We were lucky to catch up with Díanna Gooden recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Díanna, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was in high school and there was a career fair. Growing up, my mother and I were in poverty. At this fair my mother had $500. I was interested in the modeling program, creating a demo for my singing abilities and track and field. The modeling agent said I had the potential to model so my mother asked me to pick one. I was interested in all the opportunities but our funds were limited. I ended up choosing track and got a scholarship. Ever since then I’ve wanted to do all three but life sometimes gets in the way.

Díanna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a 39 years young and I’m originally from Long Beach, Ca. I was raised around creative minds being surrounded by LA and Hollywood. I write as a creative outlet but when I got older, I decided to use that creative writing to discuss mental health issues considering that my mother and I have had mental health conditions.

When I was battling my mental health issues throughout the years, I developed body dysmorphia. I thought I was disgusting and fat. I took pictures of myself but I couldn’t see the beauty there. As I began to heal, I looked back on those pictures and say to myself,”I was gorgeous!” I am now a size 16 which is considered plus size, so I decided to pursue modeling to show people that tragic beginnings can have beautiful endings. I plan to kill body dysmorphia so that women can develop a better relationship with their bodies. If I can do it, so can you.

I sang in church as a child and music has been an essential part of my life and my healing. When I refused to take the treatment for my bipolar disorder my voice sounded good in my head but I sounded nothing like what I was hearing. Once God guided me to take the treatment my vocal abilities improved drastically. I thank God because I wouldn’t be here desiring to minister to others with my gift. I now sing in the choir at Eternity Community Church and I’m excited to see how far I can go with my singing.

I love children and I always have. Showing them how to clean up, have gentle hands with their friends, or reinforcing that teeth are not for biting, being a daycare teacher has enriched my life. I’ve been a daycare teacher, nanny, babysitter, and helped my family raise my younger brother when our mother passed away. Children gravitate to me and I consider it a blessing that God chose me to care for other’s children. Hopefully these skills can transfer to my own children someday.

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

My mission is to educate and inspire. Through teaching and my writing I want to educate the children and my social media community. People know about mental illness but not the depth of it. The stigma that surrounds mental health makes people feel like we should sweep it and it’s issues under the rug. We live in a culture where if it makes you uncomfortable then we don’t talk about it. I write about ways to help people suffering with mental illness. I also blend mental health with spirituality because healing occurred when I took the treatment and got closer to God.

I hope to also inspire. Through my modeling I hope to spread the word of God through apparel and to show how God can use anyone. People need to see how far I’ve come and who made it all possible. That also applies to my singing. You never know what kind of day people are having. A simple song of encouragement or something uplifting can inspire some one to not contemplate committing suicide. You never know what impact you can have on someone.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Supporting likeminded individuals. Sharing stories and journeys. Speaking life into others and seeing that smile after someone said a kind word to them. Having the shy children come up and hug me when they see me enter a classroom. It’s the simple things.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Soulfullsong7
• Facebook: Dee Good
• Linkedin: Díanna Gooden
• Youtube: Dee Good

Image Credits

Little brother Xavier Gooden