007. You've Been Brave Before

You need just enough courage for today.

7/100: When was the last time you were brave?

(question asked by Ashley in 2021)

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Dear Ashley,

Summer of 2018 I started a podcast called Passing Through. And I didn’t know it then, but it would change my life in more ways than one. The week prior I got rejected from an 8-week podcast incubator in New York and instead of shelving the idea, my then boyfriend now husband encouraged me to put it out. We recorded two episodes in his townhouse in Detroit and released it that weekend.

I felt the fear then.

What if no one listens?
Why would anyone listens?
What makes my story even worth listening to?

But the call to create was somehow greater.

Spring of 2019 we decided to do a live show in New York. Before we had an idea of structure, or run of show, we booked the venue. I signed up for an acting classes to practice hosting live, something I’d never done before.

6 storytellers shared a piece of themselves in front of 200 people in a theater on Bleeker Street that night.

I felt the fear then, but the call to create was somehow greater.

Spring 2025 we started production on Passing Through: The Highlands. One of the most thrilling and exhaustive creative undertaking of my life. From self-funding, to casting, to working with a crew, all of it was new territory. None of which would’ve been possible without the support of my husband, my brothers, my sisters, my friends.

I am still feeling the fear of this undertaking, but this time the call to create is undoubtedly greater.

Love,
Nneka

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7/100: When was the last time you were brave?

Portrait of Marine Lea Thomas on set (as Chi) by Jac

Thank you for watching, reading, listening. I’m looking forward to reading your answers to this one, friends.

All of you are braver than you think.

**NOTE: I’ve gotten a few kind questions about the names I use in the beginning of the letters. They are all addressed to the individual who posed the question in 2021 and will continue to change, letter by letter, as we move through the project!