I got you, you got me?

When Araoluwa “Ara” Omotowa (Harvard ’22) was on a personal journey looking to recenter herself in 2019, she would be found listening to Oprah’s podcasts and interviews, and reading Michelle Obama’s Becoming. The message that stuck with her then and continues to help her now was “we have to practice, everyday, who you want to be.” Affirming for her that she can create her own future by starting today. If you want something you have to practice it right now, you won’t just wake up one day and become it, you must be intentional in working to achieve your goals. In our conversation with Ara we were reminded to take a step back from the bigger picture and pay more attention to the little things.

DEFINING OURSELVES

Who are you?

Ara: I think the essence of who I am is a mix of things — I could use adjectives like genuine or wanting to be vulnerable but it’s hard to put all of me into a single phrase. I’ve been thinking a lot about who I want to see myself as and who I want to be post-Quarantine.

The HollaDay: What are you doing now to become who you want to be?

A: I’ve been delving into art more as a form of expression, I came into college very much on political energy and I’m still there but you realize very quickly how draining it can be.

H: That’s real, what would you share with others who are feeling drained?

A: I think one thing I appreciate about myself is how vulnerable I am and how honest I am with others and myself that I’m still a work in progress. That’s the essence of who I am right now — I like myself now but I love who I’m becoming even more. That Ara, when I meet her I’m really going to like seeing her in the morning.

A: That’s how I would summarize the essence of who I am right now, because I have so many questions that I’m still trying to answer and so many things I’m still trying to pursue. And I don’t know how they’ll work out or even if they’ll work out but I’m really thankful for how vulnerable I decided to be about it in the process with myself.

What do you do?

Ara shared with us a summary of some of the things she’s been involved with on campus and in the community. She says that she does a lot of things and it’s always been a balancing act she’s had to work on but generally her interests center African American political thought. Some of this looks like her research for Ibram X. Kendi’s new book that will be focusing on how racist policies have been the skeleton holding up inequality in America’s institutions. It also looks like Ara forming a relationship with Nsé Ufot, the CEO of the New Georgia Project. The New Georgia Project focuses on getting Georgians registered and engaged, and from conversations with Nsé, Ara has gained her insight on community organizing and how it’s the lifeblood of American democracy. She didn’t neglect to share that her coursework still takes up a good amount of her time, especially since she plans to graduate this semester, but when she leaves Harvard she hopes to be the type of person who knows things more than just knowing how to do things. It’s this knowing that helps her better understand and decide how she moves and shows up in this moment. Ara also works with a lot of mutual aid efforts. She got involved because the framework of community care as a collective felt more true to herself and her goals, the concept of “we got each other” made her feel safe and more engaged than other frameworks she’s been introduced to. In all of this, she continues to explore who she is. Whether that be making playlists, creating art, or just sitting and reflecting, she’s always looking for new ways to find herself.

How has COVID-19 impacted your work?

Being evacuated from campus and self-quarantining over the past year gave Ara the time and space to focus inward. When you’re on campus and involved in so many things it can be difficult to keep track of the time you put aside for yourself. She shared that this was a time she really needed because being at school was wearing away at both her physical and mental health. Ara pointed to the fact that on Harvard’s campus a lot of unavoidable buildings and residence halls that are central to your experience are named after slave masters or other really terrible people. For Black students, this is especially difficult to deal with and it mentally draining because it’s a daily reminder that your school and these institutions you interact with are predicated on the extinction of people that look like you. So being physically away from campus definitely helped her and this ended up being her most positive and mentally stable period since starting at Harvard.

Understanding on campus environments can be super hectic and can take a lot of energy out of you, Ara shared some personal practices she has started in quarantine and plans to take with her wherever she goes next. She’s started meditating and journaling a lot more, and not in a sporadic way but as a genuine practice of reflection. Being focused on herself rather than her outward presentation or the stuff going on around her, she’s been able to find more peace and take this as an opportunity to grow. It also showed her how people operate outside of the college bubble. As someone who will soon being going into their last year this was super important for her, because she saw who she genuinely wanted to keep up with “post-corona” or post-Harvard and who was more of an acquaintance by convenience. All in all, Ara is moving forward with a better sense of who she is and who she is not.

BOSTON

What brought you to Boston?

Ara’s relationship with Boston, and her relationship with Harvard, started well before her college search. Coming from Idaho where she felt her growth and creativity was stifled, she began to resent the town and state she grew up in. Her older brother went to Harvard and because of this she was able to create in her mind her own idea of what a college experience in Boston, specifically at Harvard could look like. With her own personal goals on her mind of becoming a lawyer, she felt an Ivy League school would be able to help position her to achieve this dream. And from her limited exposure to Harvard she thought of it as a mecca of sorts, as far as she knew it was the epitome of the Black college experience.

What has your experience been like?

Now, many of us are guilty of fantasizing about what our college experience would look like, and Ara was no exception. Harvard was supposed to be her golden ticket and that came with so many assumptions of what the school would be like, how the Black community there would interact, and who she would be on campus. Though some of these may have come true, like many of the other schools in Boston it’s almost too easy to get overwhelmed and lost. Ara shared with us that coming to Harvard was a huge reality check for her, both academically and interpersonally. Even if the greater Harvard community wasn’t what she understood it to be from what she thought she knew about her brother’s experience, she thought at least the Black community would be one big happy family. This simply wasn’t the case. This isn’t to say the community isn’t amazing and excellent in its own right, but to give a glimpse into where we fall short of our own expectations. When trying to describe it, Ara pointed to an Angela Davis quote where she says “there are Black people I do not want to be in unity with.” This is Angela Davis’ truth and for Ara at school, this is her truth as well. She stressed that it’s because we all have different backgrounds and understandings of morality and that makes it difficult. She wishes more of her classmates understood that just because we are living in these systems doesn’t mean we have to lean so far into these structures that are predicated on harming people that look like us.

HOLLA!

How do you stay motivated?

Ara’s motivation was a very simple and clear answer. Her little sister. Ara spends her time thinking about what world she’s leaving behind or what world she’s creating and shaping for her sister to grow into.

How do you define Black joy?

A: Black joy is when you really get to be human. We commit our lives to social justice and all these institutions that are more earthly, and I don’t mean that in the sense of secular, but because we’re so focused at looking at the ground and making sure roses grow from concrete. We’re so focused on fixing the medical system or fixing politics or all these racist structures. Black joy is when you get to be in the space of your humanity and you get to practice that.

H: What does practicing Black joy look like?

A: For me it’s when I’m outside and the sun is shining down and I’m actually experiencing nature. It’s something you have to commit energy to making time for.

H: What is that energy going toward? Why do we have to make time for it?

A: It’s having a mentality of abundance and Black joy and gratitude. Because white people get to experience nature and live on a completely different plane. There’s a reason why their books and philosophy are about “why do we exist?” and they can say “I’m going to Mars” or think about going to Mars. Because for them, when you have no natural predators then you get to just be. And of course, the struggle towards that is lifelong for Black people, but I also think that there are so many pockets where you can find those moments.

A: Moments of “I just like looking at how the river flows down” or “I really liked that the sun is shining on my skin right now” or “I’m just so grateful for X, Y, and Z” and it’s not a metaphor for anything. I think at the end of the day when you actually do get time to be present and you’re not weighed down by everything that wants to weigh you down, I think that is the end of the rainbow where Black joy is.

Our conversation with Ara was an incredible time. She lights up a room and we’re so grateful for her ability to spread joy. Our community is better with her here, forever and always. Follow her on IG (@araomotowa) to keep up with what she’s doing!

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