Step Into Your Power

A review of Emma G’s Documentary Born In Crisis

“You’re four times more likely to listen to negative thoughts than you are to listen to

positive thoughts, but you’re ten times more likely to listen to them if you speak them out loud.”

Emma G’s documentary, Born In Crisis, created by Gene Sizemore, will fill you to the brim with warmth and admiration for the perseverance of the human spirit, and the will to create light in dark places.

Born In Crisis details the process of Emma G’s connection to music which is ultimately inspired by her struggle with Hydrocephalus. This condition is due to fluid collection in the brain and is often found in young children, which is true in Emma G’s case. The first of her eventual twenty-four brain surgeries was at the incredibly early age of just four months.

Her mental and physical health has not been a topic she openly shared growing up because of the disconnect when relating to others on the heavy topic, especially as a child. Emma G recalls with a smirk the letters she received from classmates, and the names she was called, such as Frankenstein, and reflects on that with an air of humor saying, “Up until maybe a couple of years ago, I’ve only started realizing, I’m a fucking badass.” The elegance and strength in this statement are further solidified when she notes that she does not believe in comparing scars and battles, but recognizing your own struggle and its weight and worth.

The side effects of Hydrocephalus caused unbearable headaches, pushing her to the edge, banging her head, and praying for a release from the pain. When noting these memories, the pain can be felt through Emma G’s voice, but there is a grace there. She then smiles, and explains that after countless appointments with doctors and psychologists, driven by her mother’s perseverance for answers, she learned that music and songwriting are some of the key ways she is able to stimulate and regrow her brain.

“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, music is the fifth element of wholeness.”

Emma G’s wholeness comes in the form of a groove-infused music collective she built in the heart of Washington D.C. Her aim in her music mission is to reach young people, especially those who are living through trauma and difficulty and give them the power they need to keep going. The theme of self-love and self-advocacy is so strong in this documentary and the music it portrays, with lyrics such as-

“If I am to prove all of the limits wrong,

If I am to breathe into my power,

I need to love who I am,

Kill the prior me,

Step into who I am meant to be.”

From start to finish, Born In Crisis is a triumph. And so is Emma G.

Make sure to support the film by watching it here or checking out the official website here. If you’d like to follow Emma G’s journey, check out her socials: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube