Tahiera Monique Brown is Resilient

When I was given the opportunity to speak for TEDxBirminghamSalon, I went weak in the knees and I had to read the email twice. I instantly knew what I wanted to talk about and it was one word. The word was ‘Resilient’.

From physical and sexual violence from when I was a child to being held hostage with my children in my own home for years, I have definitely been through my share of difficult situations.

Those who have heard my story always say one thing: “You are so resilient!”

Resilient, hero, amazing, and courageous.

I’ve been called all of these words, but the journey of my life that has led to such accolades is full of sad memories and domestic violence – of being held hostage and lost loved ones.

I encourage everyone to remain resilient, regardless of their situation. This resilience is why I am still here today and why I will always keep fighting through the challenges of life.

As I always say, “Resilience is being able to see yourself on the other side.” Everyone has a choice to make – to be resilient or to give up. One of my goals in life is to encourage people to never give up.

It was a night of a lifetime speaking at TEDxBirminghamSalon and I look forward to continuing to share my story and help encourage others to look at situations from the other side.

Special Thanks:

I want to thank Matthew R. Hamilton and Sarah Parcak for all of their hard work to prepare all of the speakers for the TEDxBirminghamSalon events throughout the year to get the best of the best ready for the main stage in February 2015. Thank you for even considering me to take the stage with such incredible talented individuals as John Paul Taylor, Brad Toland, Bri Bruce, Caroline McGraw, Dr. Andrew Billings, Miguel Carpizo and Tripp Watson. Congratulations to Dr. Andrew Billings for getting the opportunity to speak on the BIG stage in February 2015.

I also want to thank Nicole and Joey Beachum for meeting me at Seeds Coffee Co. to make sure that I made my message clear.  Thank you Amy Carpenter Scott of Creatrix Films, Randy and Carlene Turrow of FeaturePro Films, Director Tim Russ and Victor Brown of Birmingham Business Alliance for advising me along the way.