Member Highlight: Allison Smith
It all begins with an idea.
Allison Smith is a PhD candidate in Women’s Spirituality, writer, intuitive guide, and ceremonialist. This creative is no stranger to fostering personal growth and community.
She’s excited to lead The Journey; a monthly group inspired by Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, where participants explore personal growth, spark joy, and engage in creative activities. The Journey, starting February 11th, is a space for individuals to ground themselves, share wisdom, and deepen their creative potential.
Interested in joining The Journey? Click Here
Read on to learn more about Allison!
Full Name:
Allison Smith
Nickname:
Allie
What do you do professionally?
I am working on my PhD in Women’s Spirituality, I am a full-time caregiver, and a part-time creative and shamanic practitioner.
What do you want to do (professionally and/or personally)?
Eventually, I see myself back in the realm of teaching, facilitating, and sharing on a large scale—but in a way that allows me a lot of creative space and rest. Right now, I see myself in a season of inward learning, cultivating, and building. We live in a world that wants us to push everything forward at warp speed, but I’m really trying to honor that some things take time to take shape and grow.
Do you have any passion projects or ideas you want to explore?
Right now, I’m exploring ancestral connection and the creative process. This spring, I’ll be presenting a project on Sicilian folktales as myths that came to life through trans-Atlantic migration to the United States. I weave academic and creative processes to engage in storytelling that reframes narratives of oppression as a transgenerational heroine’s journey. Stay tuned…
Who inspires you? Why?
Author/Poet/Professor Ross Gay has been a constant source of inspiration over the last several years. His essays *The Book of Delights, Inciting Joy,* and *The Book of More Delights* instill reverence for the mundane and the beauty of our everyday lives. He writes prose like a poet, and I aspire to find the same sound, beat, rhythm, and life in the words I write.
Hobbies / Interests / Things that bring you joy:
Dancing, writing, running, resting!
Greatest accomplishments:
In 2015, I founded a middle school in Newark, NJ. Within four years, it was among the highest-performing schools in the city. Building that community was a labor of love that brought joy and a sense of purpose. By every measure, this was my biggest professional success, but it came at the cost of profound burnout. My greatest accomplishment was realizing it was time to walk away so I could take better care of myself and find a new way to be of service.
Future accomplishments:
Somewhere around 2030, I will be graduating with my PhD. That’s the most tangible accomplishment on the horizon, but I know there will be many others over the next five years.
What excites you about being a Creative + Member?
Creative+ is exactly the kind of community I was longing for. I’ve chosen to build a life outside of conventions and the scripted roles and milestones that we are expected to take, both personally and professionally. This is a place where, even if my experience is different, it resonates and is understood. Everyone here has taken a big risk or is flirting with one. And we are working together to build a community where you can be driven and passionate while doing your thing and measuring your success in your own way.
Best piece of advice you have ever been given:
A guy lounging in a hammock in Mexico once asked me, *“What if your purpose in life wasn’t to do anything, but just be?”*
Who is someone you want to collaborate with? Why?
I try to make nature and the ancestors my biggest collaborators. When I honor all the energies that are co-creating life around me, the right people pop up with the right projects at the right time.
Favorite quote:
“The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds.”* —Dalai Lama
What does your best life look like?
I have really come to appreciate that my best life is also probably a pretty simple life.
Last words for the Creative + Community?
I’m really grateful for this community and excited to see it grow! Please come check out our monthly group, *The Journey,* where we take time to honor our life experiences and support each other in finding new paths toward growth and joy.
Allison’s Socials
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