Hey, y'all. It's your girl, Jada Vassar, and this is All Shaded Chocolate, where I'm bringing the sweetest, the hottest black culture to MSU. I have another guest today. Hi. This is Destiny.
Jada:Hi. Clap that up, clap that up, clap that Yes.
Destinee:I'm so excited to be here.
Jada:I am. I'm excited to have you here. I've definitely wanted your all say chocolate for a nice little minute. Yeah. And we got a good topic.
Jada:But before we get into the topic, introduce yourself. Because you do something different at State
Destinee:News. You're
Jada:not a writer. You're not a newsroom person.
Destinee:So tell
Jada:them a little bit about what
Destinee:you So my name is Destiny. I'm a junior at Michigan State. I do work at the newsroom, but I'm on the advertising side, so I'm an account executive. Super fun. I love my team.
Destinee:Shout out to my team. They're the best. So, yeah, that's basically what I do. I'm a dual major in advertising management and journalism, so I used to do a little bit of reporting back in the day, not anymore. But so yeah, that's just a little bit about me.
Destinee:I'm happy to be here.
Jada:Happy to have you. Definitely wanted you to explain what you do because I feel like some people, they don't see the behind the scene characters that make some stuff happen and you're definitely one of those people. So definitely time to shout you out. And yes, y'all, this is a very get y'all notebooks because This a good topic. This is a good topic.
Jada:We are here we're going to talk about financial literacy, about black financial literacy. And I really feel like it's so important because if you grow up with, you know, poverty or in the struggle or in the inner city, these resources that kind of like people say is common knowledge isn't really that common. Yeah. Because if you're a product of your environment, like, I know for me, I was never taught really anything about financial situations besides what I saw growing up, was, you know, paycheck to paycheck. You'll pay it when you Yeah.
Jada:You know, spend your money on what's important, like, you know, make sure you eat every day. But sometimes eating every day takes away from your lights being on, your gas being on, your heat being on. So, like, I just wanted us to start off, you know, basically the conversation of, like, how how was financial literacy introduced to you? Was it ever a topic in your household? You know?
Jada:Yeah. Because I see some parents on TikTok, which I think is a really good thing. You know, they sit their kids down and they make a spreadsheet of, like, all of the stuff they buy in the house, and the parents are like, Okay, how much do you think this is? And then I'll tell you how much it really is. And then we'll take, you know, my salary and let's divide it up so you can see where this money goes.
Jada:So it's not really just us saying like, Oh, we don't want to buy you that game, or, We don't want to buy you that bike. You know, something in your head you think as a kid, it's like, No, this money goes to these important things. So how was the topic of finances brought up in your house?
Destinee:So I'll say that honestly it wasn't. If I'm being honest, my first kind of conversation about finances started when I got my first apartment. And that was like last year. Woah. So I I it just wasn't a conversation.
Destinee:I think maybe the first conversation I had about finances with my family was actually with my grandmother. She is the most knowledgeable person about finances that I've ever met. She is both my grandmothers, actually. But the one in particular that I'm talking about, she's just so knowledgeable about it. She's she knows about stocks.
Destinee:She knows about all those things.
Jada:Oh,
Destinee:wow. So that was when I had that first conversation and she was just kind of talking about stocks with me and I really loved that. And then my other grandmother, she was talking to me about credit. And I was very tuned into that conversation because I was around that age where people start getting credit cards. And she was just kind of telling me how to build my credit, what credit even means, and what all that entails, and how you have to be responsible with the money that you're given and your credit and everything, and how to check your credit score and everything like So honestly, it wasn't brought up until recently.
Destinee:You know? I wasn't really make paying bills until recently. So that's kind of when I started to learn it. Yeah.
Jada:Yeah. I kind of feel the same way, honestly. Like, I definitely got hit in the face with it when, you know, I had a rent that I had to pay every month. And I'm living more on my own now. And even I live with my sister, but we're on our own.
Jada:There's not you know, there's support, but it's like you gotta figure it out for yourself now. Yeah. You know? And it's so crazy because I guess, I don't know, as a teenager, like, I always knew that, you know, finances were important, you know, budgeting, you gotta figure out these things out. But I feel like you never really know how much it takes until you get there.
Jada:And even I'll call my mama, I'll be like, You didn't tell me this. Like, you didn't say I'd have to do this and this. She's like, Well, didn't tell me this. At one point, you know, you got out there and I also feel like I got at least a slim introduction because I have an older sister. She's ten years older than me and my twin.
Jada:So and she also graduated from Michigan State. Shout out to you, Jazz.
Destinee:Oh, yes. So when
Jada:she was here, I kinda saw her go through those motions. And she definitely had, I I feel like, lot more conversations because we were siblings. Mhmm. So a lot of it, she was like, look. When you get out here, it's gonna be like this.
Jada:Yeah. And I ain't your mama, so I'm gonna tell this to you this way Yeah. Raw and real Yeah. So you understand it so that if it happens to you or when this does happen, you're not gonna be so shocked. Right.
Jada:And I do feel like when I got introduced to a lot of, like, you know, bank accounts and credit cards because you scammers. Okay? Because they be trying to get you the interest rates. I'm like, hold on. Yeah.
Jada:Because they know how to sweet talk your way into saying yes to anything.
Destinee:Yeah.
Jada:But I'd like, hold on. She told me this will happen. Like, hold on. She told me this will happen.
Destinee:It's so good to have someone like that. It really is.
Jada:And even just someone that like asks questions because now sometimes I feel like even with me being 21, sometimes I feel like, okay, I should know this. Why am I reacting? But it's like the world we've grown up in is not when they grew up. So these prices and this new financial mindset we have to have isn't what they needed to have. So like the stuff we need to be more aware of and like budgeting way more in higher amounts, they didn't have to because you know that the economic world was easier for them in a lot of ways.
Jada:But now you got prepare so much, you got to work twice as many jobs and your salary has to you have to make this a year to even be comfortable. Yeah. Like the line is so up there. It's like, why are we not talking about this more? Right.
Jada:And then especially for black people when working in these fields is hard enough, we don't we're not going to shoot for those higher end jobs because we know what the outcome is going to be. Right. So speaking of that, thinking of the, you know, the high school you went to and even the middle school you went to, were these top of the conversations? Like, did you have any, you know, high school teachers that said, look, we're gonna talk about money. Because I got it a little bit, but they never really went too in-depth with it.
Jada:And you know how you ask the parents, they're like, oh, we had a cooking class, a homemade class, you know, we had all these woodshop class. Like, we had all these classes that were to prepare you for this life stuff. So, one, did your high school do it? And if it didn't, do you think they should redo it?
Destinee:So I want to say well, I'll start off by saying I went to four different high schools.
Jada:Oh, you were.
Destinee:So I can I can give you an overlay of like an overview of all the schools that I went to? Between all of those high schools, only one taught me about finances. And that was my senior year here in Michigan. I went to East Lansing High School my senior year. And it was an econ class.
Destinee:I learned about what was it? We learned about taxes, like how to fill out a tax form. It was very insightful, and I really appreciated that class because it kinda got me started. It got me going, and it was I learned a lot of things that I didn't know before. Yeah.
Destinee:But as far as my other high schools, no. Middle school, no. Wasn't even a topic of discussion, wasn't even close. I mean, not even near. So, yeah, my high school, my senior year, I did.
Destinee:I learned a little bit. I do feel like we could have learned a little bit more. Yeah. I wanted to learn more about credit because we learned about taxes and everything, but we didn't learn about credit. And then also, they didn't talk about, like there's so many little things, but they didn't talk about the threshold, like how much you have to make to file your taxes.
Destinee:Like we just kind of went into it and I'm like so when I started making money, got my first job. I'm like, wait a second. When when do I need to file taxes? Like, I'm like freaking out because they didn't talk about that, you So it was good, but it could use it could have used a little bit more if I'm being honest. Yeah.
Jada:I definitely agree. I feel like in those you know, I took an econ class Mhmm. My junior year and then definitely my senior year. And then I also think COVID impacted that because once COVID hit and my senior year was on Zoom, they wasn't teaching nothing. They were trying to just give us the last little bit we needed.
Jada:But I really wish those classes kind of started freshman year and if they kind of transcended over the years. Because we definitely talked a little bit about tax and what they look like. But as we learn about taxes, I learned a lot of that stuff from my mom because, you know, obviously she filled out taxes. Okay. Smart, responsible woman.
Jada:But it really took me just, like, sitting next to her and looking at what she does to be like, oh, that's what that means. Okay. But even then, like and then I also got a lot of teachers who said, like, oh, you'll learn about this in college. But baby, in college We did. I need to do it.
Jada:College is the time when I need to fill this stuff out.
Destinee:You don't wanna learn about it when you have to do it at that time, you know? You wanna know some prior knowledge.
Jada:Okay, because if I do wrong, they're on me. Right. That's my vibe.
Destinee:That's my
Jada:I'm on the line. So like, I don't and I feel like I got that so much with so many different subjects in high school, just, oh, you know, college will broaden your knowledge on that. College is
Destinee:gonna teach you this.
Jada:You do it in college. Yeah. But it's like, am I not old enough now? Right. Especially senior year, like, I'm gonna be 18 when I get to college.
Jada:Right. So what's the difference between me learning it now versus three more months?
Destinee:It's that saying, like, prepare now so you don't have to prepare later. Because when you prepare later, you're like us, we're rushing. Exactly. It's not even we're not even fully we don't have a full understanding of how it works. Exactly.
Destinee:We're rushing, we're freaked out a little bit and then that's when we run into making mistakes and when we start like making poor financial decisions because we're uneducated. So definitely hear you on that.
Jada:Yes. And that brings up another thing I want to talk about because we talked about it a little bit off the mic too and a little bit yesterday when I brought up this struggle mindset type of thing where people are stuck where they are and they don't know you're making a little bit more money but they've been so accustomed to not having money they're reckless with it. How do you view the struggle mindset? Have you ever seen yourself like, Oh, I got this money. I'm about to do this, this, this, and this.
Jada:And you come back and you're like, Why was I stupid with that? Like, I could have planned this out, had this money for so long because I'll that's the difference between me and my twin sister Janae and budgeting? Queen. She needs to continue to teach me. Me?
Jada:Oh you know, I want those pair of shoes, I'm a foodie, I want this type of meal. You know? The Lord's still working on me. But Janae and it's like I said, you know, we grew up in the same house. We got the same learning.
Jada:She does a lot of, like, YouTubing, googling. You know? The spreadsheets people use, she downloads and fills them out on her iPad that she got, you know, a straight mind. She took that self learning really, really But everybody doesn't have, now I don't want to say the strength, but everybody does have the discipline to do it. So have you ever find yourself in situations where you realize, oh, man, my discipline is, like, way off?
Destinee:Absolutely. And this is a full transparency moment. Of course I have. Mhmm. When I first got my first job, I was working two jobs, actually, and some money started rolling in.
Destinee:It was like I'm getting the most money that I've ever gotten in my life. And that can be both a good and bad thing. I think where that, the overspending, it stems from, or at least for me, when I was younger growing up in my household, I didn't get the shoes. I wasn't able to afford the clothes. I couldn't afford the trip.
Destinee:So when I had the money, I'm like, oh, yeah. This is life. This is what the money's for. I'm supposed to be doing this. This is what I have the money now, so I can do it.
Destinee:And that's not the case. And I feel like a lot of young black people think that and we shouldn't because that's not living. You know what I'm saying? Mhmm. You're it's a quick quick moment where you're spending that money and you're happy about it then, but those things forever.
Destinee:Financial freedom lasts forever. You know what I'm saying? It could even last for your kids.
Jada:Your kids and their kids.
Destinee:And your kids. You know? So that's how you build generational wealth, making smart financial decisions. So I've definitely definitely had my there's times I already went on trips where I should probably shouldn't have been on a trip. Bought a pair of shoes.
Destinee:I did not need those pair
Jada:of shoes. Because you you're not gonna need it in two years. You don't. It's these are all wants. I'd also be a really good thing because I don't know if you've ever seen, like, you know, celebrities or the stars who have kids or even just people in general who make money and they're like, oh, when I have kids, my kids are gonna work.
Jada:Like, I'm not gonna give my kids
Destinee:Just give it to
Jada:them. Just give them the money that I earned because I worked for my money. Yeah. And I'm gonna teach them they need to work for it. Yeah.
Jada:So how do you feel about that argument?
Destinee:So I'm I'm I'm split with that. I'll be honest. Thank you. Because I I want I don't want my kids to grow up necessarily the way that I did where the money pinching is so, like, prominent. Mhmm.
Destinee:I I want them to experience luxury. I do. Because I think that one kind of builds self esteem and it also lets them know that you can be in this space. You can afford these things. You it's meant for you, especially as a black person.
Destinee:Like, you you deserve this too and I want my kids to experience that. But I don't want to do it to a point where they get snobby and they get almost like stuck up and then they get like they just sit there and they're like, well, I don't have to do anything because like
Jada:Yeah.
Destinee:This is already mine. You know what I'm saying? So definitely implementing some sort of financial discipline. Yes. I plan on if I have a business, my kids, that's gonna be their job.
Destinee:Mhmm. They're gonna work under me, I'm gonna teach them how to do everything. And I hope that that shows them, like, how money works, how why it's important, and kind of help them so that they can take that and carry it on to their kids too. So I I am split with that. I don't want my kids to struggle because I don't think that it's necessary.
Destinee:Like, I don't want them to have to be, like, broke to the point where they're, like, having to find out the hard way. Yeah. But I do want them to have a very strong discipline and an understanding of how money works and how when you make poor financial decisions, how that affects you later. Yeah. So finding a balance is gonna be is gonna be hard, but it's it's gonna be worth it because in the long term, they're gonna be our age, 21.
Destinee:Mhmm. And they're gonna know how to manage their finances, and they're going be able to have a lot of money without blowing it.
Jada:Again, look, we're on the same page with this because I definitely agree. I always said, when I have kids, like you said, you never want to put people where you've been. And especially living through that and seeing especially because I grew up in a single parent household. So, know, seeing how hard my mom had to fight, for one, it was all three of us. But even when my sister went to college and it was still it wasn't easier, you know, one kid goes to college in The UK, they can be a little bit more self sufficient, but that didn't make the load any easier.
Jada:Right. You know, it's hard seeing that as a child and knowing you can't do nothing about it now because you're too young. Right. So especially growing up and I also like what you said about how that changes your mindset because, you know, I feel like growing up in that, especially for me personally, sometimes I feel like the money isn't even mine. Like, I don't deserve the money because I'm not even used to seeing it.
Jada:You're not in. So when I get it, I'm like, this doesn't even make no sense. Like, where did this come from? Right. And it's just crazy how, like, that mindset, it can really keep you stuck, and it'll make you feel like you can't progress.
Jada:Like, you only hit where your parents got, and you don't even know what's above that. You Yes.
Destinee:Like you're supposed to. Yes. They're thinking like, oh, I have this now, and they're so scared of one, losing it, and two, thinking that they don't deserve it that they don't keep going.
Jada:Yes.
Destinee:And that that honestly scares me. I mean, I've even had that myself. I'm like, okay. Am I supposed to, like, be in this big position? Am I supposed to be this financially set?
Destinee:Is this meant for me? Is this, you know? And then you kind of I don't know if you get this, but you kind of feel a little bit of guilt because of the other people that you know that don't. Your family members or your friends that weren't put in the same positions as you to learn and get to where you are financially. And that's just I feel that sometimes.
Jada:Yeah, I definitely get that too. And that's why always like All Stages of Chocolate was rooted in representation. And it was rooted to showcase that you can see yourself in these positions even if nobody else has done it before. And I really think finances and, you know, black owned businesses and being those big CEOs who really skip the money but just being in those positions of power, knowing you can make it and knowing you can have stability says a lot. Because especially someone who grew up in Detroit, stability wasn't a thing.
Jada:Like we thought that was stability and we'd had nothing but we thought nothing was stable because at least nothing's going wrong. Right. So you could figure it out.
Destinee:Man, that right there.
Jada:To see what you can have, you can have something and you can have way more than like even what you felt like you deserve. Right. You know what I'm saying? Right. It changes a lot.
Jada:It can be a whole character change, honestly.
Destinee:It really can. Yeah.
Jada:Like, the confidence, you said, the confidence building. And then especially, you you make it so high, you can give back to your people who started the way so you can finish it.
Destinee:That is so important. Yes. That is so important. Like, our community, we need that.
Jada:Oh, man. So much.
Destinee:Circling that wealth within our community is so important. Absolutely. So important.
Jada:And just showcasing that, like, you can do it. Yes. You will face more obstacles Yeah. Obviously, and it's gonna suck because the obstacles are only gonna be based on what you look like. Right.
Jada:Because society, we're still not at a place where we are comfortable seeing black people succeed.
Destinee:Exactly.
Jada:Or we are comfortable having that black lawyer or that black doctor or that black PhD student or, you know, that black medical assistant or that black entrepreneur. Or black entrepreneur. Yeah. We're not used to seeing that, and honestly, we're not going the right way to be used to seeing that. But if that day does come, I really feel like it'll just be such a relief and the tonality around financial status will change.
Destinee:Yeah.
Jada:Because I also feel like, as black people, we have to start speaking positive over our finances. Agreed. Like, we have to start speaking that we can have that wealth. Right. We deserve that wealth.
Jada:Yes, it was stripped from us years ago, but we can build it back. Because I definitely remember growing up and, you know, when times get hard, you just get doubtful. Yeah. And you don't see You get unmotivated. Yeah, you get unmotivated and you see, okay, you're working all these two, three like my mom, she will have two she had a main job, then she would work night shifts at a store.
Jada:She worked at Target for so long stocking. And, like, you see a person go through that and it's like, dang, when does that go in? Right. When does that go in? Right.
Jada:And it's like, you do it for so long and it didn't end, you know. She got her big girl job now, mom.
Destinee:Amen. Okay.
Jada:She started her own business, you know. She doing all that.
Destinee:Yes. But
Jada:the fight that people don't see is what I think traps people a lot because people want they don't wanna fight no more.
Destinee:Yeah. They're tired. They're tired. And I hear that. But for me personally, hearing that and seeing that pushes me really, really hard.
Destinee:Like, in my mind, there is no other place for me in life than where I'm meant to go. Yes. Financially free.
Jada:Yes.
Destinee:Financially stable.
Jada:Yes.
Destinee:My kids, my grandkids, me, my husband, my children, whatever it is, financially free.
Jada:Yes.
Destinee:Financially stable and happy and content, you know, but also extremely hardworking and extremely humble. And that's another thing. Yes. People boast and and when they get to that, you know, because I'm look. I'm from Atlanta.
Destinee:Oh, Hellcats. This and that. And it's just like that's another example of just poor spending habits. Yes. It's so it's always about the glitz and glam that they're not even putting the money towards things that actually matter.
Destinee:The cars are nice. The clothes are nice. Don't get me wrong. I love that, the luxury. But at the same time, it could be going elsewhere.
Jada:Yeah. It's all about showing off your money, not showing
Destinee:what you
Jada:do with your money. Everybody wants to flaunt that they can buy this at the store if they wanted to.
Destinee:That engine and all this stuff.
Jada:Light. And, yes, all of that. But it's like when you see somebody who's trying to stack it and build with it Yeah. I don't They get cloned. Like, get talked about.
Jada:Like, oh, look at this dude over here thinking he, you know, can flip all this and make this into some more money. And it's like, why are we accepting the norm that you're supposed to spend it all the second you get it?
Destinee:And I hate that because it's not even a good influence for the younger generation.
Jada:It's not.
Destinee:They look at that and they think, that's wealth.
Jada:Yes.
Destinee:It's not.
Jada:Like, that's what you do the second you get money.
Destinee:And that is not the only way that wealth looks either. Exactly.
Jada:You know
Destinee:what I'm saying? But when they look at that, they think that that's wealth. Absolutely. And I hate that because there's so many different kinds of wealth.
Jada:Yes.
Destinee:And a lot of times, generally speaking, people with that much wealth don't have to show it. Mhmm. You know what I'm saying? You might even not even see them because of how wealthy they are. They are.
Destinee:And they
Jada:don't need to show it to nobody.
Destinee:You know? So I just, like, I hope that our community kind of sees that. And I do see people in our community doing that. I do.
Jada:And I
Destinee:appreciate that so much. I do.
Jada:And I honestly think our generation is one of the first, especially, the young, you know, the black kids around our age, I really feel like they understand that they want to be more. We have those goals and we have those standards to where we know where we're at isn't the end. This is not where we're meant to be. This is just temporary versus our parents' generation, even our grandparents, I think they were just so conditioned to settle. And they were so conditioned to hold on to the little that you have and you can think that you could get more but don't think too much to where you lose what you got.
Destinee:Yeah.
Jada:To where it's like Yeah. We can't even they couldn't even dream.
Destinee:They couldn't even dream about wanting more, being in a bad place because sometimes they'd even one, feel silly about themselves like Yes. I can't get I can't be like that. Right. You know what I'm saying? Or they get to the point where they're like, okay, that that seems selfish.
Destinee:Like, I I shouldn't want I need all that. You're not. Okay. You're not. Okay.
Destinee:Cameron, like to what
Jada:I'm definitely like, no. I want it all for me and nobody I want to take all of this. And I feel like that segues perfectly into people who take, you know, entrepreneurship and building their own business super seriously. Yeah. You know?
Jada:And I'm laughing when I say this because sometimes as black people, again, say this a lot on the podcast, sometimes as a black people, we do a little bit too much. And a little bit too much comes with some of these black owned businesses that some people have because they don't have the education to sustain a business. So I feel like some of these black owned businesses where you're looking on there and the stuff is clean and sweet, but $40? Like $55? That kills me.
Destinee:That kills me.
Jada:You know we I know where you came from.
Destinee:Your margin, their price margin, you know it's out it's out of this Because it isn't it's not costing you that much to manufacture that. Come on now. Come on now.
Jada:Come And it's like, that's where I say we definitely need or I I don't understand how people can't see that and be like, they're just not educated. Like, these are not examples that black people are not getting the resources they need Mhmm. I don't know what is. Mhmm. Because they're just doing what they know.
Jada:Yeah. And especially if you're comparing yourself to these other brands, you're like, oh, they charging $50 for some leggings or they charging 35 for two tees. I can charge the same. Yeah. But your foundation is nowhere near what they Yeah.
Jada:And it probably never will be Yeah. Due to who owners are and we just won't have that.
Destinee:And who their consumers are at this end too. Literally.
Jada:So I guess what I wanted to start off as far as like, you know, entrepreneurship and all that stuff is, one, do you think we'll ever hit a time where society will accept seeing black owned black owners, period, as real? Because I also think a lot of it deals with, again, they're just not taking us serious enough to know that we want this and we do this. Cause I see a lot of TikToks that come across my feed of, you know and it'd be small businesses like, you know, jewelry shops, smoothies, you know, teats, all that. And they're not sustaining business. Like they're closing early, you know.
Jada:They get a really good start, but they don't have the money to keep the bills
Destinee:They're break from us.
Jada:Yes. And it's like which, again, one of the positive I always say about social media is you get that influx back in. You get those people in the area. Yeah. But it's like, man, why is that roof patch so rough
Destinee:for us?
Jada:Because you never see, unless they did a crazy scandal or a racist incident, you never see these other big businesses going through that roof patch. Consistent. So do you think we'll ever hit a time where they'll look and just take it serious like, no. Yeah. This is a business.
Jada:Yeah.
Destinee:I I I wanna say that I'm an optimist. Like, I wanna be optimistic about it and say that yes. But it's really, really hard to say that right now
Jada:Yeah.
Destinee:Just because of what's happening right If I were to be honest a couple years ago, I was like, yeah. You know? I'm like, yeah. Like, you know, maybe two to three years ago, I'm like, yeah. Like, I think I could see it.
Destinee:Mhmm. But right now, I don't know. I don't know, man. It's getting a little rough. Not a little bit.
Destinee:It's rough. Like it's rough. At the same time, our people persistent. They're so persistent and they're so resilient that at some point, no matter what's going on, there's gonna be someone, some group that's prevailing and still doing it and still going at it. So I want to say yes and no.
Destinee:It's just so hard to, you know, but I have faith in our people. We're always going to be doing something extraordinary.
Jada:Yes. And the thing about it is we are small, but we're mighty.
Destinee:Mighty.
Jada:So when something happens and you see the connection of all of these black people that just come together and fight for this cause, it makes change and it makes noise. You just have to keep doing it. And I don't think, even in the community, that, like, we're all not at the level to where we can fight that fight. Because even like we said earlier, we don't know what we're fighting for. Like as far as financial literacy, breaking the word down, understanding money management, and knowing where you're putting your money and what you're getting out of your money, that's going to take some time to teach.
Jada:Especially for all of us that's getting into the world and we're adults and, you know, we're making those mistakes. Yeah, that'll teach us but like, they're being straight up and being like, look, this is what you do, this is what you don't do. Don't give these people your money because they lying. They gonna take it. You gonna have to pay it back at the end.
Jada:Like, okay. Make sure you're reading the fine print always because
Destinee:there's something in that And how a loan acures interest. What? Are you kidding me, Like,
Jada:The school bill? Why didn't nobody sit me down? Like, I'm thinking I'm all over the world on campus.
Destinee:Getting this student loan.
Jada:Getting this refund. Yep. No, ma'am. No. Read your paperwork and read it twice.
Jada:Okay? But I also feel like as far as entrepreneurship, I also feel like just black people in general, we have this unique sense to business. And I feel like the culture we have, the businesses we can create are like no other. So do you think when people see black owned businesses or when you get the business like black owned beauty supplies or black owned restaurants that are culturally representing where those people are, do you think that steers people away?
Destinee:It probably steers a certain community away, but I'll speak for myself. I'm a sucker. If it has black owned business on it, I'm buying it. I don't I don't even it could be something that I don't even like, and I'm still gonna buy it just because it's a black owned business. Just to support.
Destinee:So it probably does steer people away. It probably does. Not not our community. It's for us, by us. Okay.
Destinee:I'm cool with that. You know what I'm
Jada:saying? Absolutely.
Destinee:So I I go for it every time. Absolutely. Every time.
Jada:There's just some stuff I wanna buy Mhmm. That I know it's like, yeah. Black person did this. It's it's gonna you're gonna be good. Be good.
Jada:It'll be good. Man, restaurants Every single It hits and it'd be the hidden spots too. Those little rundown, not the fancy stuff you find on TikTok that the tourists go to. Mhmm. Not the stuff with the weights.
Jada:You know, it'd be the really small places. Yeah. Really feel like you in your grandma kitchen. Yep. Or you at your mama house in the living room and it feels like home.
Jada:Mhmm. And I really feel like that's what keeps us going. Yeah. But, man, have people paid attention to that Right. And saw the greatness that's in that.
Destinee:Something that always just it makes me giggle, and it, like, it it makes my heart a little bit bigger every time I see it is when people rave about a business when they don't even know that it's black owned. Yes. I I just love that because that's like it just shows that, yes, we are great. Yes. We are doing it.
Destinee:This product is legit. People have no idea. And I and I like that because it's almost like, of course. It's almost like, yeah, of course, black owned. You know what I'm saying?
Destinee:It becomes a norm and I love that. Another thing that I've been seeing is black owned hotels. I don't know if you've been seeing that. Absolutely amazing. Absolutely amazing.
Destinee:And like I was on Booking.com not too long ago looking at hotels and I just found this like really beautiful hotel in Puerto Rico. It was black owned, and it was, like, the nicest hotel. Like, beautiful. Really? And I'm like, well, wait a minute now.
Destinee:I'm like in New York, like, these places. I have never seen a black owned hotel. Black owned hotels. Absolutely beautiful. Wow.
Destinee:And it and they are making so much money and generating wealth, and I just love that.
Jada:That's what's needed. That's definitely what's needed. And I feel like having those spaces to, like I said, I would love to see that hotel because I have never even known any black owner of a hotel. There's a lot of major hotel chains. Right.
Jada:You know what I'm saying? The demographic when you go in there, it's what you would expect from chains like Right. First of all, hotels is another thing too because not only the people work there, the customers they expect to go to these hotels and the way that you just get that kind of extra security at some of these places and it's like, what are you doing that for?
Destinee:What are you doing?
Jada:What's the reason why you gotta react to me at my guest here? Right. And what's my room number? Oh my gosh. And what I'm doing here?
Jada:I've gotten that so much. Oh. Me, my sister, and my boyfriend, we went to Austin, Texas. We went to DreamCon. It's a con a black owned anime convention we try to go to every year.
Jada:Sounds amazing. Yeah, it's super fun. It was the first year we went alone because my mom and grandma came last time and then she said, Okay, Yankovaya. If it's worth traveling alone, scary, scary. And I also hate flying, just scary.
Jada:But yeah, we got there, you know, check-in with those smooth, all that. But you could just tell, like, we were gettingand I don't want to say followed, but surveillanced a lot more than I feel like we should have. And the questions we would get asked versus, you know, if a white guest came up and they were checking in and, you know, they always just wanted to know what we were doing there. And mind you, Austin, Texas isn't a majority white city. It's pretty fairly black.
Jada:Texas is pretty fairly it's in the South. Yeah. But it was always the extra questioning just, are you meant to be here? That is Like, are you truly meant to even be in this space?
Destinee:That always pisses me off because I'm like, what else would they be doing here? What? They're in a What am I doing? What else would they be doing? Thank you.
Jada:Like, the only thing about it is when DreamCon comes to these cities, they know way ahead of time. They advertise for, you know, they know the guests that they're getting. Yeah. You see all these people in the cosplays. What do you think we're doing here?
Jada:What do
Destinee:you think we're doing?
Jada:Yeah. I Come on. It was just all that, you know, you could tell the parts that were more accepting than others.
Destinee:Yeah.
Jada:And it's really it it always it makes me laugh sometimes where it's like, man, you could cross the city border, and they like you here, and then they don't like you here.
Destinee:Oh, my god.
Jada:And I get that. I've been in East Lancaster for four and a half years now. I get that so much still here. Mhmm.
Destinee:Just to
Jada:like Mhmm. I feel like there's so much more of a bigger black population coming to Michigan State, but we're still so small Yeah. That it surprises people.
Destinee:It does. And it's really certain spaces, they still will look at you and they're like,
Jada:what are gonna do exactly. Ain't a journalist? Then Jada's a pretty typical name. Jada can be anybody. But the reaction I've gotten when people have seen my face, and then you know I've talked about this a lot, my hair color, it's always vibrant.
Jada:That's me. They see what I look like, it's like, oh, okay. Mhmm. And I'm like, what did you think I look like like? Why do we have this image in our heads of what we think our our people should look like?
Jada:Yeah. And then you get what people actually look like, it's like, oh, okay.
Destinee:How are you? It's almost like you don't think that that person feels that. Yeah. Don't We can feel that. You know
Jada:what I'm
Destinee:saying? We can feel that. You know? Yes. I hate that.
Destinee:I hate that so much. But I do welcome the black people to come to MSU. Come, because the more the merrier and then it starts to become a norm, you know? And I love that I've been seeing my people everywhere. I've been seeing them way more than when I came here my freshman year in 2020 Oh,
Jada:My first year?
Destinee:Oh my gosh.
Jada:I didn't know where we were. I didn't know where we were.
Destinee:Where was y'all at? Yeah.
Jada:And like I said, my sister went here, so I was sitting here like, where did you go? Yeah. Because they're not out. Yeah. And like, it really took time for
Destinee:To build.
Jada:Yeah. And I feel like we all have the same journey of just finding our way here.
Destinee:Yeah.
Jada:And it's so different for everybody. Mhmm. And we're so small. Like, if you don't find those clubs that first year, don't count yourself out.
Destinee:Right.
Jada:If you don't find those people that first year, don't sell yourself short.
Destinee:Don't don't quit. Like, just
Jada:keep The consistency is everything. Yeah. And even with me coming in with, like, Janae, my sister, us having two different majors, we didn't never see each other on campus. Like, our schedules were so just opposite. It was like, wow, I'm really kind of still alone.
Jada:And I feel like that's the story of every black person. And then once you find us, once you see us, you're never not gonna see us. Right. Like, once you find them, you're like, there you go. You see them all the time.
Jada:Even now, like, yes, there's so much of an influx, and I'm so happy about it. Yes, don't let that steer you away. Me too. Don't let the PWIs take you away. If you feel like you can make a mark there and a message, stay.
Jada:Because you don't know what you can do. And I always encourage, like because I know I ran into a thing where it's like, oh, I'm not really too sure about taking classes outside of my major. No, take those classes you're unsure about. If you find an entrepreneurship class, take it. That intro business class.
Jada:Immediately. Because you don't know what that knowledge will do regardless whatever career you have. You could be a nurse and have that business mindset. Right. You could be a journalist and have that business mindset.
Jada:Mhmm. You could be a prosecutor and have that business mindset. Mhmm. But you don't know where that'll put you out from everybody else. You can never have too many extra skills.
Destinee:Yeah. Knowledge is knowledge.
Jada:It's knowledge. You'll use it at some point,
Destinee:you know.
Jada:Yes. At some point.
Destinee:It's it's business. You'll use it at some At point. And,
Jada:yes. And if you especially find out something you didn't grow up with it, learn it for yourself.
Destinee:Oh my god, take it.
Jada:Take it. You see these opportunities. College gives you so much stuff. Don't take it for granted. My god.
Jada:Because it's easy to take it for granted too.
Destinee:I and that, like, reminds me of something that I wanted to bring up. It I've honestly just been so sad about a lot of younger people in our community talking about how they they don't need to go to college. They're like, I don't need college to do what I wanna do.
Jada:Yeah. Are you?
Destinee:I and it honest it kills me because I'm like, you don't even know what you're missing. You don't even know what you're missing out on. Yes. The student loans are a pain. That's another discussion.
Jada:I'm talking about problem.
Destinee:It does not need to be that expensive to go to college. All I can agree on that.
Jada:Come on now.
Destinee:But go to college. If anything, go to college. Like, I cannot stress that enough. And I understand that college isn't for everybody, but at least try it. You know?
Destinee:At least try it. At least go for it because you don't even know what you're missing on. You don't even know what you don't even know.
Jada:So that's like Literally. You don't even know what you know, and you don't even know what you're gonna connect with if you never figure it out. Because it's so in-depth in high school.
Destinee:This is not
Jada:the high school stuff you were learning. And even if, you know, university, okay, too big. Community college. There's courses online you could take class by class. Trade schools, like
Destinee:There's so Like you said,
Jada:don't sell yourself short of not even trying because the least you can say is you tried and it didn't work.
Destinee:Because even if you say you have a dream of starting a business or something like that and you don't need you don't need education for that in your mind, you don't think you need to go to college for that. Even if you were to do that and you were to go through and start your business, there's so much that could could have made your business take off more if you had that prior knowledge from college.
Jada:Yeah.
Destinee:So many, like, mistakes that you didn't have to make if you knew about the things that you would have learned in college about that business. You know what I'm saying? Mhmm. Like, a lot of people will just kind of be like, oh, I don't need it. But it's like, it'll save you so much time, mistakes.
Destinee:You're you're gonna like you need it. You know? Like, you you almost you really do need it. You know what I'm saying? You learn so much, and then it puts you at a different place than everybody else.
Destinee:It really does. Because you have your own, like, gathered experience that you can apply to your business and that you can apply to even if you don't start your own business, you still go into the business field. You have this prior knowledge and you have connections. Oh my god. College gives you so many connections.
Jada:You meet so many people there.
Destinee:So many people. There's marketing every day. Just going and just Literally. You know. So I just I don't know.
Destinee:As I it really does sad to me, though, because I can almost, like, I can almost see their future as someone who's, like, well, I don't need college. Mhmm. But it's just like even if you're looking at other people because they'll give me examples. They'll be like, well, Jeff Bezos, he's rich and he's you're not Jeff Bezos. Okay.
Destinee:And you don't have Jeff Bezos parents. Okay. You don't have the same upbringing as someone else whose family might have come from a richer side. You don't have that.
Jada:So go to college. Education for black people is so important.
Destinee:It's so important.
Jada:In so many different avenues and just it's so it's just so important. The more we can continue to educate ourselves, the more we will always continue to rise to the top. Yeah. The second we stop that education, the second we stop learning, we'll never hit that mark. And the last question I wanted to ask you about that, to segue to End It, there's a lot of stereotypes that comes with the black community.
Jada:There's a lot of stereotypes that comes with being a black person and wanting to find that better for yourself and wanting to be better. Yeah. So do you think these stereotypes hinder education? Which obviously, yes. But what I mean by stereotypes, do you think the black people who accept those stereotypes hinders their own education?
Jada:Because there are some people who fall in the line of, Oh yeah, I'm only meant to do this, I'm only meant to do And when you have a society that's just forcing in your head, No, black people are meant to be ghetto, thugs, you know, rappers, you know, artists. They're not meant to do the education side. They're not meant to go into the medical field. Like, we're not meant to be seen in those areas. How would you advise that young black kid to step to break out of that?
Destinee:I would say if reading and education wasn't important, then there would have been no reason for for them to try and take it away from us. There would have been no reason for them to try and block us from doing it. Yes. If it wasn't important, if you didn't need it, they wouldn't care if we did it. Yes.
Destinee:But they did, and they constantly try to stop our ancestors from doing that. If if if education wasn't important, then we wouldn't have to have thought to be in these PWIs. Yes. It wouldn't have been illegal for us to go to school in the first place. I I cannot stress that enough.
Destinee:Like Yes. I cannot stress that enough. It is the most probably the utmost important thing that you can do for yourself. Don't do it for your family. Don't try and prove anyone wrong.
Destinee:If you want to elevate yourself and your life and set yourself up for a better lifestyle than what you came through and like what you've been through, go to school. Yes. Get your education. Yes. It costs a lot of money.
Destinee:Okay? I I hear that. But in terms of what it gives you in return is it's like actually nobody can take that away from you.
Jada:Yes.
Destinee:Nobody can take your knowledge away from you. It's already in here. You know what I'm saying?
Jada:It'll never leave you. It'll stick with you for life.
Destinee:You'll have that forever.
Jada:You'll use it whether you think you are or not. They're just gonna use it. Man, come on! We're ending on that, Because that was golden. Okay?
Jada:I like that. Destiny, this was a really good episode. Y'all, I hope y'all took y'all notes. Yes. Y'all wrote it down.
Jada:You know, we some yappers, so we talk like this all day, but it's gems. And listen, you got two young black girls telling you, if you a young black girl or a black boy who don't know no better, you can relate and connect. We're not here to shame. We're not here to judge. Yeah.
Jada:We're all learning together. At the end of the day, we're learning together.
Destinee:We're in this together.
Jada:Because look, it's some stuff we still don't know, but we're learning. Yeah. Oh, as long as you're trying to learn, that's what matters. Right. So, yeah, this has been All Shaded chocolate where Destiny.
Jada:And I have bought the sweetest, the hottest black culture to MSU. And remember to stay sweet. Bye. Bye.