Speaker 0:30

My name is LaSonya, so Thompson I am the founder of So Be It. And I serve women on a Mission to Thrive.

Speaker 2 0:41

Wonderful. I just can't wait to hear about everything else that you do.

Speaker 0:45

Yes.

Speaker 2 0:46

So Lasagna for listeners learning about, so for the first time, can you share a little bit about your background and what led you to create this organization?

Speaker 0:57

Oh so be it. It's a women's organization that I created about eight years ago, maybe not, almost eight and a half years ago. And so, so be, it came out of a few things. One being, um. Just wanting to have the passion to con, to serve women wanting to see women thrive, want women to get to their next right. And so the mission of So Be it is to develop women for greatness, taking them from where they've been to where they aspire to be. Through that journey of creating, so be it, my own personal journey allowed me to say this is not necess, not only necessary for them, it was necessary for me. So 2015, I thought I got bit by a spider. And went and did the doctor thing. Doctor said, yes, take the medicine. You'll be fine in a couple of weeks. Well, it got worse. And so through that I started to develop wounds. Wounds that would last well over months. Couldn't figure out what was happening. That particular one. And interesting enough, doctors didn't know what it was. They were like, oh, we think you're a mystery. We just don't know. And so I went from doctor to doctor trying to figure it out and through that it was a lot of pain. It was agony, it was uncomfortable, but every day I woke up making great efforts not to look like my situation. Right? And so it's a combination. The sickness. Then I'm also a hairstylist, so a hairstylist who serve women every day and wanting to see women thrive. So it's like, what do you do with this? How do you, you know, deal with your own stuff in private, encourage women in public still make great efforts not to look like your situation and you're dying inside. And so I started to figure out like, how can I serve? To my highest being and make sure that I take care of the things that I was purposed to do. And that's how so be. It came about, I working in a mental hospital, I saw that there wasn't always a liaison or some kind of wraparound service that will talk to their mental, talk, to their compassion and their self care more so just housing and you know, how do I call it? Food, things like that. I want it to be another added level to that and so, so be it became that my nickname is so, so hence the name, so be it. And to be honest, it's just, it, it's just a lot of le levels to it. Right? The sickness was definitely one of those things that made me say, what do you, how do you. How do you keep dealing with this? How do you keep keep your own sanity? And so yeah, so be it. It is now developed. We are a women's organization that provides, uh. Goal setting classes, vision boards, and our signature is women's retreats. We've been to Orlando, we've done North Carolina, DC and our last one was just in Arizona. And if the Lord's willing 2028, we'll be in Ghana.

Speaker 2 4:25

Wow. That is just truly amazing. Just hearing about all the things you are doing have been doing it is so inspiring. It's uplifting and it's, it's just. It's so amazing to know that this is a re resource out there for women who are needing it, are looking for just kind of like that guiding light. And the fact that you're able to provide it. There's nothing better than that. And one of the most meaningful parts of your story is that you chose to not let your circumstances define you. How did you develop that mindset of continuing to push forward even in the hardest moment?

Speaker 5:03

It wasn't always easy, but my faith I had to tap into it and I had to say, okay, God, if you chose me to be the vessel to carry this disease, you gotta gimme the peace to deal with it. It was agony. It was a lot. And I didn't think any human being should have to endure it. And particularly when you don't have doctors really knowledgeable about what it is, so you don't know how to treat it. And so you get misdiagnosed. And so with the misdiagnosis it's hard to, they just giving you medications and medications and they're still not working. So the biggest thing for that was definitely my faith, just being able to increase it and, putting things in perspective mentally. So I started journaling, I started um, writing affirmations just to encourage myself. And those things were huge. Just being able to re as reminders that this isn't the end of your story.

Speaker 2 6:01

Absolutely. Well said. I love how you put that. Um, and you know, back to the name, the name. So be it is so personal and powerful. Especially your nickname, so woven into it, what does that name represent to you and the vision you have for the women that you serve?

Speaker 6:21

So is my nickname. As I said, I got it when I was in cosmetology school. One of my classmates was like, lasagna's too long. I'm gonna name you. so-So I don't know where so dropped, but along the way I just became so, creating, so be it later. I learned that so be it also means Amen. And so having that as a seal of the deal, having that as a covering, having that as okay, no matter what you're doing. We gonna seal this with the amen. Mm-hmm. And so it means no matter what, so be it. It's gonna happen. It's gonna be okay. You don't have to stress and worry about it. God already said it's done. He sees you. You know? So I started to add all of those things to it, and it was like, amen. It was

Speaker 2 7:13

just meant to be.

Speaker 7:14

It was just meant to be. Absolutely. And it people would walk up to me and be like, so be it. And so it didn't become a buzz word. Right. Um, but not know. They may not even know that they're saying amen to me for what has been done.

Speaker 2 7:29

Absolutely. Thank you for explaining that.

Speaker 7:31

Yes.

Speaker 2 7:32

And. Your career path is incredibly layered from cosmetology to education, disaster relief, mental health, wellness support, and community advocacy. How have all those experiences come together to shape the way you lead and serve today?

Speaker 7:50

Each one of them had their own significant part. Particularly cosmetology because I was a cosmetologist for about 13 years in a mental hospital. So being able to see women at their lowest and to be able to transform them with head care services, with words of encouragement, teaching them wellness classes and seeing the result of that. Has been incredible. Even disaster relief. Like I could not have done the job at the mental hospital had I not gotten a job in disaster relief, because that definitely showed me I was made to serve. It was like one thing led to the other. The next thing led to the other, and they all together came for me to say, you are a person of service. This is what you're destined to do. And every layer. Just open the door for that. Even education. I'm serving families and children, even with the disaster relief, serving all people, even being in the community. So I'm not always limited to women, but I am. It's my. Top layer driving force. Right. But at the end of the day, I have learned that's who I am. That's who God created me to be. And so even if I wanted to shy away from it or to go in the other direction, he always puts another project, another thing in place. It's like, no, this is your divine purpose. I created you to serve. So here we are.

Speaker 2 9:20

That's wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. Just your personality. You are such a people person. You are tr truly here to help people. And I think that that is just so wonderful.

Speaker 9:29

Yes.

Speaker 2 9:31

And speaking of being a cosmetologist you spent so many years doing hair care in the mental health hospital SE setting. Why did, what did that work teach you about confidence, healing and the deeper impact of simply helping someone feel seen?

Speaker 9:49

It is interesting you say that. I feel like sometimes I grew up not being seen, and so it's important to me to make sure I see people. It's important to me to make sure I show up. So working in that arena. I wanted to not put them in a box to say, this lady was homeless, or this guy, you know, he had whatever. Who am I to put a label on them? I am here to make them look better. I am here to make them feel better. And so I hope that every time they sat in my chair, I did that and not. Don't disregard of the thing that they came in for. Don't put them in a box to say, well, they committed a crime, or They're human beings at the end of the day. And so if I can separate that and actually just see them as a human being who need to come get some hair services, who need some wellness, let me make that happen for them. And so 13 years later, that's what I did.

Speaker 2 10:52

Wow. It truly is just kind of a personalized experience. Yes. You're meeting them where they're at. Yeah. You're not judging them and you're just there to simply help.

Speaker 11:01

Yeah. That's exactly what happened, and also what it did was it showed me that. Life can turn instantly, right? You can be up today and down tomorrow. You've had people not just wake up and have mental illness, life caused that. And so you have to be in a place where, like you said, meeting them where they are. And grateful. Truly grateful I was able to do that.

Speaker 2 11:29

Wonderful.

Speaker 11:29

Yeah.

Speaker 2 11:31

And speaking of that, you know, so be, it was also born from your desire to create something meaningful for women in women transitioning back into the community in everyday life. What are some of the ways your organization helps women rebuild that confidence, purpose and also just self-sufficiency.

Speaker 11:51

You talked about earlier about meeting people where they are. Not everybody is. Ready to throw in a towel and shift gears and shift the atmosphere. Not everybody walks around with tools in a tool shed just, I can pull this out and conquer life. There's some people who have dealt with so many traumatic things, who are triggered easily, and so with, so be it. When we create our women, we create the women's retreats. I do my best to with the theme. So each retreat has had a theme. So we've had the self-love retreat, we've had do it bold, brave, and beautiful, relax and release. So there are themes to them, and in those themes. Creating that workshop that's gonna give them tools for that. So we've brought, brought in presenters who can do that, right? And even down to the swag bag, it's a theme, but the theme is also tools that's going to help them. So rather they're affirmation cards, whether they're journaling, whatever it is. I'm gonna do my best to meet them where they are and their thoughts. Now, can I always help everybody? Absolutely not. But if I can't, I'm going to do my best. This last retreat, we had 23 ladies to come, and so I was excited to know that okay, it's, and we sold it out in three days, so it's like, okay, I'm working, it's happening, I'm, it's coming together. So those tools are. If it is a sermon, if it's music, we create a playlist for the retreat. Anything that's going to help you center yourself, take the deep breath. If it's, we had had breathing classes, yoga, like all the things that's going to help them get to their necks because unfortunately it's not always readily accessible. So hopefully I've done that. Hopefully so be it will continue to do that.

Speaker 2 13:47

Absolutely. And just kind of being in that group setting, sometimes it's easy to feel alone and feel like you're the only one struggling and being able to be in such a powerful group of women like that, who might share the same struggles you can really just build on that. Learn from each other. Yes. And I just think that's so awesome that you are able to provide a setting like that.

Speaker 14:08

And it's actually happened. I've had ladies to come on a retreat by themselves who. Conquered their fear and coming by themselves, but left and said, I feel like I've been with these people all my life. And so I was grateful that that was the environment that was created. They didn't feel isolated. Everybody came together. It's like that safe space with the soft landing, making sure that nobody is left alone, and it literally became that relationship between them.

Speaker 2 14:36

I was about to say, you probably made some really great friends along the way.

Speaker 14:40

Absolutely.

Speaker 2 14:42

Like almost like family, I'm sure.

Speaker 14:44

Yes.

Speaker 2 14:46

Wonderful. And you've also taken your personal health journey and turned it into advocacy through all things. Pg, can you share more about that organization and why raising awareness around rare diseases have become such an important part of your mission?

Speaker 15:04

Wow. I don't even wanna cry about this. All things pg. PG stands for? Pyoderma. Gangrenosum. So for seven years I battled this rare disease. Didn't know what it was. Doctors didn't know what it was. And so it came with sleepless nights. It came with agony, it came with wounds. That would last well over a year. It came with medical bills. It came with excruciating pain that I couldn't even describe. It also came with awareness for myself. And so pg. When I got the diagnosis seven years later I had already been a part of a Facebook group. And so in there we help each other. We give as much information as possible. This is a rare disease. People don't really know about it. People don't really have all the clear diagnosis for it. Most times people are misdiagnosed. I was misdiagnosed a few times before I got the clear diagnosis. And unfortunately. It's like you're a test dummy, right? It's like, test this out, see if this works, test this out, and when it doesn't work, it just cause more problems. Pg. Thank God. Seven years later I get a clear diagnosis. I get the right medication. Now I'm on a good regimen, but the Facebook group that I was in, there was a young lady call us. She was, she reached out to me and was like, Hey, I see you. We wanna create this all things PG organization. I want you to be a board member. And I was like, what? You don't know who's watching you? Right? And so, five of us came together, created all things PG as a nonprofit organization last June, I believe. And so we've done some great work. We've won a couple of grants. We've done a p fac, um, work workshop. We just launched our first fundraising campaign for red disease days back in February. And. I'm excited about this organization because what it does is bring awareness to people who simply don't know what it is, don't know how to get resources, don't know who to connect with. And right now there's a little over 4,000 people in our Facebook group who either are caregivers, who are providers, and who actually live with pg all things. PG is one of those. Things that before it's said, all said and done, the world would know about it. Pyoderma gang know, some rare disease is something that people have committed suicide from. People have suffered in silence. People have been in spaces where they just don't know what to do. So rather it's finances to try to get it done or, you know, get the right doctors or just being able to have a name for what you have. Seven years I battled this disease without a name. I mean, that's kind of one of those things that's like, what am I going to do? Like, just take me out already. Like, because that pain was so my sheets couldn't touch my skin. We talking about 100% cotton sheets can't touch your skin, right? And just trying to get through those journeys and processes and nuances. It's like I am eternally grateful that I had a rheumatologist who stuck with me and she was like, I'm gonna help you figure it out. We're gonna get you to the healing space. I haven't had a wound since March of 2021.

Speaker 2 18:44

Wow,

Speaker 18:45

Mar this month, March of 20 tomorrow. What's the date? The, today, the 24th.

Speaker 2 18:49

Yep.

Speaker 18:49

Almost close to, uh, 21st. March 21st, 2021. I rung the bell and haven't been at wound care since. And grateful. I got the cocktail of medication that's helping me live a normal life. That helps me, you know, my skin is healed and I don't have the pain and all those things. But this organization we're doing our best to get the word out. We are doing our best to people can know, support us, you know, also be able to receive support. And so we're gonna start in April. We're gonna start doing, um, monthly meetings where people can attend virtually and they'll be able to bring their families, their caregivers some doctors. We have a dermatologist that sits on our board, Dr. Ortega, and he has been phenomenal just guiding. He helped me understand my own journey. I had uveitis when I was in my early twenties, didn't know what uveitis was, didn't know how to deal with it, but uveitis is also a disease that affects your eyes. Well, those, all those things kind of come together. Also live with a red disease called May Thena Syndrome. So now, and I have rheumatoid arthritis. So then when I speak to Dr. Ortega. He puts the pieces of the puzzle together for me to see, oh, I see how this works with this and this works with that, and now it makes sense. But being on a biologic, everybody doesn't get to be on a biologic. They can't afford it. I take a needle, I take an injectable needle every two weeks. I take another medication weekly just so I can continue to live this great quality of life. With all things pg, it is my desire to get this information to everybody who needs it. It shouldn't, people should not have to go through what I've gone through. And I know people who go through worse, right? But your story is your story. And yeah, if I can help, I'm gonna help as best as I can. If I can encourage, if I can point them in the right direction, that's what I'm gonna do.

Speaker 2 20:55

Absolutely. And to just be able to speak from personal experience. Yes. To know what it's like to go through it, to deal with it. And for such a long time too. Yes. Being labeled as almost a question mark.

Speaker 21:08

Yep.

Speaker 2 21:09

You'd never want anyone to go go through that. Yes. So the fact that you are able to lead from that spread that awareness. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 21:15

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2 21:16

I think that is just truly incredible what you're doing.

Speaker 21:18

Thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 2 21:21

And. You know, one of the strongest messages from our conversation was the importance of mental health. Why do you believe mental health is such a critical starting point for healing, wellness and personal growth?

Speaker 21:35

Everything stems from our mind. Everything stems from our mind. We make decisions. We we don't make right decisions. We make irrational decisions. Like everything starts in our mind. And so when we are in a healthy mind space. We can make healthy decisions and unfortunately, mental health does not go notice as much as it should. People don't recognize their own mental health as much as they should. And so for me, I believe that if I can feed my mind good things, it's like food. You have to eat good things in order to have a healthy body, right? The mind has to be the same. You have to be mindful of what you're putting in it, what you're exposed to. And if there's a clinical diagnosis, then certainly you need clinical help. But at the end of the day, people struggle mentally and sometimes there's like this stigma that they don't wanna talk about it, if they're dealing with something that's off. It's like, I remember growing up and saying, what goes on in our house? Stay in our house, right? So it's like you don't get the outside help that you need. It's 2026. Go outside and get the help that you need from whoever you need. Of course, do your due diligence. Find the right resources to get what you need, but your mental health, you can't thrive if your mental health is off. You can't. You can't live a a joyous life. You can't live a prosperous life when the mental health, I know when my mental health is off. It's like take a step back. Yeah, take some deep breaths. Go center yourself. Go write it out. Get it off your head, get it off your heart. Save your soul journal if you will, but do whatever that thing is to help you regain and control your mental capacity.

Speaker 2 23:28

Absolutely. I like how you described it as the center. Yeah. 'cause it truly is, it's, it's the building blocks that we go off of, of how we live our life, how we help other people. Yes. So we don't take care of ourself. It's hard to help others.

Speaker 23:40

You can't do it.

Speaker 2 23:41

Yeah.

Speaker 23:42

You can't do it. Yeah. And, and unfortunately we push ourselves to keep doing it and we end up plummeting down and it's a disaster.

Speaker 2 23:53

Yes, absolutely. No, I think that's, I think that's wonderful advice for, for anybody.

Speaker 23:56

Yeah.

Speaker 2 23:57

Everybody and anybody.

Speaker 23:58

Yes.

Speaker 2 24:00

And kind of a pivot, you have some exciting things on the horizon from your continued fundraising campaign for all things PG to your affirmation cards and upcoming journal. Can you share a little bit about what you're currently building and what people can support or look forward to?

Speaker 24:18

Absolutely. So. All things. PG definitely is a project that we're working on. And um, I also got an opportunity to collaborate with 14 other ladies and we got to tell our story in this, this book called Turning My Pain into Purpose Volume Two. But I got to write a chapter in this book and it was. S laying out my journey through PG and so be it, and developing Women for Greatness. Being able to tell my story and share this journey with the world has been a phenomenal experience. Never in my life thought I'd be in this. Sitting on a podcast out my journey. Right? A couple years ago I got to, I won a speech competition and I got to go to Canada, just tell my story on a big stage. But. You never know how life is gonna come out. So be it through my So Be It Journey. I used to do something called Tiny Tidbit Tuesdays and I would share some tools, tips, and encouragement to people. Everything that I was given to them, I was given to me. So in that, I also got to create some affirmation cards. And the affirmation cards are 32 cards in the deck. And I'm excited about them. They are volume one. I'm also working on a journal to go with them. So prayer prayerfully by this summer, the journal Be ready. Yeah, so be it. Project, uh, affirmation card, daily affirmation cards. I flip them every day like I just bought 'em. And I usually flip them in the morning and then I write about them and every single time it aligns with what my day is bringing. Wow. And so I think I released these affirmation cards December, 2024. So they're just a little over a year that I've developed them, but I'm excited about where they're going. Yes,

Speaker 2 26:22

absolutely. I remember when you were first telling me about them, I was like, I think that idea is so cool. Yes. Um, and such a great thing for everybody to have. Just kind of a little reminder to know where you're going.

Speaker 26:35

Yes. Know where you're going. And also. Just being able to have some tools, right? To have some tools in your tool shed to, I'm having a bad day today. Let me flip this affirmation and, center myself. And you get some directions in the beginning. It's like, take a deep breath, center yourself, flip a card, let it align with your life for the day. You be surprised. You're like, how did it know? So yes. Um, that's what we are, that's what I'm working on. Time is moving so fast, but like I said, by June, the affirmation cards will have a journal to go with them.

Speaker 2 27:12

Beautiful.

Speaker 27:13

Yes,

Speaker 2 27:13

I know. I'm looking forward to it. Yes. And for listeners who feel inspired by your story and want to learn more about, so be it your affirmation cards or just the work you're doing through all things pg, where can they find you and connect with you?

Speaker 27:29

Sure. So, so be it. Uh, website is so be it llc.com and all things PG is all things pg.org

Speaker 2 27:39

Okay.

Speaker 27:39

Yes.

Speaker 2 27:40

Perfect. And. As we wrap up, is there anything you'd like to add that I haven't touched on today?

Speaker 27:47

You actually did pretty good. I will say this though. As I think about my own journey and I think about just how everything comes together, we never know what's gonna happen to us. We never know where our feet will land or what we will endure, but whatever it is, take it in stride. Be grateful for the opportunities, good, bad, and indifferent, because they definitely prove something else. In the long run, I had no idea that my sickness. Would be this today. So sometimes you have to go through to get through. So I would encourage anybody, just keep going. Go through to get through.

Speaker 2 28:27

Just keep going

Speaker 28:28

and just keep going no matter what.

Speaker 2 28:30

Whatever it is, you'll con conquer it.

Speaker 28:32

Absolutely.

Speaker 2 28:34

Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing your knowledge and passion and story with us. I wish you the very best in all that comes your way in the future.

Speaker 28:46

Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Speaker 2 28:49

Thank you.