Today we’d like to introduce you to T’aira “Sunny” Wyatt
Hi T’aira, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Well first and foremost my name is T’aira “Sunny” Wyatt formerly I went by K’new Bee Sunny. That name represented the space between new and known information. I stopped going by that name a little while back because it started to be blatantly clear that I was still searching for who I am. Fortunately, I have arrived back home to myself T’aira who I was at birth in addition to Sunny which is what I have always been. So that is why I am Sunny T’aira across all platforms now.
In the midst of my arrival back to myself I had plenty of experiences that have ignited me back into my passions/purpose of art, creativity, poetry, and setting out to provide services/products for healing. Eye Choose U; Joy LLC was birthed in the midst of the greatest loss of my life thus far: my favorite lady, my grams, and friend Annie B. In addition to that loss on August 2nd of 2020, I was also pregnant with my son when she passed, who was born about three weeks later. In addition to this that was detrimental to me, I experienced postpartum depression after giving birth to him. These two things alone made life generally just hard to do. Not to mention that this was the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
The year was 2020 and the month was December where I had just finished having a de-stress session in our bathroom of this 3rd story apartment here in Toledo. A lot of mothers, especially single mothers, know about these. Ha. After this emotional fit and just deep overwhelm I decided to sit down at my grandmother’s table where I have plenty memories from my childhood. As I sat there I began drawing and when I picked up that pencil and pink InkJoy Papermate pen I was surprised to see what I had drawn. This would come to be my first logo design.
I had pondered on doing business but I had no idea where to start. God had other plans than for me to sit in my distress and confusion. God decided for me that I have two hands and it was about damn time I really take them serious and use them. My team would begin as myself, my daughter Nyla, my son Aion, & later my daughter Lyka would join our team.
My kids have been the fuel that keeps me going. I see their faces and daily I’m reminded that I cannot quit. It’s simply not an option for me. They rely almost solely on me. And as I fight my own unseen battles, Eye Choose U(me); Joy. I have to wake up daily and decide to be the kind of happy that comes from the inside that exudes as light unto others. People see me dressed vibrant in my yellow and they feel joy. It’s my God given duty to show up as myself genuinely and shine this light of ours (God & I). This is half the work. I am only just now growing comfortable with this and truly innerstanding that this is the mission. To us joy is a contagious version of love. Joy is love in action. It’s my daughter bringing me a yellow, fuzzy sock instead of a towel. It’s my son pretended to be a frog or my baby daughter trying to tickle herself. Joy is always around and we want to remind people of that especially because it’s free.
We showcase ECU;J on Instagram and in the living world mostly. Our services are built around us being a safe space to exercise the freedom of existing. We dance, sing, do poetry, and most importantly we create. Recently, we had our first event outside of vending experiences, The BEST(Bringing Excellence & Solutions To) Life project. Our goal was to give people the space to feel what their best possible life would feel like, who would be there, would they be working, where would they live, while providing information and the freedom to create. There were many different art forms for our fellow healing desirees to choose from and it was so fun listening to everyone converse while creating. It was a beautiful turn out and I’m excited for all that’s to come especially Poetry As A Service (PAAS).
It is also pf high importance that I mention how near and dear issues like suicide, mental health struggles, abusive relationships, and childhood trauma especially child sexual abuse have been influential in us continuing to pursue our mission here at Eye Choose U; Joy. Some of the happiest people that we were privileged to share space with have taken their own lives due the negative, evil spirit of suicide. We accept yet despise that this is a problem that continues to affect so many lives literally which gives us the courage to press on. We have resources to combat seasonal depression because that is a battle that many fight and don’t always win. I have personally taken two trips to the psychiatric hospital when what weighed on me over powered my strength to fight. I am both fortunate and grateful for being open to receive the resources as well as the support that was there at Flower Hospital waiting for me. I want to encourage anyone who struggles with feeling weak and unseen due to life’s currents to speak out and do your best to ask for help even if it’s just calling the hotline to have a conversation.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth as the face of a teenager fresh into puberty.
No. It has not been smooth. A whole lot of life’s one constant: change.
One of the biggest things I struggled with before I reached commitment to really set out in business was acceptance on a multitude of levels. I had trouble accepting myself, trouble accepting that I wouldn’t be getting any apologies, accepting my own emotions, accepting my purpose, accepting my role as a mother, accepting that things aren’t intended to go my way, and accepting that I was a large part of my struggles. I struggled with the part I played in the abuse I experienced as a child. I struggled with what’s called middle child syndrome always feeling forgotten about. I struggled with the fact that I was/am an emotional person born to deeply emotionally unavailable parents. And with all of this, I grew to feel like an outsider not only just in my own reality but in my body as well.
Furthermore, I have overcome so much and it fuels my creativity because when you’re reality ain’t pretty you can always use your gifts to create another one. Some may call that escapism but I’d say it’s the wisest choice. I am learning to become a master of minding my own business and art helps exponentially.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I work a full time job as a Direct Support Professional with individuals with developmental disabilities as my background is in social work. And I love what I do because these people are such a marginalized group they need a lot of care. People don’t understand their circumstances most times nor do they try to. I get to create some at work too which is lovely. We also have our business ECU;J where we are beginning to provide services for those who desire to heal.
I would say my words are eloquent and I’m pretty raw with it. I write, I rhyme, I soon will rap, I poet, I provide passionate perspective, I love abstract painting, but poetry is my ultimate love. Any kind of art though, I want to try. Creating makes me feel incredibly alive. And I have wanted to die on several occasions. Thank God, I didn’t but my God did specifically my kids, painting, and poetry save me. I feel like what sets me apart from other poets is my ability to really let the emotions saturate me and then write from such a gushy, true place. Sometimes you can see smoke from the anger I felt when I wrote a peace or you may be able to feel the depth of the sadness in a peace. Sometimes the joy is felt through the humor of my poems and it’ll send the lovely people on a nostalgic ride back through their childhood.
Other times, like with my peace Unapologetic Apologies, the rawness of it usually is greeted with silence at its end but once people regain themselves the feedback is always appreciation. Because that specific peace is written with every and any person that ever had to experience any sort of trauma that will never receive an apology. So I specialize in depth and perspective. I have written poems about nature that are profound to me because it’s like how can I feel so strongly about a leaf. The one in mind is called 3 Red Leaves in a Green Tree. Art and creativity is a flow state for me. You may see 1-1000 different elements in a peace but I love it because it just makes sense to me. I love being chosen though I haven’t always. I’ve had to hit my head quite a bit. I love that I always find my way back to art and it always finds its way back to me. Generally speaking there is always something inspiring my art be it silence or a stop sign.
Next, I have a book that I am working on the cover to which my ancestors really are urging me to publish as well as God and other magical people I align with. It’s called “The Habitual Giver” which is a poetry book that’s all about the generational trauma of over giving and pouring from an all too familiar empty cup. Additionally, it highlights a lot of what black women feel the need to hide. In “The Habitual Giver” we’re letting it all hang out. Fun Fact: I was pulled out of my sleep on an early April rising where I wrote the book by first defining the word habitual and then creating the chapter names. Then I went back and wrote to the titles and finished it that rising. Gratitude to my ancestors and my higher self for the assistance. And there are plenty more books where that came from.
My eyes (3) have this way of communing with my hands and heart from which comes my art. I trust myself to create above anything. My gap and lips also make room for my words to flow like water as people say I speak in poetry and I am now in the best parts of my life where I accept this truth. My voice is powerful because God intended it to be, therefore I create & speak. I am most proud of myself for making the choice to accept myself as the worthy, whole soul that I am. And I am proud of myself for believing that I can fulfill this gigantic purpose and attract opportunities that help me continually pursue and use these God granted gifts. I’m blunt in a way that is totally random and unexpected. My mind moves swiftly and sometimes it’s tricky. I do my best to flow with it and remind myself that the people that are for me will always be for me. I won’t be looked over by my tribe because they’re my tribe. They’d recognize me anywhere as I do them when I choose to.
Life is always about choices and I do my best to choose what brings me joy, peace, & the ultimate actualization. Community is the way to reach unity and we can’t do that excluded people. I challenge my own biases and do my best to view them with compassion and feed perspective back to my people. I’m an advocate and radical rebel all in one. I tell people I’m Tupac’s daughter all the time. I love my dad’s rage because it was permitted. It made so much sense to me why he was so angry but it also makes sense to me not to focus on or allow so much to make me angry or anything else for that sake. I wanted to accepted before now I accept myself. And I go where I am welcome and celebrated versus the whack a$! opposite which is tolerated. It’s my duty to say what needs to be said and like Tupac said spark the minds that will change the world. And I’ll be bright looking darn good doing it as we provide perspective and thought provoking art that challenges the mind to try to think differently.
What were you like growing up?
Curious. I always wanted to know why. I gravitated towards science, art, math, music, & nature. I loved staying up late. The peace of the night was everything. I have always been a silly, goofy, active, high energy, spontaneous, adventurous, tomboyish foodie girl. As a kiddo I was an explorer and I also preferred adult company. Even then I was pretty wise for my age. People who had the privilege of growing close enough to me to share some of my brain, always speak to how I’m an old soul. I loved it. I spent a large sum of time at my grams house with my siblings as a child listening to her blues, playing hooked on phonics, eating frozen treats, sliced cheese, and fruit with them. I was interested in art as a kid, obviously preferring the arts room at the Boys and Girls club over gym for sure. But I also like to challenge my mind so I liked sudoku, crosswords, connect four, & other strategy games. Ask my mom how difficult I was to shop for at Christmas time. Hahaha. I wanted the toys to entertain me and they didn’t. I hated playing with dolls but loved building with Legos. I was attracted to music and observing interactions between people in their environments as well as its influence on their behaviors.
Pricing:
- The Habitual Giver 27.22
- With More Gratitude Invite More Joy Journal digital 11.11
- Artistic Expression Journal Digital 10$
- Book Sunny T’aira (Poet) & ECU;J LLC Discovery Call 0.00
- Order Hand Crafted Cards starting at 8$
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/sunnytaira
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DAWLV7GOoWS/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EyeChooseUJoysSunny
- Other: https://substack.com/@sunnytaira
