Laëtitia- Mental health is as important as your physical health

I was introduced to my next interviewee Laetitia by a close friend of mine. He texted me saying, “there’s this girl I would love for you to work with”. I said sure no problem. We have been talking for years and I fell in love with how dedicated she was to go after all of her dreams no matter how impossible it might seem. We’ve started this mentoring relationship but I felt I was more her mentee than she was mine. I have learned such a great deal from her. She has so much to offer and the world hasn’t seen the best of her yet. I’m excited to see what she will do next. Laetitia owns her own company, “CLT collection”, and has a blog name “A Little Chat between Us.” She fights for the thing she truly believes in. She’s not afraid to talk about the unspoken topics. I find it refreshing to see a young girl in our community breaking so many barriers. My girl wears so many hats you know, from event planning to having her own lip gloss (which by the way is amazing).

What inspired “A Little Chat between Us ?”

It was inspired by my experiences and what people around me have been through. I wanted to help the maximum of my people in the Haitian community. So I thought it was important to create a platform for my peers where I can be there to talk and listen to them, give advice while educating them on those topics we don’t usually talk about in our community.

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    Why do you think it’s important that we talk about mental health?

Mental health is as important as your physical health. When you take care of your mental, it’s easy to reach your full potential. Most of us do not grasp the full idea of what mental health is, which makes it hard to differentiate it from mental illness. Because of the stigma associated with mental health, we don’t talk about it enough. We avoid those conversations at school, home, with our friends. It is very important that we talk and educate ourselves on mental health.

Why was it important to have a parent perspective ?

My mom has way more experience than I do. And it’s because of the education she gave me that I am very open minded. We have been through a lot together. She is so good at giving advice and a very honest person. We are always scared to have our parents’ opinions because we don’t know what their reactions will be.

You’ve talked about many important topics on your blog, why those taboo topics specifically?

Those topics were like a recurring thing in the stories people would tell or confide in me. Those are such important topics that need to be talked and educated about. We have to face those harsh reality we’ve been sweeping under the carpet.

 What have you done during this quarantine to stay positive?

Honestly it was easy for me at the beginning to stay positive because I thought it would be temporary but as the quarantine going for months I had to find activities to keep my day and my mind busy. So I started to work out, go for a run at least one time a week. I took some time for myself where I learned how to paint, cook new food. I also found a way to make money online every day. Sometimes I go offline and I pray or write for my blog “A Little Chat between Us.” Everything is about mental health. When you start thinking positive, you attract positive vibes especially while doing what you love. I even wrote an article where you can find ideas for activities.

 What are some stuff you have learned throughout the pandemic that you plan on applying to your life?

It’s important that we put ourselves first without necessarily being selfish. It’s important so you can stay sane and take care of yourself, to also be more productive.

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One of the things you have launched during the pandemic was your brand called “CLT collection”, tell us a little bit more about it.

First of all, I am a lip gloss addict. I said to myself if I love it so much why not create one. I know how sexy and confident I feel when I wear it, so why not sell it to empower young women . I don’t just sell lip gloss, body oils and lip scrubs, I sell something more. I want everyone that wears it to feel confident, beautiful. I love the result of seeing queens with “CLT lip gloss” on their lips, shining with my body oil & treating their lips with the lip scrub. Just seeing people’s reaction from buying my products is so satisfying. This is more than a passion. Everything is made with love and most importantly, they are tested by me, my family and friends.

Honestly, I didn’t even know that people would actually support and love my products but they do. I am super grateful for the support I have been receiving.

As a black woman in this world, what’s your advice for those coming after you?

To never underestimate yourself or think you cannot make it because of your skin color. Get as much education as possible and do not let anybody belittle your ambitions. Dream big and believe you are capable of realizing your dreams.

 Laetitia if you have the opportunity to do one thing, what would it be?

There are so many!! But one I would love to do is to send all orphans to school, feed them, educate them, and give them the opportunity to learn to be independent by volunteering or finding a job.

Through your work, how do you hope to make a positive impact?

The positive impact I want to make is to help others feel understood, change some of their perceptions on subjects that are « tabous ». And for people to be able to talk and discuss things that will help them with their future.

You’ve moved to Canada from Haiti, what can you tell anyone whose going through the same transition?

Stay focused, learn as much as you can. Remember it will not be easy, but don’t lose sight. Don’t let anything get you off track, the land of opportunities are endless.

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It’s a tradition for me to ask anyone that I’m interviewing if they have one last thing they would like to say. I don’t know, a message or anything that I might have left out to the readers.

I would like to thank you for the interview. Thank you to all of you who have been supporting me since day one. Your unconditional love and support mean the world to me. The world is full of greatness, go and discover it. Life is weird due the pandemic but don’t lose hope. Love you all!

Thank you for allowing me to have you on the blog my love! I’m so proud of you! Keep working hard, I’m here always!

Xoxo

Lady Sergine💋 🌹