We recently connected with Nadine Béyond and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nadine, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I believe everyone wishes they could go back and do something differently, and of course I’m no different. I used to write poetry in middle and high school, but I didn’t officially start taking it seriously again until I was a senior in college back in 2017. I noticed that there were people were in my path who would give me tips to a trade in which I never thought could be an option: writing. I graduated that year with my bachelors in communication and minor in sociology, because I switched my major at the very last moment! Something kept pulling me towards that field, I felt a little late, but I did it anyway. I began performing at open mics at my college, writing my poetry down on napkins and on the back of receipts. Truth be told, I’ve always been an actress. I’ve been in every church play, praise danced at every function, accepting Oscar awards in my towel, fake fainting for dramatic effect, the list goes on. But I didn’t start taking acting seriously until the last two years. I honestly never thought any of this could be possible for me. The ability to produce art instead of being a bystander. To be part of a vision. I feel that if I started sooner, I’d be a little further along in my training. I also would’ve been way more confident in myself, way earlier. I didn’t have a lot of people pushing me to go this route, but there were a lot of signs in my path which showed me that this is where I need to be. But even back in 2017, I wish I would’ve pushed myself harder, who knows where I would’ve been. I could’ve signed with an agency by now if I took it as seriously as I do now. I also started resin crafting, podcasting, and hosting poetry shows. I’m just grateful for the journey and I’m not intimidated by time, or how long this will take. I’m just excited to walk into my calling.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My birth name is Elaine Aikens, but as a creative, poet, and a writer, I go by Nadine Béyond. I’ve always wanted to be an actress since the age of five and have been fake fainting for dramatic effect, acting in all my church’s plays, and been writing poetry since middle school. I never thought I had a future in writing, but poetry is just something that stayed with me. I’ve just published my first book entitled Love Makes Me Cuss… A Lot!, which showcases poetry about my journey in love during my early twenties. If you’ve ever broken a heart, been heartbroken, or even realized you didn’t love yourself, this book is for you. This book is my baby because it’s a testament to a future I never thought I’d have, and a past I thought I could try to forget. Instead, I had to learn from it. My friend Georgia Nubia (a fellow poet) really pushed me in to publishing after I’d put it off for so long. I’m eternally grateful for her. I honestly use poetry as a therapeutic release because it allows me to confront my truth. Sometimes I just allow my soul to speak, and to be able to publish my own work is a major stepping stone. Through a friend, I was introduced to Felicia Rivers, a casting director out of Charleston, SC. I appeared as an extra in a movie she was co-directing and I’ve been blessed to have been a part of several of her published and unpublished projects since then including The Secret of The Emerald Green & White, where she used a poem I wrote for the end of the movie, which is now on Roku TV. She even recommended me for an acting seminar, which motivated me to learn the craft of acting and take it seriously as a career. I’ve even started making resin crafts because I finally realized that I can’t have three part time jobs & feel fulfilled. Resin crafting is a calming activity and I enjoy it because I get to be creative and work on my own terms. I’m even partnering up with my friend group to create a media network called Golden Eye, where I would also be interviewing artists as well as performing. There are so many artistic visions I see in my head and I’m going to do my best to execute all of them. I hope to inspire others who didn’t know they had a dream inside them. To inspire people not to dim their light and understand that they have a purpose, and to let them know that it’s never too late to try.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Honestly speaking, being resilient encompasses my whole life, not just a chapter of it. Some call it resilience, I call it God. I was born as the tenth child to a family in New York City, but they weren’t able to take care of me. I was adopted at ten days old by my mother, Luvinia Aikens, who was 60 years old at the time. I lived a blessed life, but I was bullied a lot for not being cool, not wearing the cool clothes and so on. Nobody knew I was depressed and would hear negative thoughts 24/7. When I was 14, they diagnosed my mom with Alzheimer’s and she slowly, but certainly, started forgetting. While she was forgetting, I was rebellious. I was sneaking out and really didn’t value my life. I wasn’t the daughter she needed me to be. When I was 18, I took one of my last walks with her up the street, and this had been the very first time she forgotten who I was. She started speaking of me, to me. As if she was talking to an old friend. As tears streamed down my face, I had already started mourning my mother. She was placed in a home during my last semester in high school, and due to previous misbehaviors, my family wasn’t really speaking to me. My mother died August 2nd, 2013, and I still don’t speak to all of her relatives on a regular basis. But somehow, I still made it to college. I still graduated. I survived myself, and the past that I live with. I actually know how to encourage myself. I actually know how to speak life into myself. God gave me strength and a special group who I call my family. They hold me up when I’m down. They know who they are.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I would say that my only mission is to be the best version of myself. I spent a lot of time feeling guilty, feeling powerless, feeling inadequate, feeling bad for myself and more. Now, I aim to be a better person, inside and out. I aim to treat myself kinder. I aim to show any kid that no dream is too big to follow. Many people destroy themselves from the inside just by the demons they may be carrying, and I’m no different. I used to be depressed and anxious all the time, but while living in my truth, I’ve never felt more at ease. Knowing that I am a poet, and that my job is to create. My calling is to write stories for me and others. My calling is to perform and be an example of the human experience. My mission is to follow God’s plan for my life, because I know He orders my steps.

Contact Info:

• Website: nadinebeyond.godaddysites.com
• Instagram: @nadinebeyond
• Facebook: Nadine Béyond
• Twitter: @nadinebeyond
• Other: Tiktok: @thenadinebeyond

Image Credits
Hughez Photography Muvi Films