Style, Beauty & Life Lessons From My Mother

This Mother’s Day, we celebrate women through a conversation exploring the style, beauty, and life lessons that we’ve learned from our mothers.

My mother, Dr. Marcia Bailey, devoted her life to her family from the moment she discovered she was pregnant with her first child at the age of 21. On this podcast episode, we discuss adjusting to motherhood, embracing beauty through all stages of life, and the importance of bouncing back from life’s hurdles.

On Motherhood:

“I’ll never forget the overwhelming sense of joy and love. But I remember looking at my firstborn and thinking, what am I going to do? I was completely lost.”

“Seeing [my children] live their lives and thriving brings me joy. Not too long ago, I was gripped with anxiety about the future of my children. Now, I can see the fruit of my labor coming to past.”

On Beauty:

“I begged to get my first relaxer to get away from that hot comb and the stove. I’ve had hot combs dropped down my back in my shirt, and I had my fingers burned—it was a right of passage.”

“We used to try so hard to make sure that our hair reflected mainstream images. There was a little bit of shame involved with having to deal with our hair and water.”

On Resilience:

“No matter what we went through, we always had laughter…I learned [resilience] from my mother. I didn’t see her allowing what she went through to take over. There is a process of grieving and healing, but it wasn’t perpetual. She did a phenomenal job of keeping us moving forward in the heart of Newark, NJ.”

Listen to her inspiring story of joy and resilience wherever you get your podcasts.