I believe in the power of stories
the story of Nicola Barrett is like a winding road in rural Massachusetts:
it might be all over the place but damn is it fun
First off, she goes by Nicki. She’s not sure at what point in her life she should start asking people to call her Nicola. She loves her name, but finds that most people just don’t know how to pronounce it. Phonetically, it’s nĭcolä. Simply, just think of Nikola Tesla.
She loves hearing the origins of others’ names, so here’s the story of her own name: her mother found it in a baby book. Simple. Quick. The fun didn’t begin until Nicola lived in Italy for a spell in college. When her name was called by her Italian professors, it was finally pronounced correctly!! But she was received with odd looks when it was a female that raised her hand to claim the name. You see, Nicola is classically a man’s name in the mediterranean boot. None of her Italian relatives thought to warn her OR her baby-book-bearing mother.
Nicki at a glance:
lover of animals, no matter how scaly
certified goof
certifiably crazy
certified photoshop associate
professor-taught film photographer
statement earring aficionado
interesting people curator
dependable laugher
believer of the gut feeling
ex actress
current queen of drama & comedy
amateur nutritionist
professional omnivore
Tedeschi Trucks super fan
Red Sox kinda fan
obsessive imperfectionist
trained operatic singer
untrained pop singer
ray of sunshine sometimes
voice of reason sometimes
human all the time
really bad at parkour
born leader
believer of the full send
middle child
cat aunt
plant mom
crystal enthusiast
astrology addict
a cappella enthusiast
Nicki with more detail:
she has over 1,000 notes on her phone at the current moment
including a comprehensive list of her friends’ mothers’ names
she has Masklophobia
she has an affinity for typography
she prefers to see movies in theaters by herself
her favorite movie candy is sour skittles and she regrets it every time
her favorite food is balsamic vinegar
her spotify playlists are organized by month and nothing else
she’s performed in carnegie hall. twice.
she prefers two exclamation points to one so it feels more authentic
she helped produce three records in college
she never identified with an animal more than when she learned that sharks have to keep swimming to survive
she’s on the pisces - aquarius cusp
she has a psychic grandfather who tells her about her past lives
she doesn’t believe in capitalization unless absolutely necessary
she’s been a visitor to over 15 of the world’s countries: all in the past 2 years
she prides herself on her ability to learn names
she once toured around austria, singing in stunning cathedrals and consuming glorious sausage and beer
she regularly scrolls through her own twitter feed for a good laugh
if she had to pick a single passion and life purpose it would be empowering other women
her favorite pastime is sitting in a dark room with good friends, good speakers, and great music
nicki’s philosophies:
see a need, fill a need
Nicki was complaining to her mother one day when she received a fantastic piece of advice. “If you’re not willing to go fix this problem you’re complaining about right now, then you have no right to complain in the first place.”
That thought hit her like a ton of bricks and Nicki never complained again… sike. Of course she complained, she’s human. But what she never did again was complain about something that she could just go do herself. Instead of venting to her mother, those conversations became game plans for steps forward.
The phrase see a need, fill a need didn’t come into play until college. It was a saying used by the director of the choir at Marist to encourage a culture of people helping people. It was drilled into Nicki’s head until it was gospel. Now, she never hesitates to watch for needs, and fill them as they arise.
positivity is a choice
Nicki learned this one after years of not understanding it. For a long time, she blamed her problems on the outside instead of looking inwards.
Once she made the simple choice to not let things outside her control bug her, it was like the yoke she was carrying dropped its bricks and filled with feathers instead.