We were lucky to catch up with Georgia Nubia recently and have shared our conversation below.

Georgia, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken was moving back to Charleston, S.C in 2016 to be a poet…. I lived in Charleston once around 2007 and it was definitely a movie… a cheap tubi movie that needed a bigger budget and some better actors. I feel like in every way I could fail, I failed twice or more. Moving to Charleston was the worst thing ever and finding peace was extremely hard and exhausting but my mom felt that’s what i needed to “start over”, i never wanted to leave Macon though, i absolutely love my hometown but i struggled with depression and trouble seemed to be lurking around every corner. I did need something but in my mind, moving away wasn’t what i needed.
I wasn’t wrong, moving away taught me…. nothing mattered until you changed your mental state and i was definitely stuck in old ways trying to have a new life. The trouble i was trying to avoid, it happened any way… And sitting in a place I thought I’d never be, I woke up and changed my mind, i needed to do better with my life or i would kill myself doing stupid and careless things. I’ve always carried a notebook and wrote down my feelings and poetry but i never shared it with anyone besides my core friends and my brothers, Jay and Sharrod. Then one day, we were living in Motel 6 on Ashley Phosphate Road… we… some traveling photographers I met in the mall and started working with them…. and someone was having an open mic…. one of the guys suggested I go… so I did, it was the most liberating experience ever. to finally speak my peace. to finally say these things out loud and i knew then, i wanted to do it forever but I left charleston…….

then in 2016, i came back after a failed relationship with a dream to be a poet and a bounced check. i had no idea if poetry was still happening or if being a poet was something to actually do… but *insert dance moves* i have been doing it consistently and successfully since 2017 while adding other talents of mine such as painting and photography. I was totally afraid to come back to Charleston because my first go around wasn’t that good…. i ended up homeless and in jail and to come
back…. struggling with stability and who i truly wanted to be, i wasn’t sure about anything…. i just truly believed in me… i felt like nothing else was working out, so i had to be my way out and i took the risk to bet on myself and that’s how i became Georgia Nubia

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I work my gifts!!! When i was a little girl in church, i was told to work my gifts…. which sent me on a search to find them…. poetry was the first gift i started working in 8th grade where my first poem was published in an anthology of poetry, it also served as a way to communicate with my mom. Poetry has helped build the courage within me to step up and step out of my own way allowing me to truly grow into a Spoken Word Artist and published Author

Painting wasn’t something that came naturally, i actually picked that gift up from some friends in Lincolnton, North Carolina. Kelsey Bowe encouraged me to paint through my emotions one day… i was livid and couldn’t focus however, once i started painting… i felt better and what i painted wasn’t that bad….. i continued to work on it but once i moved back to Charleston, i stopped…. then I met Casso, another artist in Charleston…. we lived together and he encouraged me to start back painting…. i was like nahhhhh, i’m not that good.. who would buy my artwork? Now my artwork is in 16 states, i’ve done several art exhibitions, and have pieces of Art in Hannibal’s (A black owned historical restaurant in Charleston)
i am also an educator now teaching Entrepreneurship, Creative Writing, and Art…. Science and Social Studies is a bonus to teach as well!!!

I also customize jewelry and clothing, it’s all about making a statement when you enter a room

My brand is based on belief in self and having the faith to always take the next step even if you can’t see the path ahead.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability to teach the youth how to open their creative minds and become creatives early in life and not later like some of us……
Another rewarding aspect is seeing your growth and being chosen for the different submissions…. these two aspects….. there’s no greater feeling to pass it to the future and to be accepted by others cause it’s super hard or extremely vulnerable to share your heART.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

i had to unlearn that i wasn’t good enough or i wasn’t qualified for the role. Although i felt like i could do anything, there were times i felt as if i wasn’t ready or i didn’t have the skills needed to be successful. The backstory is constantly being told you can’t do something…. and i don’t think people do it on purpose but it’s the projection of fear and that becomes the voice in the back of your mind…. i am now a proud graduate of “I think I can” University because all of the things i thought i could do, i did it and more but i truly had to change the way i spoke to myself in the mirror and had to force out those negative thoughts with positive affirmations

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theheartofgeorgia.work