How Embracing Our Identities Affirms Our Worth with Dr. Lakeya Omogun
— EPISODE 41 —
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How does your identity affirm your worth? How do you define what makes you valuable?
Today’s Unconditionally Worthy guest is Dr. Lakeya Omogun, a Creative Writer and Professor of Language, Literacy & Culture. Lakeya identifies as an artist first and her artistic nature is infused in all her work as a professor, writer, and Tedx Speaker. Her core mission remains the same in each of these roles — shifting static ideas about identity, culture, and language.
In this episode, Lakeya and I talk about how embracing your identity affirms your unconditional self-worth. She also speaks on how her self-worth journey has influenced her work as an artist and her approach as a professor.
“I get to define what makes me valuable.” - Dr. Lakeya Omogun
There are so many ways that we, consciously or unconsciously, seek self-worth and approval from external sources. This seeps into our everyday lives, the “shoulds” we put on ourselves, and the pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect or to keep achieving. It’s powerful to think about not only the big, conceptual idea of what truly makes us worthy but also how to practice that and give ourselves the room to be imperfectly human.
Lakeya noted that coming to her sense of self-worth took courage. In order to step away from perfectionism and people-pleasing, she had to be courageous and trusting of herself to say “no” and make choices that actually affirmed her worth. You can do less and still be worthy, but it takes courage and intentionality.
I know it can feel good to be the one who has it together or the one who people can always count on, but there’s power in coming to terms with the fact that you don’t have it all together and that you’re the one that needs support sometimes. When we are vulnerable and allow other people to show up for us, that’s when we feel others’ love and support the strongest.
You are worthy of being supported, being helped, and being poured into.
How Lakeya’s self-worth journey has influenced her work as an artist:
Many artists believe they can only create (or only create “good art”) from a place of suffering and pain. Lakeya’s million-dollar question came to be: What does creativity look like when I no longer want to be defined by my trauma when I no longer want to be defined by my hardships? Who am I creating my art for?
As black women, we’re not normally expected to show up as happy, confident, and courageous. Not feeding into that narrative has helped Lakeya express herself more authentically, always giving a glimpse of hope in her art.
Acknowledge your hardships and the painful experiences you’ve been through, but also acknowledge that you are more than that. What does it look like to move forward and create your life in a way that releases your identity from the grip of pain and trauma?
Why is it important to think about identity, culture, and language in dynamic ways?
In her youth, as someone who is African-American and Nigerian American, Lakeya found that a lot of identities and expectations were put onto her, stifling her physically and emotionally. After becoming a teacher and seeing this in her West African students, she also realized that this leads to a shedding and hiding of who you truly are at the core, the parts of your identity that aren’t glorified in society. So, she decided to start researching this further. Ever since, Lakeya has been challenging herself and others to think about ways that identities are not stagnant. At the core of this work is FREEDOM… being able to choose for yourself how you want to show up in the world and ultimately feeling free.
You don’t have to prove the stereotypes and misconceptions wrong. You just have to be true to yourself and express yourself exactly how you want to.
“The beauty of creativity and the beauty of art is that we get to narrate, that we get to show up in a way that is from our vantage point,” Lakeya says. “You get to take your phone… or whatever the medium is, and you get to say this is my perspective and this is the beauty in it and this is why it’s valuable.”
“Art and self-worth put people… typically people who have been marginalized linguistically, culturally, in terms of their identity - it puts us in a position of power… to tell our own stories,” Lakeya says. “This is the narrative and this is the beauty of the narrative and I don’t need to refute anything else that’s there because I know that this is beautiful and I’m going to show you it’s beautiful through art.”
To further weave these ideas into the fabric of our society, organizations need to put people of diverse identities in positions of leadership, trust that we can do the work, and open up the conversation about how we even conceptualize “work”.
Define who you truly are. Turn the lens to what you see as valuable. Create your own narrative. Find freedom.
About Dr. Lakeya Omogun:
Dr. Lakeya Omogun is a Nigerian and African-American woman who grew up between Detroit, MI and Queens, New York. Growing up between both cultures and places shaped her views on womanhood.
She identifies as an artist first, and her artistic nature is infused in all her work as a professor, writer, and Tedx Speaker. Her core mission remains the same in each of these roles — shifting static ideas about identity, culture, and language. She does this work across educational, organizational, and digital spaces.
Lakeya is a big advocate for women building and living the life of their dreams. When she’s not busy working, you can find her in motion -- on a plane to visit her favorite people and new places, in the gym, or on a long-distance run.
To connect further with Dr. Lakeya Omogun:
Visit her website: https://www.lakeyaomogun.com
Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lakeyaomogun
Connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lakeyaomogun
Watch the full video interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nsB097S2z-M
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