate, to make people aware, to Garner solidarity and to build community. I may be an introvert, extrovert, but I do value community. Yeah, and the village. I believe wholeheartedly in the village, that it does take a village, that the village is so important because God made us relational. We did not make us to do life alone and by ourselves. We're not designed that way. So, yeah, Amazing. I love that. I love kids, I love young people. You know, I love the Lord, thank you. Yeah so yeah, that's who I am. I am very much an impasse. I'm a water baby. I'll cry in a minute.

Chuck: 33:26

That's a good thing. You got a good heart, you got a warm heart.

Sharon Cook: 33:30

Somebody's hurting, I'm gonna hurt with you, you know, although sometimes that can become overwhelming, and I have learned about setting up.

Chuck: 33:52

It's a good thing that you have a warm heart, but then it's a dangerous thing because you'll start taking everybody else's problems Right. Then you take on any way as you. Well, I got.

Sharon Cook: 34:00

I. I believe wholeheartedly in the power of prayer. I am a praying woman. I believe in the prayer village. I believe in making affirmations and declarations and Speaking them and not just speaking them in my head. But I really feel like you got to say those words out loud. So when I do my Affirmations and declarations, I speak them out loud to God. When I'm praying and I'm like on my walks in the morning, I love it. I'm like I know people might think I'm crazy. They're looking over and see you. I got to speak it out loud, put it out there yeah. And it's not that I'm reminding God of his words, but I'm really reminding myself. Yes, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am the head and not the tail. I am above and not beneath. I can do all things through Christ because he gives me strength. You know, no weapon formed against me is gonna prosper, and every tongue that rises and judgment, god is going to condemn. So I don't have to worry about people. God fights my battles, he goes before me. You know all of that. I am where I am doing what I'm supposed to be doing. All those affirmations I am successful, I'm creative, I am given creative strategies each day, you know, I, um, I am multiplying Financially and yeah, I just speak all of that and just speak it off.

Chuck: 35:32

Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing. I appreciate you sharing a portion of your life's journey and, you know, sharing with you up to now. So if anybody wants to reach out to you in terms of Knowing what you're doing, your place at rising in the Sun right.

Sharon Cook: 35:51

I'm doing raising in the sun yeah yeah, that is happening at Little Theatre of Virginia Beach. We pretty much sold out. But, wow, they have a wait list and you know, and sometimes you just go up to the theater and they, oh yeah, we've got a seat available. So that's Little Theatre Virginia Beach yes and I am also the author and or the writer and compiler of a work called Black Girl Magic, which is about a young woman, african-american woman, named Sister, and her journey to self-discovery and acceptance. She's being guided by the African warrior queens, who were actual queens from you know the past, like Queen Amanorena and Queen Enzinga and Queen Yeninga and Queen Amina. These were actual African queens and the reason why I wanted to do that too is when I was teaching, my students did not believe I was teaching at Booker T. They did not believe that they were African king and queens. And I'm like y'all we did not begin our journey S L A. Please know that there were kings and queens. We are from royalty in. Africa. So these queens take Sister on this journey and she meets up with different African-American women from the past and the president likes to join a truth and Harriet Tubman and Maxine Waters and Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin and all those women that we love and that have really helped to shape this country and really shape the world as well. So that is in rehearsals right now and my dear co-director, jennifer Kelly Cooper, is the director and choreographer for that. We're taking it to New Jersey. We're going to be at the Kelsey Theater in West Windsor, new Jersey, march 1st through the 3rd and then we're going to present it at First Baptist Church of Hampton March 16th at 2.30. So people want to come out and support Black Girl Magic. They can do that and I am directing. I'm getting ready to start rehearsals for a production at the Little Theater of Norfolk which is Chicken and Biscuits, and that's a great play. It's an African-American family whose family patriarch has passed away and so they're at the funeral and of course you know what happens at funerals everything that can't go wrong does go wrong and skeletons come out the closet and all of that good stuff and it's a comedy. It's funny, but it is a story of redemption to forgiveness and family love and all of that. So that has been my schedule. My company has partnered with Zyder's American Dream Theater, so we are planning some things for the summer for underrepresented, for youth from underrepresented communities. We're hoping to partner a summer camp with those kids. And then, of course, I'm doing a thing with Brighton Rock Baptist Church that I was telling you about with mental health. So we're pretty busy, I, but it's good busy, it's good, good busy, good busy, yeah, and I'm just, my prayer is just, you know, helping me to vet what is really necessary or meaningful and advantageous for us to take on and what we need to let go of. And I will tell you this too when you, when you step out and start something, an organization or whatever everybody you start off with, or you think that you're good you're starting off with, or you think that was like, yeah, they're, they're for me and for this and they want to be a part of this. They don't always happen. People fall off and you just have to be okay, like that. It's so sweet, because one of the things that I pray and declare to is God, you're going to send me who I need and what I need. And I'm telling you, chuck, he always does. He always does, and then I become a water baby and start crying and like, look, and I should not be surprised that he does it, but he does Because if you're walking in purpose and you're aligned to his call and give you what you need.

Chuck: 40:15

Yeah, man, amazing, amazing. I really appreciate this conversation, the inspiration that you gave us today on on this podcast. So, um, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for coming on and being a guest.

Sharon Cook: 40:31

I appreciate it. Yeah, I appreciate you and I'm declaring continued success with all of your endeavors, potshots and beyond that.

Chuck: 40:41

So when your play grows, you know around the country or whatever, do me a favor, Don't forget me.

Sharon Cook: 40:47

I will, in fact. In fact, I think that there's some collaboration that's going to take place, or that needs to take place, between you and I got you or between you pack you can. You're always welcome to be a collaborator in the organization. We're always looking for for folks and I feel like that.

Chuck: 41:06

Wow.

Sharon Cook: 41:07

Wow, since I saw what you shared, that film clip with me, I'm like, oh yeah.

Chuck: 41:13

Yeah, thank you so much. I appreciate it I appreciate it.

Sharon Cook: 41:16

Yeah, something there.

Chuck: 41:17

We don't do something All right, thank you, appreciate you and talk to you soon.

Sharon Cook: 41:24

Thank you, thanks for having me.

Chuck: 41:28

Wow, what an amazing conversation. Shout out to Sharon for having this dialogue with me. You know, one of the things that really stuck out to me, amongst many other things about this conversation, was a transparency, about being an introvert, because we live in a culture that says in order to make an impact, you have to be primarily outgoing. But not so, because after listening to Sharon, I realized now that you can be content with being quiet and talk when necessary and still have the same impact. So shout out to you, sharon Again, thank you so much for always tuning into let's Just Talk About it podcast, and please check out my website. Just Google let's Just Talk About it podcastcom and then hit that subscribe button to receive all the new episodes every Friday. You can also find me on Facebook. Just type in Chuck L, j, t A I, which means let's just talk about it. So, as always, until next time, don't hold it in, for let's Just Talk About it. Talk to you soon.