- 9 months ago
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, I'm Bevy Smith, TV, radio host, author, actress, and all-around gal about town.
00:14Speaking of being about town, I'm about to assemble my girlfriends for a day of beauté,
00:20wellness, and overall fabulosity.
00:26I've got Crystal.
00:27Hi, I'm Crystal. I am head of creative and co-founder of A Very Good Job,
00:32which is a creative agency that I co-founded with my partner.
00:35I'm also mom to an 11-month-old, and I'm so, so excited to be here today.
00:40I've got the baby of the bunch, Whitney.
00:42Hi, I'm Whitney Johnson. I work in sales at Essence, and I have a new title, which is mom to a four-month-old.
00:49I am so excited to meet up with the ladies today.
00:52I'm, of course, Ronika.
00:53My name is Ronika Alexander, and I'm the U.S. Medical Director for Health Equity for Vaccines and Antivirals at Pfizer.
00:59I feel wonderful about getting together with my girls today.
01:02We have so little time to just relax and enjoy each other and learn from each other.
01:07I'm really excited about it.
01:09I am so happy to be here with all of you lovely young ladies.
01:18Thanks for taking the time.
01:20Thanks for having us.
01:21Thanks for connecting us all.
01:22Of course.
01:23You know, I love to connect our dots.
01:25I love to connect my good, good Judys and everything.
01:28Yes.
01:28And let's take the time.
01:29Yes.
01:30Speaking of that, Ronika, what have you been up to?
01:32How have you been?
01:33I have been okay.
01:35I have been okay.
01:35I have been traveling to and fro, and I am exhausted.
01:39So this break is well needed.
01:41Yeah.
01:41Well needed.
01:42What you've been so busy doing?
01:44So many things.
01:45I've been on stage presenting, just spreading the good news about health equity.
01:49So just everything I can do to really just make sure we have vaccine equity.
01:54So that is not an easy job.
01:56It's good work.
01:57So glad to take a break, but I'm going to keep at it.
01:59Yeah, the good work.
02:00Yes.
02:00Speaking of the good work, Whitney, you've been up to.
02:03You've been up to your armpits and baby magic.
02:06Yes.
02:08Congratulations, my love.
02:09Thank you so much.
02:09That means so much.
02:11It's new.
02:11It's exciting.
02:12It's challenging at the same time, but, you know, it's a new chapter for me.
02:17And motherhood is something that I've always wanted to embark on, and it's happening.
02:22Yeah.
02:22And last but certainly not least, my girl Crystal, I know you have been so busy,
02:27and it really means a lot to me that you, like, took the time out to let me pamper you.
02:32Anything for you.
02:33You don't have to pay for it, so I guess that's how your luck came.
02:35Oh, yes.
02:35Even better.
02:36Even better.
02:37Even better, right?
02:38Yes.
02:38So what have you been working on lately?
02:40A little bit of everything, you know, events, activations, PR mailers,
02:47some fashion stuff, some red carpet commentary, and also, you know, my 11-month-old Big Jack.
02:54I've been taking care of him.
02:56He has me over the ropes right now.
02:57He's learning how to walk, so he's on the move.
02:59I can't just leave him where I left him.
03:00Yeah.
03:00Now I've got to be right up on him.
03:01So it's nice to just sit in this chair, have a little chit-chat with my girls.
03:06Yay.
03:06This is very, very needed.
03:08I'm really excited about being here, and I know that everyone is so busy, so thank you for taking out the time.
03:14So how are you taking care of yourself?
03:17Dating vigorously.
03:18Okay.
03:19Period.
03:19Period.
03:20Napping.
03:21All right.
03:21And saying no a lot to things I don't have to go to.
03:25Yeah.
03:25You know, really, I'm really good at setting boundaries anyway, but now with my, like, work schedule, just being so busy,
03:33I'm really, I don't have time for a lot of shenanigans and nonsense.
03:36I know, that's right.
03:37You know, I'm trying to take care of my personal life as well as my professional life.
03:40There we go.
03:40So that's the two-pronged space that I'm in right now.
03:44Listen, I know we're in a bunch of different places in our career and our personal lives.
03:49I want to hear from y'all.
03:51How are you balancing everything, all the things that are happening, including, you know, the world is, a lot's going on in the world.
03:58So tell me about it.
03:59I'm going to say I'm in a space right now where I'm thinking about what is it that I want to leave in this world?
04:04What's the legacy that I want to lose?
04:06I'm focused on that, and there's a lot of noise out there.
04:10So one of the things I've done is restarted my yoga journey.
04:13So just taking some time, just 40 minutes each day, just to reflect and meditate and try to move these bones, trying to get my pigeon fold together.
04:23I'm still working on that.
04:25I've got a little bit, some inches to go, but definitely pulling things in, like meditation and just taking some time to, like, push out those things that don't matter and focus on the things that really do and the things that I want to accomplish for myself.
04:36Yeah, Vefi, I was going to ask you, when you're traveling so much, you know, it's easier to find balance when you're at home with your things and your places that you'd like to go.
04:45But how do you do that when you're in a new place that you maybe haven't been in a while or have never been before?
04:50Yeah.
04:50You know, I find that it's really easy for me to relax when I'm not home.
04:54I tend to, well, you know, my entire life is set up in such a way that I only do what pleases me.
05:02So that makes balance a lot easier than it does when you're doing things that you have to do.
05:08But that means that whenever I travel, especially if I travel for work, I'm usually doing something that I really enjoy.
05:15Like I'm in a place that's really incredible.
05:18You know, the nature of my work is that it's sexy and fabulous and all the things.
05:23So I get to be in sexy and fabulous places.
05:25So it ain't too hard to be up in, you know, in a suite, you know, overlooking an ocean and find a balance, you know.
05:32And then even like when I'm home, the way I find balance is I'm really very, very diligent about making sure that I see my family.
05:41That's balance for me.
05:42It's like, you know, just kind of taking it down a notch, being at home, being with the folks.
05:47And when I travel, it's really a great getaway.
05:50I really use every single trip I take as an opportunity to just decompress.
05:56When I reflect upon all of my friends and the various ages and everything, I'm like, it really does get greater later.
06:03And we just have to kind of make sure that we understand that every single chapter of our lives is worth something.
06:11And it's of value.
06:13We need to be literally actively pursuing our passions.
06:17That's a word.
06:18That is a word.
06:20And in pursuing your passions, you're taking care of your body.
06:22You know, you're not waiting.
06:24I know a lot like a lot of people, especially, you know, a couple generations.
06:27Oh, you know, I'll wait till I'm 50 and I'll start doing this thing.
06:30Oh, I'll wait till I retire for a yoga practice.
06:34You know what I mean?
06:35It's like if you just, you know, kick the tires now, the car can run for, you know, years and years and years.
06:42So that's why I'm starting to really prioritize my health and my wellness as a practice every single day.
06:48Okay, ladies.
06:49I want to know how are we taking care of our physical health?
06:53You know, a lot of people have different things that they do.
06:56You know, I'm trying to learn.
06:58Let me know the tips and the tricks and everything else.
07:03Naps are quite literally the best thing that has ever happened to me.
07:07I have been a napper long before I was a parent.
07:10I've been napping like this since I was 18 years old in the dorms at Howard University.
07:15One thing about me, I'm going to sleep.
07:17I've never felt like when I woke up from a nap that it was a bad decision, you know, and it really does re-energize me.
07:23In addition to like other things I do, I'm trying to eat healthier.
07:26My son gets the best of the best organic this, and I'm like, you know what?
07:30Why am I only buying that for him?
07:32I need to be eating like that.
07:33I deserve a little organic chicken, you know what I mean?
07:36So I'm starting to incorporate a lot more healthier food choices into my daily physical wellness practice.
07:42Naps are very necessary.
07:44It's mandatory, and you don't even need a lot.
07:47You can do 15 minutes, and it will change your day.
07:50Absolutely.
07:50Just lay it down, you know?
07:52But you've got to make sure that you're taking good care of yourself.
07:56I'm like, I cannot afford to get sick because the doll's got a lot of travel plans.
08:01No one wants to be sick in a beautiful hotel suite looking at the ocean.
08:05I'm going to be in the ocean, you know?
08:08And you're right.
08:08The weather is changing, and the viruses are virusing.
08:11So, I mean, we really, it's really, really, I want you all to consider, consider staying up to date on your vaccines.
08:18I know, I've been thinking about it, and I do have a question since you brought that up.
08:21And I'm asking for a friend.
08:23All right, so between me and you, when I said I was asking the question for a friend, the friend was me.
08:28Okay, I love that, asking for a friend.
08:31So, is it recommended that pregnant women, or should I say black pregnant women, get vaccinated?
08:38There are vaccines that are recommended during pregnancy, but it's really important to talk to your healthcare team about what vaccines are best for you and your baby.
08:46Some of those vaccines for moms are to protect mom, and some for mom are to protect the baby.
08:52And so this is important to talk through this with your healthcare team.
08:56I think about vaccines the same way I think about putting my seatbelt on, locking my door before I go to bed at night.
09:03Can things happen?
09:03Sure, maybe.
09:04But I'm putting an extra layer of protection.
09:07I'm helping protect myself, you know what I mean?
09:09Helping protect my family.
09:10So, if there are vaccines available to me that I know can help protect me and my family, especially because we do like to gather so much, I'm going to talk to my healthcare team.
09:21If it works for myself or my son or my wife or even my older parents, we're going to make it happen.
09:28I've been thinking, too, because I'm not up to date with COVID, and then, of course, there's the flu shot as well.
09:37So, I was wondering, like, can I just do both shots but on the same day?
09:43Absolutely.
09:44You can do both the COVID-19 vaccine as well as the flu vaccine on the same day at the same visit.
09:51Always talk to your healthcare team.
09:54Again, it's that time of year, so make sure you're doing the best that you can to help protect yourself.
09:59You know, at my baby's pediatrician, they do a clinic.
10:02They're like, let's get everybody in.
10:04You go, you go, you go, you go.
10:05And then they also do it for the parents.
10:07You can get, like, you know, they'll have a practitioner there who supports, you know, adult patients.
10:12And they're like, baby gets it, so baby can cry for a quick second.
10:16Mom, dad, whoever, partner, you can get your vaccine as well.
10:20I love that.
10:21Yeah.
10:21One-stop shopping.
10:22One-stop shop.
10:23That's the name of the game for everybody.
10:25Yeah.
10:25You know?
10:25That's how we maintain that balance, right?
10:27There we go.
10:28And you take a nap after you're done.
10:30All of this is so important for us because you've heard this before, and I almost hate to tout numbers,
10:35but folks who are black have really been disproportionately affected by vaccine-preventable diseases.
10:42And please know that there is nothing about being black that makes you more susceptible.
10:47I mean, we've been in our skin all of our lives.
10:52Racism is real, and structural racism is real.
10:54It's a part of the system.
10:55And so these are things that have really made it harder for us to get quality care.
11:01So we have our part.
11:03You make your plan.
11:04We do our own investigations and talk to our health care providers and make sure we get our information from trusted sources.
11:12But it's also—
11:13Can we stop down on that?
11:14Trusted sources?
11:15Yes, yes, yes.
11:16Right, that means you can't take advice from Cousin Pookie.
11:20Not Cousin Pookie.
11:20Because they've been to a hospital.
11:22Unless Cousin Pookie is a physician.
11:26Yeah, exactly.
11:27But probably—but if not, I wouldn't go with Cousin Pookie.
11:30There's the CDC website that has information about vaccination during pregnancy.
11:35They have information about different vaccine-preventable diseases.
11:38So that's a great place to go when you do your research on your own.
11:41But definitely, one more time, I'm going to say it.
11:43Talk to your care team about that because it's critical.
11:46And looking at you, we have someone who looks like us who can talk to us about these things.
11:50That is incredibly important to me, you know, in thinking about the people that I have in my health care team.
11:57And just if I want to ask a question or if, you know, I see you and I see you talking about something that's so crucial to, you know, everyone, but specifically, you know, in our community.
12:06And so it's just—the work that you do is so vital because of the skin you're in and, you know, obviously the big brain you have.
12:15But it is so wonderful to be able to have this conversation with a black woman.
12:20Yeah.
12:21No, I definitely, definitely appreciate that.
12:23And I just want to empower black women just like me and black women around the world to be able to have these conversations as well, to advocate.
12:31You have to advocate for ourselves, right?
12:32That's right.
12:32You have to advocate for our own health.
12:34Because we have power.
12:35Yes, we do.
12:36We have power.
12:36Yeah, we do.
12:36Yes, indeed.
12:37Have any of you ever kind of felt like you haven't been listened to or had, you know, times when you had to advocate for yourself and for your health or for your family's health?
12:44Oh, yeah.
12:45I mean, especially as a black, queer, pregnant person, you know, going into spaces.
12:52And so being told that maybe what I was feeling wasn't what I was feeling.
12:56And so when it was time for me to pick my OB, I was out in the streets like, where is a black woman?
13:04Yeah.
13:04You know, because I knew that the black maternal mortality rate is so incredibly high in this country and mostly preventable.
13:12And a lot of it is because of, you know, medical apartheid and all these other, you know, things.
13:20And so finding a black health care professional to deliver my baby and to keep me safe was of paramount importance.
13:27There's no reason that any black baby should be without their mother if it can be preventable.
13:32So, you know, advocating for myself is always top priority.
13:37I have a colliery of black female doctors, cardiologists, gynecologists, dermatologists, all the ologists, all the ologists, baby.
13:47And it really does, it takes so much pressure off of you because, as you mentioned, systemic racism in medicine is a real thing.
13:57And what I found is that I was kind of being kind of patronized before, you know, and I was not necessarily being heard.
14:08And now that I have my, like, colliery of chocolate wonder women that take care of me, it's just made a world of difference.
14:17Wow.
14:18I'm so glad to hear that because there is underrepresentation of black people, black physicians,
14:23and certainly black women, you know, across all those areas.
14:27So excited to hear that.
14:29I think we got maybe two new doctors that just came into the world.
14:32I think that's going to be a great thing.
14:34Seeing faces like ours, you know, doing that work, you know, it's really, it's so important.
14:39Yeah.
14:40I'll be honest.
14:41One thing that was heavy on my mind when I became pregnant was maternal health.
14:47You know, I suffer from a heart condition.
14:49So all of the advocacy that I could do for myself and my child, it was important to me.
14:56And just knowing that you have a trusted team, as you mentioned, care team, that really is sharing the same concerns as you is important.
15:04And, you know, you think about so many things while you're expecting a child.
15:08You're preparing your home.
15:10You're preparing your body.
15:11Your body is changing, you know, like just rapidly, and you're dealing with so many emotions and mental health as well.
15:20So, yeah, I've been, you know, been through that.
15:24But it's important, as you mentioned, to just advocate for yourself.
15:28Yeah.
15:28Yeah.
15:29I mean, it goes the same with, you know, vaccines.
15:31It's like we have seen in history, you know, we think about Henrietta Lacks and the Gila code that still lives on today, which is so incredibly important.
15:44But she wasn't able to consent to this very vital work.
15:47And so really making sure that we're talking to our family members and explaining to them and showing them faces like your own.
15:57There are black folks in this space who want other black folks to be as healthy as they can be and as protected as they can be.
16:05And a big way to do that is through vaccines.
16:08It's like wearing your seatbelt, locking your door at night.
16:11It's just one extra layer of protection that can keep you a bit healthier.
16:15Yeah.
16:15Nothing's 100 percent.
16:17Exactly.
16:17We can really do what we can do to keep ourselves healthy.
16:23Yeah, exactly.
16:25One thing I can say about today, you are our chief health officers in your family.
16:30So I can't wait to see how you exercise that role because I know you'll continue to take care of those ones that you love and, you know, all the folks around you, those you know and don't know.
16:39Yeah.
16:40I love that you've deemed us that, but we also have to be making sure that we're taking good care of ourselves.
16:46So before we wrap, I need to know what's one thing that you're going to do this month that's just for you, solely for you.
16:54And I want you all to say it aloud so that we hold each other accountable.
16:58So there's no slacking on this.
17:00Okay.
17:01So, Crystal, I'm going to go with you first.
17:03I already know because I got it booked just last week.
17:05I'm taking a solo staycation.
17:08All right.
17:08No wife, no baby, no dogs, no responsibility.
17:12I love that.
17:13I'm getting a hotel for the night.
17:14I'm going to order in.
17:15I'm going to watch trashy TV.
17:17I'm going to bed rot.
17:17I'm ready.
17:19I'm ready.
17:20That's great.
17:21That's my one thing for this month.
17:22Okay.
17:22All right.
17:23I want that.
17:24I know, right?
17:25I'll give you all the tips and tricks.
17:26Yes.
17:27Please.
17:28Whitney, what do you got on your list?
17:30You know, I feel like I could never go wrong with a good massage.
17:34You breathe.
17:36You just, you know, just kind of remove the stress, the worry.
17:41So I'm going to commit to that.
17:44Okay, Renika.
17:45Mine may not sound fun to other people, but I am going to take some time to immerse myself in some reading.
17:53And not, some of it will be, you know, maybe some fiction, but most of it just to help continue to learn so I can help continue to serve the community.
18:02I'm always pulling between, like, working and, you know, lots of other things.
18:06But I'm going to take some time to really kind of dig into what's happening now and thinking about, you know, what's happening out in the world and in our community, looking at the literature.
18:14And that brings me joy.
18:16That brings me joy.
18:16So I'm going to really prioritize doing that without being unfocused.
18:21Well, ladies, I'm going to go back to Zumba.
18:26I love to dance.
18:28Movement makes me happy.
18:29And, like, a nap, to me, movement, when you move your body, you can never, ever, ever be like, well, that was a bad idea.
18:36Yes.
18:37One of the best things about getting together is that we hold each other accountable.
18:40We have a good time, but we also set intentions.
18:43And please believe we're going to make sure that we all hold true to the promises that we made to not only ourselves, but to each other.
18:51Oh, my gosh, you know what we need now.
18:53Some champagne, ladies.
18:56Thank you, Rachel.
18:57Right on time.
19:00Oh, wonderful.
19:02Oh, and it's Rosé.
19:03Oh, and it's Rosé.
19:04And you already know I love y'all.
19:08And I just want to see us flourishing and healthy and happy for many more years to come.
19:13Many cheers to that.
19:14To us.
19:15To us.
19:16To us.
19:17You can find and schedule respiratory vaccinations by going to vaxassist.com.
19:27Hooray.
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