A farmer, a bar owner, and a therapist walk into a bar.
Sounds like the beginning of a weird joke, huh? Nope, just our first round of amazing women we’re spotlighting.
As a reminder, this column is dedicated to uplifting incredible women that might not be featured in the local news or shouting from the rooftops about their accomplishments.
These are abridged versions of these incredible women: please find them and ask them more!
Samantha Foxx
What makes you YOU? Being unapologetically authentic. And being true to who I am, no matter what. I think that is so important in this day and time. And I love that freedom of not needing approval to be who I am.
What are you most proud of? The will to keep trying and the ability to overcome obstacles. I like to call it turning lemons into lemonade.
What keeps you going when things are tough? When things get tough, I think about my ancestors and the road they paved for me. I am a firm believer in paying homage and respect to those that came before me. It definitely serves as a driving force to know that I have greatness, strength, and power inside of me to succeed.
What keeps you up at night? My art, plus creating new things. I definitely believe art and craftsmanship makes the world a better place. And for me, I want that to be imprinted in my life and around me.
Danielle Bull
What makes you YOU? I’ve had a lot of life experience for 37. I grew up on a farm and my father owned a construction/grading company. I think that never being told you can’t do something because you are a girl even through the eyes of a small child was something I’ve carried into my adult life. The women in my family, all sides and generations were feisty and proud of it. My love for music, as I’m a firm believer that you can truly get stress out by dancing it out.
What are you most proud of?
The parts of life I couldn’t control that I overcame. I’m proud of my confident 29-year-old self that relentlessly pursued my quest to open a business that I saw vividly in a dream. I’m proud that I fight through lupus every day and keep going. I’m proud that I didn’t blow my life up or lose my business during my father’s illness and death.
What keeps you going when things are tough?
What I’ve built with what I had and what it means to me and so many other people.
Remembering that at one point in life, I wanted to be where I am right now.
Alexis Overstreet
What makes you YOU?
Two images: the first one is of me as this little girl, and the other image is of who I am today. The image of me as a little girl is one is of me placing drops of melted ice cream on our driveway and being so fascinated to see the ants’ belly turn white…the memory definitely speaks to why I am unable to call an exterminator for the ants who invade my house every Spring. This sense of curiosity, playfulness, and nurturing has followed me as an adult. When I lose my way, finding my way back to the girl in the driveway gives me so much life.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of being scared and doing it anyway! My marriage and other relationships, my work, my gut intuitions, my lofty ideals, and creations…all of it! There is often a “what if” scenario, and being a black woman raised in the south, those “what if” scenarios rear their heads more often than not; and I find the strength, power (and some wrecklessness) to do it anyway.
What keeps you up at night?
I sleep pretty well…usually due to exhaustion, ha! However, when I am up at night, it is usually related to me trying to change something (or someone) over which I have no control. I usually (not always…but eventually) try finding myself by identifying what actions I can take in order to change the situation. This isn’t easy! Because when you’re up at night lost in the tornado of your thoughts, it takes super human power to jump out of that momentum and force.