Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Herod.
Hi Ashley, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ll be honest – I never know what version of my story to tell. The clean cut version exists as “I grew up in my favorite place in the world, Fort Worth, Texas. Loving parents and an amazing community that led me to discover what my passions are. That list includes people, community, and storytelling.” The long, real and messy version is much more detailed and honestly a version that is far to easy to tell. Typically I am a book wide open waiting to be read – connecting with people and hearing their stories is my favorite thing in the world and before (and after) the “trials and tribulation’ that life had to offer, I always loved it. I’ve shuffled through all kinds of storytelling and I love each of them equally. Photography, writing, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization with a focus on mental health, I was on a potato chip bag one time, and now a podcast where I get to chat with some of the most special people in the world.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
You know, most roads start smooth and the ride is easy on them. Then it rains like a million times and 18 wheelers drive over them and knick the road and the pavement weathers naturally. Well that’s what the road has been like.
There have been numerous struggles and all those things I wish life would have never thrown anywhere near my people and I. My Dad was always sick, truly. The entire time he was alive – there was always something going on. I don’t know if that was the reality or just the main things I remember. At the age of 5 I was going to dialysis sessions with my Dad as a tag along, genuinely I was the cutest one there. Fast forward to age 13 and my Daddy was in ICU having massive life altering surgeries. He was a bilateral amputee who truly never caught a break. Fast forward to age 21 – my family lost him to suicide.
When I was freshly 22, I did not want to be on this Earth any more (remember book wide open, that’s me). I was consumed with grief and rejection and the inability to see any of the good that I once was able to picture. It was horrific and honestly thinking back to that season of my very beautiful life, it doesn’t even feel like me. I ended up in a behavioral hospital for a suicide attempt. Once the psych team deems you stable enough to be discharged, you can only be discharged into an intensive outpatient program and once you are deemed fit and stable enough to be released from that, you’ve gotta find a trauma therapist that will be your new BFF. I found an amazing therapist who helped me separate reality from lie and who helped me process years of yuck that give me a false belief of myself. *shout out to Kristy Norris – she is a real one*
So has it been smooth? Not at all. But the best most driven paths are never the perfect ride. And while my 20’s are sometimes a blur and that road is still being paved and repaved as you are reading this, I feel blessed and equipped for whatever comes next.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
With my hand in so many different party bags – what don’t I do for work? The reality is my day job and my heart job, it’s one thing and that “thing” is building connections with people. Would I call it my speciality? maybe not but it is something I am passionate about and something I hope I continue to do till I can’t do anything anymore ever again. I hope I’m known for my heart and creating spaces and platforms for individuals to share their stories on. That is probably what I’m most proud of — have you ever heard that saying, “when you share your story, you are giving someone else the freedom to share theirs”. Between photography and my non profit work and the podcast – I have been able to help cultivate safe spaces for over 100 stories to be told and that is 100+ people who the world has read about and/or listened to. 100+ different stories giving people hope, grit, honesty, and a reminder that life isn’t meant to be done alone.
What makes you happy?
So I have a 4 year old, she is smart, silly, spunky, brave, and unapologetically herself. I joke with my husband that one day she will be a CEO since she doesn’t believe in the word “no”. I think she entered this world insanely confident and it just brings me such joy (and happiness) to watch her grow into the person she is every day. We could be anywhere with 10 people or 100 people and she would be dancing and putting on a concert for anyone and everyone and it makes my heart hurt so good, and I pray that the world never steals that light. I wish I had the confidence and boldness she has. Watching your child grow into this version of a carefree human with my Husband – that what makes me happy and brings me all the feels and inspires me to keep doing all the things!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theyellowfeeling.buzzsprout.com/
- Instagram: @theyellowfeeling
