Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2015 13:19:34 GMT -5
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BROOKLYN JADE COLBY
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Growing up in The Bronx
Brooklyn Colby will be the last person to tell you that growing up was easy for her - or for anyone she knew living in The Bronx. Her family was poor, her father was a drunk, her older brother was mixed up with some bad people and more often than not was doing heroin, not to mention how many times she had to take her mother to the hospital when she was a teenager. But she will be the first to tell you that it was home and that she wouldn't have it any other way - that place made her who she is today and she is incredibly proud of that. It made her strong, it made her able to make the tough decisions, it gave her important friendships and life experience that has helped her get to where she is today. If she hadn't grown up where she had, there was no telling where she'd be now. Of course there are things that she wishes that never happened, things that if she did have to power to go back and change then she would in an instant. Watching her best friend die when she was sixteen, having to take her mother to the hospital every other week because of drugs and alcohol, being beaten by the neighbourhood boys because she would't put out for them, basically losing her brother to drugs and a bad crowd, there were a lot of things that happened that she would rather hadn't. But she accepts them now and acknowledges that they are a part of her past and that there is nothing she can do about them other than embrace them, and that is just what she does.
The Lounge
Her very first proper job was in a lounge when she was eighteen - she was in her first year of college, something she had worked very hard to get to and was very near to missing out on, and very nervous yet determined to make it on her own. When she was younger she had sung along to some of her mother's records, her mother was a fan of mainly jazz and swing with some early lounge music. From time to time - more often than not - she would sing to her younger sister when she was upset, usually when their parents were fighting or their brother was fighting with their parents or someone else (he got into a lot of fights and arguments). Singing became a hobby of hers that she enjoyed and at one point she wanted to make a career out of it, and that was why she applied for the singing job at the lounge. Her first audition was a disaster in her eyes - she tripped on a chair, rambled about how much she wanted the job and needed it and forgot the words to the song she was to sing - and she was turned down. But two weeks after the position had been filled she received a call telling her that the woman who had got the job was sick and was unable to fill the position for a few weeks and they were wondering if she wanted to come in and give it a go because they did like her voice when she was actually getting the words right. She prepared like crazy, she practiced all the songs that they wanted her to and came in to meet and practise with the musicians - she wanted to not screw up. She felt that she was being given a second chance even though she was only promised two to three weeks of work it was something and she worked her ass off for those three weeks. At the end of the three weeks when she was saying what was going to be her final goodbyes to everyone the lounge owner asked her if she wanted to stay on permanently. Of course she said yes. Singing in that lounge put her through college - as well as a few other jobs over the four years.
Marketing
It wasn't something that she had planned to get into but it just so happened to be the thing that she found herself in. Her hard work in high school had earned her a partial scholarship to Columbia University and she went on to get her MBA. College was a tough time for her, she had to move to Manhattan from The Bronx, she had to find a reliable income, and she had to support herself fully because there was no-one who could help her. But she pulled through - of course there were some things that happened that were of the not so good kind, but she got passed them all and completed her degree. It took her two years after she graduated to actually get a job in the business industry - an entry level job at a marketing company. By thirty she was making her way up the ranks and when she was thirty eight she was offered the position of director - the head of the company. Of course she took it and has been there ever since. She worked hard for everything that she has and appreciated the hell out of the company because well she hasn't worked anywhere else when it comes to this industry.
Brooklyn Colby will be the last person to tell you that growing up was easy for her - or for anyone she knew living in The Bronx. Her family was poor, her father was a drunk, her older brother was mixed up with some bad people and more often than not was doing heroin, not to mention how many times she had to take her mother to the hospital when she was a teenager. But she will be the first to tell you that it was home and that she wouldn't have it any other way - that place made her who she is today and she is incredibly proud of that. It made her strong, it made her able to make the tough decisions, it gave her important friendships and life experience that has helped her get to where she is today. If she hadn't grown up where she had, there was no telling where she'd be now. Of course there are things that she wishes that never happened, things that if she did have to power to go back and change then she would in an instant. Watching her best friend die when she was sixteen, having to take her mother to the hospital every other week because of drugs and alcohol, being beaten by the neighbourhood boys because she would't put out for them, basically losing her brother to drugs and a bad crowd, there were a lot of things that happened that she would rather hadn't. But she accepts them now and acknowledges that they are a part of her past and that there is nothing she can do about them other than embrace them, and that is just what she does.
The Lounge
Her very first proper job was in a lounge when she was eighteen - she was in her first year of college, something she had worked very hard to get to and was very near to missing out on, and very nervous yet determined to make it on her own. When she was younger she had sung along to some of her mother's records, her mother was a fan of mainly jazz and swing with some early lounge music. From time to time - more often than not - she would sing to her younger sister when she was upset, usually when their parents were fighting or their brother was fighting with their parents or someone else (he got into a lot of fights and arguments). Singing became a hobby of hers that she enjoyed and at one point she wanted to make a career out of it, and that was why she applied for the singing job at the lounge. Her first audition was a disaster in her eyes - she tripped on a chair, rambled about how much she wanted the job and needed it and forgot the words to the song she was to sing - and she was turned down. But two weeks after the position had been filled she received a call telling her that the woman who had got the job was sick and was unable to fill the position for a few weeks and they were wondering if she wanted to come in and give it a go because they did like her voice when she was actually getting the words right. She prepared like crazy, she practiced all the songs that they wanted her to and came in to meet and practise with the musicians - she wanted to not screw up. She felt that she was being given a second chance even though she was only promised two to three weeks of work it was something and she worked her ass off for those three weeks. At the end of the three weeks when she was saying what was going to be her final goodbyes to everyone the lounge owner asked her if she wanted to stay on permanently. Of course she said yes. Singing in that lounge put her through college - as well as a few other jobs over the four years.
Marketing
It wasn't something that she had planned to get into but it just so happened to be the thing that she found herself in. Her hard work in high school had earned her a partial scholarship to Columbia University and she went on to get her MBA. College was a tough time for her, she had to move to Manhattan from The Bronx, she had to find a reliable income, and she had to support herself fully because there was no-one who could help her. But she pulled through - of course there were some things that happened that were of the not so good kind, but she got passed them all and completed her degree. It took her two years after she graduated to actually get a job in the business industry - an entry level job at a marketing company. By thirty she was making her way up the ranks and when she was thirty eight she was offered the position of director - the head of the company. Of course she took it and has been there ever since. She worked hard for everything that she has and appreciated the hell out of the company because well she hasn't worked anywhere else when it comes to this industry.
JADA PINKETT SMITH - LOCAL - WRITTEN BY HAYLEY
