Sandria Washington asks the question: How did I go from writing my first short story in crayon to living inside the biggest plot twist of my life (and trust me, God has written me into some BIG ones these first 40 years of life)? ⁣

She knew from an early age that books, words and stories would always be her saving grace. She remembered when her parents separated and the lights got turned off and her father moving out. ⁣⁣

Sandria and my mother would walk to the library and she’d let her check out a stack of books. There wasn’t any time for her to be sad; She was too busy reading and making up her own stories.⁣

Like many little book lovers of the early 80’s, She was a school spelling bee winning-Chicago Young Authors writing-Scholastic Book Fair anticipating-Book It! Pizza Hut personal pan pizza eating scholar. ⁣⁣

By the time Sandria arrived on the campus of U of I, she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. She minored in English and received her B.S. in Advertising. Her post-college professional career has been....interesting. ⁣

She's been an editor, advertising account executive, freelance writer, blogger, corporate communications AVP, and an entrepreneur.⁣

In between all of this, Sandria has been a theater and film actress, award-winning natural hair model, radio personality, event curator, and certified yoga teacher - just to name a few! As her friends often like to remind her, “Sandria is a whole mood!” she can’t argue. ⁣

Sandria as a creative liked to taking the scenic route in life and loved a good backstory. She believed everything lived through and the tools she picked up along the way - particularly the sudden death of her mother in 2011, a 20 year practice of journaling and being a student of yoga - helped prepare her for April 2, 2018 and the call that would change her life.⁣

On the Monday following Easter Sunday and April Fool’s Day, standing in her kitchen, she finally made the call to her aunt that she'd been putting off for months. “Is it true that I’m adopted?” Her confirmation set in motion a search not only for her backstory, but the untold stories of other Black adoptees.⁣

https://www.blacktothebeginning.com/

A Year of Black Joy: A Year of Black Voices Share Their Life's Passion https://www.amazon.com/s?k=a+year+of+black+joy&crid=23WEFDYEVB8GO&sprefix=a+year+of+black%2Caps%2C161&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_15

Music by Corey Quinn