This is Kelly.
Kelly comes from a family of musicians. Born and raised in Everett, Washington he moved to the Bay Area with his mom after his parents divorce when he was 8.
Having parents that were musicians, Kelly spent a lot of time on the road.
“I grew up around so much beauty, gospel, and soul... My family often went to the beach growing up in Washington. We would go sometimes right after a church service. Those were some of my favorite times as a child actually. I was always in nature.”
After moving to California, nature continued to play a big role in his life.
“My uncle always forced us to engage in these family assignments called nature walks. It was a way to help us re-center ourselves and take the focus off of our present circumstances, and learn to take a pause in life and just be in the moment and enjoy the beauty. My uncle said ‘He wanted us to learn something different in life rather than just growing up in the ghetto’.”
To Kelly, the outdoors is a forum for discovery and it symbolizes life itself. Most of his experiences have been enlightening.
“When I'm in the outdoors, [I] go to experience and explore. Often not really focusing on inclusion or the lack thereof. But I have often noticed that deeper into nature you go, there just is not many people of color involved. But one could argue that it's just not something that they are interested in. Which I have specifically heard family and friends of color express this. But I do think that if more people of color had the opportunity to try it out and experience the outdoors—even if a small number showed interest—it still leads to more exposure to a different way of life for all people groups.”
While having a love and passion for the outdoors, he mainly makes music and has been getting into acting. He also just recently got engaged to his long time girlfriend, Marie!
Kelly reminds me that being an outdoor enthusiast doesn’t mean you can’t have other hobbies and passions. Even with a busy life filled with other interests, you can still take the time to enjoy the outdoors; it’s for everyone to enjoy and derive meaning from.
Always making time for nature, Kelly has learned a great lesson from the outdoors: “I am meant for so much more. I was created for Love.”