Meet Jaquia Abreu | Mental Health Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jaquia Abreu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaquia, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
I truly believe GullyThoughts LLC gives hope to my immediate community and to the world by helping them feel less alone in their pain, in their depression, and in their struggles. My business is not just built to sell products and make a profit, although that is nice to be able to pay my bills, my products are meant to spread awareness and love. I grew up wishing I could find someone that looked like me, that talked like me, that dressed like me, that I could relate to. Unfortunately, I never found that person to look up to. My business is meant to be just that for the next generation. Where they can see some one being open and transparent about suicide prevention and depression and allowing them to see that they can fight and keep going as well. GullyThoughts was built to inspire and empower young and older generations to heal from their trauma and break the cycle of suppressing our pain and faking like we are okay. My mission is to continue to inspire the community through my poetry events, my workshops, my workbooks, and my podcast.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I fell in love with the art of poetry at a very young age, but I did not start tapping into the power of spoken word poetry until later in life. I use my poetry to not just heal myself, but to help push people to heal themselves as well. I am very proud of my strength to speak on topics that my community usually sweeps under the rug. I feel that sets me apart from others, because I am willing to use my pain, my story, and my trauma to open that door to more conversations. I was able to create more opportunities for myself by just staying true to who I am and standing strong in my authenticity every time I step to a mic. I am excited to be on more stages and travel with my poetry to be able to reach the masses. Although I am excited about the future, there has been many challenges along the way. I struggled with self-doubt and anxiety most of my life, and that has been very difficult to overcome, especially since I am a performer. I had to learn how powerful self-belief was and how much it could really change my life. I never believed I could get in front of people and share my art and my story, but now I am doing it all over the city. And that only came about by continuously showering myself with affirmations that motivate me to believe that I am capable. There are still moments I am sweating before I walk up on stage and my stomach drops to my kneecaps, but I now know how to counteract those anxious thoughts and step into that courage a lot quicker than I ever did before. I want my legacy to leave a mark on whomever is out there that has been scared to pursue something, scared to take that leap of faith, scared to try something new, to just try it! You never know what is on the other side of all that self-doubt. My life is proof of that.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My Houston itinerary would consist of:

– Playing arcade games at Cidercade
– Going to explore intriguing art exhibits and installations at Seismique Art Museum
– Have a picnic at Jamaica Beach along Galveston
– Eat a healthy vegan breakfast and listen to amazing music at Mo’ Better Brews
– Drink mimosas and a delicious brunch at Snooze an A.M. Eatery
– Dance, cheer on your favorite sports team, and enjoy drink specials at The Savoy
– Take a bicycle ride and enjoy the nature and greenery at Buffalo Bayou Park
– Cook and create your own meal at Gen Korean BBQ for dinner
– Take amazing photo ops for social media at Selfie World Museum

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I definitely want to dedicate my shoutout to my family. There were times where I felt defeated, where I felt like I wanted to give up on my business and go back to Corporate America, but they encouraged me to keep going and to keep pursuing my dreams. Their immense support has made me feel like no matter what I decide to do in my life, they will be in my corner. From the loving texts, to the shouts and screams from the crowd while I am performing, and to the helping me set-up and break down my vendor tables, they are absolutely amazing. I wouldn’t be where I am, and my business would not be as successful if it wasn’t for them pushing me on the days I just didn’t have it in me.

Website: www.gullythoughts.com

Instagram: @gullythoughts

Facebook: Jaquia Abreu

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEJf9oP-iKsOiUA8Yu5y1gQ