Naomi Raquel Enright (English)
Naomi Raquel Enright grew up with a passion to challenge oppressive systems. As a 25-year-old, she aspired to be a lawyer. But throughout the years, she has fought for equity through her writing, educational work, and most importantly, by embracing her identity.
What did you do when you were 25?
I was in Brooklyn and was living by myself for the first time. I was independent and I worked at the time at the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). I thought I would study law at the time and pursue civil rights law or human rights law.
I ended up failing miserably the LSAT, the qualifying exam for law school. That to me was a very clear indicator that law was not the path for me, but I knew that my work would somehow focus on justice and equity and social change.
I also would go out to dinner often with my friends during the week and go to parties. I would often host gatherings in my own apartment, which I loved. I did not have a boyfriend at the time and that was a concern of mine. I was worried about whether I would meet somebody and get married someday and have kids someday. I think in part was from my Ecuadorian family who were just convinced that by 25, I was going to be single for the rest of my days. So that was very much on my mind at age 25.
From 25 to 45, what has changed?
There have been countless changes. I met my husband when I was 28 and we’ve been married for 14 years. He’s my best friend. Then I gave birth to our son, our only child, Sebastian, in 2010. And then in 2011, I, sadly, lost my father.
He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September of that year and died in November of that year, just two days before my son’s first birthday. I became a wife, a mother, and a fatherless daughter. I also had changes professionally.
I was a Spanish teacher for eight years and I left to become an equity practitioner full time and I left that after three years. I’ve written a book in that time. My book, Strength of Soul, was published in 2019. There have been other things that happened. But to me, that really redefined a lot of how I think about life and how I think about connection and time.
