Rashad Malik Davis! Rashad is a 26yo creative, lover of stories, and story-teller. I met Rashad during my undergraduate years at Tufts University, and I’ve quietly kept tabs on him ever since. He recently published his first illustrated children’s book, Carefree Like Me!, one that I highly recommend reading as he promotes empathy, compassion, and diversity through a heartfelt story. In this conversation, we discuss the painful genesis and healing journey of his book, his deeply rooted spirituality, and the importance of representation in the stories that we tell.
I hope you enjoy!
Rashad is…
a creative,
black,
a story-teller,
and someone who loves big.
Before Rashad dies, he wants…
his own TV show,
his own cartoon,
and his own studio.
When Rashad dies, he wants…
to have left behind something that made the world better,
and to be surrounded by love.
After Rashad dies, he wants…
the people that rely on him to be set up,
and his people to know that he’s okay.
In conclusion, Rashad says…
“I’m going to speak to the people who are at the precipice of change but are afraid to take that next step off. For all of you, who are on the edge of their dreams and are very afraid to take that leap, that next step past their comfort: I will let you know that where you are comfortable, the ground is not fertile.
What I mean by that is when we get stuck in a sense of comfort, there’s no growth. Growth comes out of us being willing to step past our comfort zone and being willing to step past what makes us complacent
I want to challenge you to take that leap past the infertile ground and to take that step into the unknown because the unknown is where you’re forced to make change and forced to adapt and forced to excel in whatever you’re doing because you don’t know what you’re doing and the process of not knowing is so important because we can’t know everything and those times when you don’t know, that’s when you grow the most. And that’s where you find the richest rewards because you’re now relying on faith.
Faith allows you to move into such beautiful opportunities that you will not have imagined in your comfort zone.
So take that next step over the grass.”