Mama Never Told Me

Who sees the brilliance in a child when behavior, circumstance or the system gets noticed first?In this episode of Mama Never Told Me, Erica talks with Aarolyn J. Casillas about what it means to advocate for children who cannot always advocate for themselves.Aarolyn brings experience in child and family advocacy, education and CASA/GAL work, alongside doctoral research focused on the experiences surrounding gifted and talented minority boys. Her work raises an important question: What happens when a child's potential is present, but the adults and systems around that child don't recognize it?The sisters move between the professional and deeply personal—discussing CASA advocacy, CPS and the courts, parental responsibility, gifted education, military families, representation, health challenges, stress and the emotional weight carried by people who spend their lives caring for others.Aarolyn also explains why advocating for a child doesn't mean automatically choosing one side. It means looking at the whole situation, listening to the child's lived experience when possible, considering the evidence and continuing to ask what is truly in that child's best interest.And beneath the policy is a much simpler principle:Children deserve to be seen for their potential and brilliance—not reduced to their circumstances.This is a conversation about the children who can disappear between policies, classrooms, courtrooms and assumptions—and the people willing to keep looking out for them.Mama Never Told Me — for the things we were never told, but always felt.

Take a breath with me. Today we’re naming the bravery it takes to let your calling grow up alongside you.Dezaree’ Lusk braided cosmetology, clinical social work, and a fierce love for veterans into Divine Beauty Bar—a place where wigs, healing, and legacy live in the same room. From late-night dorm-room sew-ins to a nationwide “Free Wigs for Veterans” initiative, her story reminds us that purpose can shapeshift without losing its heartbeat.Inside the episodeOrigin spark: the first pair of shears and a big dreamWhen beauty work becomes mental-health advocacyWhy an MBA felt necessary—then surprisingLegacy threads that keep the mission steadyA gentle permission slip for anyone itching to pivotHand over heart, notice any spark of “maybe I can evolve too.”This conversation offers shared experience and reflection, not medical advice. Every body is different.