Springfield Creative City Collective

Springfield Creative City Collective Executive Director Tiffany Allecia M.Ed. and SCCC Advisor Dr. Alice Farrell performed at the Boston PRX Podcast Garage as storytellers for their, "Dear Mamma" program. Check out thoughts from Allecia regarding this experience below.

"I have a specifically immobilizing disdain for Mother’s Day as it overwhelms me with shattered dreams of what I thought motherhood would be like. So when I was asked to speak openly about my experience a couple of Springs ago, I was honestly paralyzed by the idea of it. Especially in regard to my insecurities, the exposure, and the uncertainty of revisiting emotions I usually try to move through quickly and quietly.

I’m deeply grateful that I did it anyway.

A trillion thank you’s to PRX for providing an intergenerational opportunity for my mother and I to share space, reflect, and participate in storytelling together for their “Dear Mamma” program. The Boston PRX Podcast Garage curated an evening where memory, lineage, vulnerability, and preserving the humanity within our experiences was required and I am still truly honored to have been selected as a storyteller with my mother.

A sincere thank you to Gina James, VP of Strategic Partnerships at PRX, for her guidance, creativity, and thoughtful support throughout this experience; to Magdiela Matta, previous Community Producer and Operations extraordinaire, for her coordination, care, and intentionality in bringing everything together; and to Bethany Van Delft for maintaining such a welcoming and grounding space for storytellers to feel comfortable, seen, and connected.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mammas who may cry more than we laugh on this day every year. May your tears release the pain we don’t speak of and water the parts of yourself still trying to heal, soften, and believe that joy is still possible for you too."