Healing Hearts

“Love is Lifeforce” - June Jordan

Hi there,

I just have to begin by sharing that I am so grateful that you’re here. There are so many beautiful and bright people in this world that are engaging in similar work as I am. Yet for reasons known and unknown, you’re here. And I cherish that.

I thought that we could begin by getting to know one another more. I believe that a crucial part of community building is being able to show up authentically and organically. I’ll start:

(feel free to introduce yourself in the comments too!)

My name is Koree (yes, like Corey in the house.. But with a K). I’m a 24 year-old Black girl from Atlanta GA (well… technically. I was born in Fulton County but was raised in Marietta GA and then the Stone Mountain area after my folks split). My Mother is Jamaican and my Father is Liberian, so I often think of myself as Afro-Caribbean American! I’m also a 1st year PhD student in Counseling Psychology at the University of FL. I’ve been committed to mental health advocacy since I created my first passion project - a student-led mental health organization called Stand Together And Resist the Stigma (STARS)- during my junior year of college. Growing up, I didn’t have the language to name the struggles I experienced as a young Black girl living in predominantly white spaces in the southeast United States. Nor did my family have the time or the resources to heal from the different traumas they experienced as Black immigrants who survived some of the worst parts of humanity (click here to learn about the Liberian civil war). And I especially didn’t understand how these interlinking experiences influenced and shaped my heart, mind, and soul (for better and for worse).

Reflecting on the experiences that led me to pursue mental health, I’m grateful for the opportunity and the privilege to be the healer that my community needed. Although, I’d be less than honest if I said that the responsibility isn’t a heavy one. It is. It’s also a life-giving purpose that means so much more to me than three letters behind my name or people referring to me as “Doctor”. Truth be told, being a doctoral student in psychology, I believe, is the beginning of a vast journey and a humanist challenge. More importantly, it is my declaration to serve authentically and diligently in healing hearts, renewing minds, and restoring justice.

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"To open our hearts more fully to Love's power and grace we must dare to acknowledge how little we know of Love in both theory and practice" - bell hook

This world was born from Love. Before the creation of philosophy and psychology, the heart was respected as the seat of emotional and intellectual life. Fast forward to now, society has de-centered the heart as a life force. We no longer look into our hearts in the midst of conflict, division, and turmoil. Rather, we shame, condemn, marginalize, and oppress. Day in and day out, and generation after generation, we repeat and perpetuate this punitive form of “Justice” where no one ever truly wins.

I’ve come to realize that many of us are navigating life with closed hearts, unable to experience the fullness and the power of Love - not knowing that Love is our birthright. We’ve been socialized to live without Love; to reject Love; and to fear Love.

As a hopeful dreamer, I imagine living in a world that's fueled by Love. With the analytic tools and skills I’m gaining as a psychologist-in-training, I hope to study how to be an effective agent of Love. As a woman of faith and a servant of Christ, I believe that we are all born with a transformative and everlasting Love that lives deep within us.

Heart healing is a heavy task that requires learning, unlearning, and accountability. And to be honest, I myself am still in the process of my own heart healing journey. We’ve all experienced how unforgiving this world can be. Sometimes WE are unforgiving. Ultimately, my hope is that we can learn, unlearn, and hold one another accountable here. Together.

If you want to stay involved, informed, or just want to be in community, subscribe on my website www.ksbeloved.com

With Love,

KSB