When We Win Podcast
"When We Win" is an empowering and insightful podcast that showcases the remarkable stories of black women from diverse backgrounds. With a focus on collaboration and communal success, each episode dives into personal narratives, professional experiences, and the wisdom these women have gathered along their journey. Celebrating both individual achievements and the power of sisterhood, "When We Win" inspires listeners to uplift each other and strive for collective prosperity. This podcast serves as an essential platform for black voices, illuminating the nuances of black womanhood and the transformative power of unity. It provides a safe and nurturing space for Black women and all women of color to celebrate their journey, recognize their inherent worth, and inspire holistic well-being and wholeness.
When We Win Podcast
Unveiling My Journey: From Teen Mom to Community Builder & Self-Care Advocate
Have you ever wondered how a teen mom managed to become a registered nurse and then a grandmother of three grandsons, all the while championing community building and self-care? Well, brace yourself for an enlightening episode where I, your host Kiyanna Mitchell, unravel my life journey – a journey that has shaped me into the woman I am today: a strong, proud mother, grandmother and a fierce advocate of self-care.
This episode delves into the heart of my healing journey and how I discovered self-love as my sanctuary during the tough times. I'll lift the veil on how my journey of self-discovery, while comforting, also impacted the lives of my children. We'll explore the power of a supportive community, one that encourages and uplifts us to reach our full potential. I'll share my victories and losses, and the importance of crafting a safe space where black women can celebrate their triumphs and grieve their losses. So, are you ready to join me in creating this empowering space? As I always say, when we win, we all win!
Hey y'all, hey, welcome to the when we Win podcast. I am your host, Kiyanna Mitchell, self-care advocates, wife, mother, grandmother, lover of all things black, and I'm on a mission to build community around sisters that look like me on their journey to win, cause when we win, we all win. Let's get started. I have just hit the record button, y'all, on my third time, trying to record episode one of when we Win podcast. Look, never be afraid to try, try again, because, like, I'll do an episode and I'll do it, and then I'll be like oh man, I wish I would have said this, oh man, I wish I would have said that, I wish I would have said this differently. So now I have the chance to say things differently. So now, all right, welcome to when we Win podcast. I am your host, Kiyanna Mitchell. Thank you so much for joining me and this, like I said, is our very first episode of when we Win and I thought it was so fitting to make sure that I introduced myself, because I'm a sister and I really don't wanna have here. Okay, sometimes I don't wanna hear what you have to say if I don't know. Like, who are you? Like, what have you been through? Like, how can you tell me to be a mother and you ain't never been a mother and not to say, okay, I don't even wanna start this off on a bad foot, not to say that you have to be a mother to contribute to a conversation about parenting, but I do believe with experience comes a special inside look to everything, because it's really easy to coach from the sidelines, but until you're in this game, there's certain nuances that you might not be privy to. So, with that being said, I just wanna make sure that I introduce myself and let you guys know what my background is. So let's get into it. I figured I would give you guys seven fun facts about me because I just felt like let me give you some juicy tidbits. It would take more than one episode to give you all of my life experience, but in this episode I'm going to try to give you a good a cliff note version of who Kiyanna Mitchell is. To be honest, I'm really just now getting to really know who Kiyanna Mitchell is. So anyways, let's get into it Again. My name is Kiyanna. Fun fact number one I am 44 years old, so I've lived a little bit. My sign is a cancer gang, gang.
Kiyanna Mitchell :So be prepared for lots of passion on this show. I mean, if you know any cancers, you're really lucky to know one, because when you got a cancer in your corner, honey ain't nothing we won't do for you. When we love, we love hard. So I'm like a little emotional, I get a little passionate, but know it's all with love. Know that it's all with love. I've had this conversation plenty of times with people that sometimes when I think what I think, because I know my intention is love but my Deliverance doesn't necessarily always give love. So I'm working on that. Know that I am aware of that. Know that I am working on that. Know that what I say, my intentions, is of love and empowerment and to uplift you. But I do get very passionate. I do not mind correction. I know I'm not right all the time, as as I would love to believe that I was perfect and everything that I say or do is right. I know there's sometimes I won't say or do it right. So, okay, just going forward. Cancer, really, that's. Show over Cancer. Okay, my little fan is blowing everything.
Kiyanna Mitchell :I was a teen parent Another fun fact about me I was a teen parent. I had two kids by the time I was 18 years old. So, yeah, I've been a parent for over half my wife y'all, over half my wife. I spent parent to someone's child, being somebody's mama, and you will definitely meet my big girls. I call them my big girls. They, we literally grew up together.
Kiyanna Mitchell :I was, like I said, I was 17 and 18 when I had my daughters and shout out to Kira and Aliyah We've been riding for a very long time and they are the my biggest wise, or should I say one of my biggest wise, or two of my biggest wise, of why I am who I am today. When I had them, I figured I wouldn't for them be waiting by nobody's. I didn't want to wait by anybody's mailbox for a check that was never gonna come. So I went out there and I I was a registered nurse by the time I was 22. Had them at. Had them, did not graduate from high school, got a GED. I did not finish my senior year of high school, so I got a GED, went to nursing school, got my associate's degree and, yeah, because my babies, they was gonna have to eat and they needed stuff, but I didn't want to have to tell them no, now don't, don't get me wrong. We didn't go through some financial. You know they rode with me with that. You know Me and my girls went through it. I love you. Shout out to Kira and Aliyah, my babies, my big babies.
Kiyanna Mitchell :I have six babies, total five daughters. I have every age group down to like. I have school age, I have middle school, I have high schoolers, I have grown kids. I'm a grandmother. I have three grandsons. I have, like I said, my and all my. Let's name all my kids. You know they're gonna listen to the episode and be like you didn't say my name.
Kiyanna Mitchell :So I have sage she's 16. I have joy, she's 12, can't wait till she's 13, or she can't wait till she's 13. I have Zoe, who is 9, and I have Abel, my only son, my one and only son, my baby. He has autism. So yeah, all of the parental challenges that you may be facing or half-faced, been there, done that with you. You know me and my 16 year old. We've been through it.
Kiyanna Mitchell :Shout out to sage. Shout out to all my babies again, I love all my babies, but you know, certain experiences in parenthesis stick out. And me and my daughter, we are a work in progress and I'm really proud of the journey. That's a whole nother episode. We'll get into mama and parenting. I don't want to take up this whole episode with that. Okay, I had a lot of kids and grandbabies and you gonna hear about them, and my two older ones gonna be on here too, alright. So, mary, for my set.
Kiyanna Mitchell :For the second time, I got married at 17. That didn't work out. He had a different view of what marriage meant and what it means to be loyal and faithful. But we won't even go there. I'm not bitter. So now to my current and as he will call himself, and he is my forever husband.
Kiyanna Mitchell :Shout out to Deandre Mitchell. He has been my rock and my support man. Mr Mitchell have been through three deployments. He has my husband as a veteran a veteran, so I was a military spouse. Yeah, look, honey, I need more than one episode to geese. These are just little. Shout out to my husband love you, babe.
Kiyanna Mitchell :Look, I told this man I was gonna quit my six-figure job as a registered nurse and we were gonna sell our six bedroom beautiful home and moved to another state and we was gonna run our own businesses. He did look at me crazy. He did look at me crazy, but he did it. We did it. Now, to be honest, the journey didn't quite work out like that. So I will be returning.
Kiyanna Mitchell :I took a short break, was supposed to be permanent, not permanent. We'll get into a whole. You know, we'll get into business, we'll get into that. But I'm just. I'm giving you little facts about Keanu Mitchell. All right, so any who he supported me in that that decision. I'm going back to nursing, so you will See episodes recorded from many different places. Currently I'm in my office at home, but I'm gonna be on the road. I'm gonna be nursing on the road. So any who? So, yeah, what I've covered. I'm a mama, I'm a grandma, I'm a cancer. I'm 44.
Kiyanna Mitchell :I've been to jail. That's another fun fact. Look, my cousins. Nick made me, nick made me Kiki loka. I Used to hang with my brown sisters. I used to go to a predominantly Hispanic school, so they would call me I had a little accent. They call me a little black skin. Look, honey, don't wanna offend anybody, I'm just saying I'm letting you know my experiences.
Kiyanna Mitchell :Okay, so I had an accent, everything. I had a raiders jacket, pom pom socks. I had the Nike Cortez, yeah. So okay, you couldn't tell me that I was in the valley. You couldn't tell me my homegirls. There was Maria, you know Maria, lorraine and Tonya. You know I'm saying so. You couldn't tell me nothing. I had a little accent, everything any who they use, common little Kiki looker.
Kiyanna Mitchell :So, yes, I've been in jail, I'm, I could be with the shits. I'm working on it, I'm really working on it. I Am. I have gone to therapy. I will Resume therapy because I am a work in progress. I really, you know, try to work on this whole self-accountability thing and you know, I acknowledge in my wrongs and trying to learn from them. So I do.
Kiyanna Mitchell :I bought a whole, whole journey and, look, I Want to go on a journey with you like that. And I guess, last but not least, why did you start a podcast? So I have been through a lot of stuff and On this journey I have realized how Similar, one similar, our experiences are as black women and how, due to some so many different things, things that were done to us from slavery, are upbringing. Our experiences sometimes, sometimes make us not support each other and there lies a lot of black women, a Lot of us Queens, out here doing stuff by ourselves. Now we out here doing some stuff. Okay, you know, I'm saying we are the most educated, most educated in this country. We know how to make things happen. We know how to make Things out of nothing, something out of nothing.
Kiyanna Mitchell :And so a lot of us do that journey alone, and I did that journey alone and I don't want I Got up to four hundred and seventy five pounds Do a step by myself, because food was my only Comfort and you know, a lot of people talk about drug addicts, but food is a drug. Let's all admit it. Food is a drug. It is I. I ate when I was happy, I ate when I was sad, I ate when I was not so sad, I ate when I was numb.
Kiyanna Mitchell :But it also was the only thing that I can control in my life. And so you know, I couldn't control that my partner at the time, you know, didn't love me. I couldn't control that. I didn't want the narrative of having multiple kids by multiple different women. I couldn't control the fact that my parents were broken too, and you know, god bless them. God bless them. They're still alive, thank you so much, just so alive. But they made some mistakes and I repeated some of their mistakes and especially, I think that's why my relationship with my oldest daughters really, and again, my kids. I love all my babies, but me and my daughters, they have seen me.
Kiyanna Mitchell :When I wasn't healed, I was their mother. When I wasn't healed, I didn't know what I was doing. I was trying to find myself, and so they experienced some things in their life that were indirectly, indirectly, because of me. And to now, to this day, be able to tell them and talk about our experiences and cry sometimes through them, but to acknowledge it, to take my accountability and to be forgiven by my children and to move on feels really good. So, anywho, all that to say, my journey by myself, I realize that there's a lot of us going through that. There's a lot of us out here, out here, trying to save the world and change generations and break curses and do all these things, and we're suffering, we're dying inside, like literally, like physically, mentally, emotionally dying, and so it was important I want to build a community around us that insulates us and where we can support each other, like intentionally love one another, like I, literally.
Kiyanna Mitchell :I have a TikTok and I like to. I'm gonna change the name. Right now it's Keeks Boutique, with the boutique at the three. It's a small, it's a underscore keeks underscore boutique with the three. Anywho, I will put all that down It'll probably be changing because I, anyway, I like to say that I love my queens on purpose, like I intentionally love you because, sister, bae, sis, I know, I know if I'm not going through it currently I have been through it or I know somebody that's been through it Like we are all connected in some way. I don't care how much money we make I'm, of course, money does change a lot of our experiences, but most of us that do have money got it out the mud. Most of us because we weren't given the tools, you know. So we had to do it by ourselves, and sometimes with help and without help, and more times with not, unfortunately, without help. So I wanted to build a community around us.
Kiyanna Mitchell :Like I really feel like this podcast is going to change lives, like because, oh, I'm also putting us at the center, like taking care of us, like that is my mantra, that is what I hold on to, that is like my belief, like I need to put myself first. You know how you're on the airplane. And on the airplane it says you know they give that whole spill and they're like, you know before you put on somebody else's oxygen mask, put your mask on first, and for a long time. You know you would just laugh it off. Ha ha, hurry up. You know, just get this plane going, you know, whatever. No, that's for real, no, no, no, you need that. Like, how can you save somebody else if you're dying? And my sister's queens, we are literally dying. And so we have to put ourselves first. We have to rest, we have to take breaks, we have to surround ourselves.
Kiyanna Mitchell :I read a study and I'm gonna get better at like quoting these studies because I like to come with receipts. I don't want you all to think I just become a little stuff out of my butt, like I really. There is a statistic that our circle has a 95% influence on our success or the lack of, and so I'm all about creating and being, and I am blessed to be in a circle of women, a very small circle, but a circle of women that love me, all of me, support me. I'm talking like bought whatever I didn't sold. I didn't sold a few things, supported any kind of idea or whatever I came to them about. I'm about to do this, or I'm about to sell this. I'm about to go here. I'm about to do this.
Kiyanna Mitchell :All I get is encourage me, and then I see them going back to school, getting master's degrees, getting their nurse practitioner, loving on their kids, loving on their husband, encouraging us like it is like wonderful, and they look like me, like to be in a community of remit. Yes, we can all have allies. We can all have friends that don't look like us. But look when people look like me, support me and shout me out and tell me how beautiful I am and how go, girl, and just how we do it. It ain't nothing like it.
Kiyanna Mitchell :So why not build another community? Cause we have lots of communities. You can be a part of a lot of communities, but there are certain communities that's gonna build you up and help you get to your full potential and grow, or you can be in a circle that tears you down, and so the mission of this podcast would be to lift us up and build us up as we all pursue our dreams, and here's why I'm gonna get real, tell you all my business. I'm about to tell you all my business, a lot of it. There are probably some things I'm gonna keep to myself, but I'm gonna tell you a lot of my business, and the reason why is because you have to be able to see somebody like you make it, and I wanna make sure that y'all see my ups and downs and I'm gonna be very honest about my journey, so that we can go on this journey together and you can share your wins. I wanna share my wins and your wins. I want us to all share our wins. I want us to comfort us in loss and grief and I want us to win together, cause when we win, when black women win, we all win.
Kiyanna Mitchell :Okay, so thank you so much for your time. I can't wait to go on this journey with you. I'm so excited about this. We gonna do this together. All right, love y'all. Bye, see y'all soon. Bye, guys.
