Today we’d like to introduce you to Ayodele La Veau.
Hi Ayodele, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a creative at heart, born to my beautiful mother – a Baltimore native, educator, traveler, realtor, medical technician, caregiver, and all-around wonder woman, and my patient father – a Trinidadian-born actor, poet, author, director, and family and community engagement (FCE) specialist. I have one sibling, my favorite brother, the coolest guy I know, and most times my best friend. I lived in Baltimore until the age of twelve and then moved to Germany for three years.
My brother and I transferred to a German school to learn the language and culture through an immersive experience. The culture shock that I experienced was imperative in shaping a broader perspective of life and the values of fun, freedom, frame of reference, and self-awareness that I hold dear to this day. I spent my high school years in Indonesia. During my time in both Germany and Indonesia, my mother, and our newfound friends and family made it a point to expose us to as many experiences and locations as we could manage.
I moved back to Baltimore to complete my undergraduate degree in psychology and theater studies at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. My goal was to become an art therapist. I began my research project called “The Process,” which focused on analyzing the elements of one’s creative processes and patterns to develop self-awareness and mindfulness tools. Though my research project came to a halt as the pandemic hit, it would be further shaped through my personal life experiences and current work.
Meanwhile, I volunteered at Durgas Farm in Jamaica through the WWOOF program. Through this experience, I gained a deeper understanding of how to pursue a more sustainable life by incorporating farming and agriculture. In 2020, I joined a farm in Baltimore (Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm/PPHUF), where I learned about farming, plant cycles, different agricultural methods, the importance of growing your food, self-reliance, community, and leadership.
During my time at PPHUF, I led a one-week leadership academy called “The Art of Urban Ag” for a group of 20 young adults. We explored themes surrounding urban farming, mental and physical health, food and herbalism, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, the arts, and storytelling. Through this, I realized that agriculture was the missing key to my research. The creative process can be abstract and challenging to navigate without a substantial relationship with the concepts to begin with. Agriculture, on the other hand, offers a more scientific and structured way of assessing presence, growth, action, and responsibility, which can be used to think through awareness and patterns. Both creativity and agriculture call for cultivation, problem-solving, analysis, patience, and innovation. Having made this connection, I found a better way to incorporate this knowledge in my own life and frame my mindfulness practices. I am currently working with Dr. Harold Morales in the Center for Religion and Studies at Morgan State University as a guest lecturer in his World Religions course – “Our Good Life Course”.
Each week, I create a mindfulness activity based on my conversations with Dr. Morales and the course themes of creation stories, good life theories, case studies, & scholarly personal narratives, as they relate to agriculture and/or other supporting literature. So far, we have explored concepts inspired by Blue Zones, gratitude practices, love and relationship mapping, reciprocal relationships with nature and self, failure and decision making, and natural cycles. Each activity aims to offer a tool to effectively work through a journey with our idea of a Good Life. I am grateful for my journey thus far and am excited for what the future holds as the only constant thing is change (shout out to Octavia Butler).
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I find my life flows the smoothest when I allow myself to accept and navigate the ever-changing state of things with humility and integrity. When I criticize or judge others based on my personal life lessons or shut down parts of myself to appease others or out of fear of judgment and criticism, I find myself to be the most stagnant. I have learned how much of a free spirit I am and that that is the way that I must operate to feel my best. I’ve also learned the value of discipline and discernment and that the rejection of the two severely hinders my life.
I have closely witnessed the transition of two of my grandparents; my paternal grandmother and my maternal grandfather, for whom I had become a caretaker for the past year and a half. Experiencing the cyclical element of life so intimately has shifted my priorities and made my value for family, community, and life even stronger. I am grateful to have known them and been inspired by their lives and stories. In adulthood, there are other types of transitions and changes that I have experienced; changing close friends, distancing from lovers, evolving versions of myself that I thought I’d be forever. Money is inevitable, taxes are wild. At every turn in the news, something bad is happening that seems out of my control and directly impacted by my choices all at once.
I am a deeply sensitive person and I get overwhelmed easily, so I’ve had to learn to focus on things within my limits. Boundaries are to keep the good things in. Sometimes compromise isn’t an option, and those decisions, although difficult, are imperative to the journey. Life is not always smooth at all! But I’m learning that it’s easier the more I learn to love myself, especially the parts of me that seem hardest to love. That deep and visceral knowledge can be used in how I relate to and love others.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I would consider myself a creative; artist, farmer, and program coordinator. Most of my life is driven by introspective thought and lived experiences that have highlighted nuances in perspective. I have been able to find my childlike wonder over and over again. For that, I am most grateful. My purpose is to live my life as close to my truth as possible, and to be able to love others as they do the same.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk-taking.
I have experienced major risks firsthand. My entire life abroad was just witnessing my mother make calculated risks in hopes of exposing us to the wonders of life. The places we visited, the people we met, the experiences we had, all of those were results of what started out as risks and then became our way of life. My mother choosing to take my granddad from a negligent nursing home and take care of him at home was another “risk”. We were able to bring him back to health, heal his wounds, restore his dignity, and give him the love and care he deserved. I am grateful to have the experiential knowledge that the best things can come with risk. I aim to spread my wings and use my mother’s unwavering faith and determination as a blueprint for my adult life. I have watched her live out what happens when you keep asking questions, keep listening to your intuition, and keep seeking answers.
I have switched career paths, from office jobs, to outdoor farming, to university, and into travel. I am slowly gaining confidence in my own ability to navigate life in alignment with what speaks directly to my heart. I will eventually be able to walk boldly in my decisions as less of a “risk” and more of a step closer to fulfillment and purpose. Of course, with my parents’ support, my brother’s boosts of confidence, my friends’ hype, I am finding my way.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @veaufarms
