I grew up in the South Bronx, raised by my grandmother, who scrapped and scraped to make sure I had a roof over my head and food in my stomach. I was painfully aware of what it was like to live with limited resources and a certain level of uncertainty.

Joy Bryant

Categorized in : Levels Grandmother Limited Resources

Women are the harshest critics of other women. by Joy Bryant

Women are the harshest critics of other women.

critics

Life doesn't always end up with a bow wrapped around it. by Joy Bryant

Life doesn't always end up with a bow wrapped around it.

bows ends

Sometimes, we are dealing with our own troubles and feel that we don't have the resources to help one another. Or simply, we just don't know what to do.

trouble helping sometimes

You have to move to your own beat. There will be times when no one believes in you or understands what you're doing and why you are doing it. The most important thing is for you to believe in you. Following your own vision is one of the only things that will sustain you.

vision believe moving

My husband's a stunt man, and he dragged me to stunt driving school with him because I hate driving and he felt that it would help to make me feel more comfortable. And it did in certain ways, and in certain ways I'm still not.

husband hate school

If it gets to the point where I actually physically cannot have a child, there's plenty of children in the world that need a stable home and loving parent. I'm so down for adoption.

parent home children

When I was younger, I was one of the few girls in the neighborhood who could break dance. That's kind of my local, ghetto-celebrity claim to fame.

ghetto girl kind

I think when you're in love with someone, it reveals a lot about yourself. You either rise to your highest highs or you stoop to your lowest lows.

about-yourself lows thinking

I love flowy hippie dresses. by Joy Bryant

I love flowy hippie dresses.

hippie dresses

I kind of do high-low style a lot. by Joy Bryant

I kind of do high-low style a lot.

style kind lows

With all this talk of Going Green, Buying Green, Living Green, and Green being the new whatever, I've come to realize that, although we had no green, my grandmother was actually the 'greenest' person I've ever known.

grandmother green buying

Following your own vision is one of the only things that will sus... by Joy Bryant

Following your own vision is one of the only things that will sustain you.

following vision

I've always said that if anything - whether it was film or television - was something I responded to, then I was open to it.

film said television

Camo never goes out of style as far as I'm concerned. by Joy Bryant

Camo never goes out of style as far as I'm concerned.

camo concerned style

I hate Christmas, really. I don't really give presents away or ex... by Joy Bryant

I hate Christmas, really. I don't really give presents away or expect any.

i-hate hate giving

Donate time, food, or money to organizations that fight the good fight. We can act individually for the collective good. We can all do something.

fight-the-good-fight fighting organization

You can't improvise if you are tense. Or thinking too much. You h... by Joy Bryant

You can't improvise if you are tense. Or thinking too much. You have to really let it go.

let-it-go too-much thinking

I don't have children of my own so I can't say I know the plight of being a parent, but I can kinda understand some of the complexities of it.

plight parent children

It feels good to know you contributed positively to another's life, to their happiness, to their survival. It gives us a sense of purpose.

survival feel-good giving

When you empower women and help them thrive, you help their communities thrive. Women shoulder the burden disproportionately.

empowering community helping