What happens if you utilize the vast reach of social media to spread the joy you discovered from your own sadness? This is exactly what Charniah Wilson is doing through her TikTok, Grief is Ghetto. In our inspiring conversation, she shares how losing her partner in an unexpected tragedy encouraged her to open up about her grieving journey to a wider online audience. She explains how her simple yet funny TikTok content helps other grieving people deal with their sadness and get through their biggest emotional roadblocks. Charniah also explores the immense power of social media, delving into its most valuable benefits and its giant disservice to humanity if gravely misused. Thank you for viewing this post. I am not a licensed therapist or professional life coach. I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others. Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/suicide/suicide-prevention-hotlines-resources-worldwide — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Charniah Wilson: The Woman Behind Grief Is Ghetto Thank you for being here with me for this conversation. I would ask you to keep showing up. I am sorry for who you have lost that has driven you to this conversation, but I am so glad that you are part of my hood. This conversation with Charniah Wilson is probably going to help you cry, laugh, think it over, re-examine yourself, dust yourself off, and be ready for another day. We are going to talk about it. All this conversation is for you as much as it was for the two of us. Let’s get into the discussion.     I’m doing good. How are you doing? Good. We know that question can be super broad when someone says, “How are you doing?” Your mind goes through a Rolodex and you stuck them on. Do you mean this 2024? That’s right. That part. I have learned to put it within constraints this hour, this second, this evening, and this moment. I want to welcome you to the widowhood even though you already were here, but on this particular conversation altogether. Thank you. I appreciate it. Merch Thank you. I cannot help but check out the bedazzle. T ell me about this. Tell us about this. It’s a specialty. Typically, the way I’ve been doing my Grief is Ghetto Merchandise is a flat color. Everything I wear is glitter. When I launched my Christmas wave, I said, “Let’s do a cute little powder blue and let’s glitter it.” I only had one friend who ordered it. She ordered the sweatshirt, not the hoodie, but it’s so cute with the glitter. She was like, “I love this.” It is still available on my website, www.CharniahWilson.com. You can still order the little glittery blue if you’d like. She’s going out of style. We’re going to go and get into some spring colors. I may have to go ahead and drop on and get me one of those. You have them. Are you doing them? How are they being produced? How’s this working? Absolutely not. I have a gray person I work with. Her name is Lauren Blue. Her company is Blue’s Custom Designs. She created the logo for Grief is Ghetto. She has been working with me for years. When I had other businesses, she helped me with those. I coach high school dance. She does their uniforms. I need her. She created the logo, and then once she created the logo, I was like, “I want to start doing shirts, hoodies, and all of that.” You order from the website. I send the orders to her, she does them, and then I can pick them up. I like that she’s local so if I make a mistake, which I always do, I’ll message her like, “I messed it up. That’s supposed to be a 2X, not a 3.” She’s like, “I got you. Come get it.” I appreciate that. She’s very hardworking. She’s great. She works with me in good and bad. She works really well with me. Shout out to Lauren. I am guessing that if other people have a business, they can work with Lauren directly. You want to mention that you read it in this conversation so she knows where all the love came from. Hit her up, Blue’s Custom Designs. She does a lot of work here in Huntsville. I’m sure she does a lot of work outside of Huntsville, Alabama. Hit her up. It’s been a great working relationship with her and me. Backstory Thank you. I can see all that glitter so I said something about it. I won’t be mesmerized. You change other businesses. I want to talk about how you got to where you are. I don’t want to be like, “How are you doing this evening?” Talk about where you are from originally and we go from there. Where are you from originally? I was born in Gallatin, Tennessee. I was back and forth here to Huntsville in Tennessee between my mom and my aunt. I moved in with my aunt. My aunt raised me here in Huntsville. I was here in Huntsville from a little girl long up until college. I went to undergrad at Alabama State University in Montgomery and got a degree that I don’t use. I’m not going to say that because I use it sometimes. I got my bachelor’s in Journalism. It’s communications, journalism, and PR. I got a Master’s in Entertainment Business from Full Sail because going back to school was cool. I lived in Atlanta for seven years and enjoyed it, and then I moved back here to Huntsville to help take care of my aunt until she passed away in 2022. During the time I was in Georgia, I launched a blog called Oh, Snap 90s blog