Bet on yourself with Tamron Hall
By Vivian Kwarm
Photography by ABC/Jeff Neira
Styled by Abby Israel
June 4, 2024
“Vivian, get up!”
That’s what I told myself, over and over again, after losing my job a couple years ago. I felt defeated. I had lost my stability and I just felt…stuck. We’ve all been there.
Even worse, I had to figure out an answer to one of life’s most frustrating questions: “Now what?”
Life was lifing, y’all!
While the lingering doubt that I would never figure out the answer haunted me, it was shame that kept me quiet. If you’ve ever been there, you know what I’m talking about.
Yet, in the midst of that uncertainty, it felt like I was the only one.
Vision in Vogue has always been an incredibly therapeutic space for me because with every conversation, I am comforted by the reality that I’m never the only one going through something hard. There’s always another woman out there who understands.
One of those women is Tamron Hall.
Here’s what happened. In 2017, Tamron was an anchor on the TODAY show. After 22 years in the industry, she had finally landed her dream job. But just three years later, that dream came to a sudden end when it was announced that Tamron was losing her TODAY timeslot on the morning show’s third hour to Megyn Kelly. So she decided to walk away.
During my raw, honest conversation with Tamron for Vision in Vogue, she admitted, “A lot of days, I didn’t know how it would turn out. I’d be in the corner crying.”
When Tamron said that, I immediately got chills. Because, after all, I had been there.
Moments like that are so powerful. There we were, two women sharing experiences while reflecting on how we both came out better on the other side.
In the words of Maya Angelou, “I come as one, but I stand as 10000.”
If you’re currently walking a similar path and in the midst of an uncertain situation, I promise you are not alone.
“I tell people all the time, you’re going to lose something,” Tamron continued. “You might lose a significant other, you might lose a job, but it’s how you reclaim who you are, reclaim your identity in those losses.”
Not only was Tamron able to reclaim her identity, she would go on to host The Tamron Hall Show, which has earned her two Daytime Emmys and a legion of new supporters she now calls “Tam fam.”
Sometimes closed doors are the biggest blessing.
The door had to close on me, too, so I could get an opportunity at one of my dream companies: E! News.
Even when it sucks for a season, no experience is ever wasted. Tamron rebuilt herself piece by piece and bounced back higher than a kangaroo on a trampoline.
OK, weird metaphor…but you know what I mean.
Anywho, when I asked her what advice she’d give someone who’s currently down in the dumps, she said, “Bet on yourself.”
“You have to bet on yourself,” she preached. “You are unique to this universe because God meant each of us to be unique in our own way and it’s wasted if we don’t find ways to bet on ourselves. That’s my theory.”
Amen, sister!
Just watching Tamron’s journey has helped me graduate to a new level of understanding. Closed doors aren’t the end, but actually an opportunity for a new beginning.
Trust me, I know it’s scary when we don’t know what the next chapter looks like. But goodbyes push us into our next level. Girl, get up!
Bet on yourself. Your vision is depending on it.
Xoxo,
Viv