Holly Inglis
Currently looking for new opportunities after spending some time soul searching
My name is Holly Inglis, most people know me as Holly Marie. I’ve been an artist and humanitarian for as long as I can remember. Over the years I’ve learned from my pain, and have tried to help people in situations they feel they can’t get out of. My purpose used to be to find happiness, until I realized my purpose is to help others find theirs.
Life wasn’t always easy. To be honest it never has been. I had two parents and a brother growing up. We never had much but my parents always did what they could. I remember at one point I was sharing a room with my mom and dad, sleeping on an air mattress. Luckily I had music to keep me sane. Everyone who met me always assumed I was well off, and had such a great life. I was pretty, smart, and talented so people never saw what really went on. I went to 14 different schools before graduating high school, through that I got mixed in with the wrong crowd. Coming from nothing it’s easy to find trust in the wrong people. I was bullied pretty bad in high school. I wrote songs about it to make me feel better. I took that pain and started making a living out of it by touring Canada and motivating kids in schools with the Harlem Globetrotters, educating children how to take negativity and use it as fuel. I even ended up mentoring and teaching vocal lessons for free to a very special girl I helped motivate from government housing to go to Acadia University.
I did that for a while until my manager ended up stealing money from me. I went down a bad path and on my 19th birthday I got into a severe car accident by trusting someone to DD for me, believing she was my best friend. Recovery was miserable. I believed my whole career was over until I decided I was gonna go to University. Although my recovery was extremely hard, I powered through it. After a while in school I got my motor skills back, then I ended up signing a production deal with TMG Entertainment. I had been living the dream. Until my brother got sick. My brother fell off the beaten track and ended up moving in with me due to addiction. He was doing really well until one day he got into a bad state of mind called psychosis. I ended up kicking him out, and three days later my big brother, my hero, my best friend had overdosed and died. If that wasn’t bad enough exactly one month later, the day after my dad’s birthday, my father died from a heart attack. Everything I thought I knew had been taken from me. I moved in with my mom and tried to help her, I was her rock. Then we decided we needed to get back on our own two feet. You see my brother has three kids and a fiancé that needed help. Mom was living with my grandmother and I got my own place. I decided it was time for me to grow up. I secured my job as a content developer with Focus Media Group. I was great at my job, in manufacturing and business publications. Now I’m happier than ever helping my sister-in-law with the kids. I fell in love with a man who loves me unconditionally. I’m now soul searching, seeking a new opportunity for a career. I’ve had a few offers so far, but now I’m looking to inspire myself after all those years of inspiring others.
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What are you most proud of professionally? And who or why?
I’m proud of my work with the Canadian Cancer Society. The committee that plans the relay every year has shown me that passion and hard work can really make a difference. I was proud to be a part of that for a few years thanks to my nanny Dianne.
What’s your vision for Atlantic Canada in 10 years? What’s our biggest opportunity now?
I believe our community is really starting to come together. With all the new events, businesses, and sports teams, we are really starting to boom. I think our economy will grow exponentially, and create enough jobs for our people to be able to stay and really make a living. My vision is that housing will become more affordable, and our economy will grow enough to create livable wages for our residents, and people coming here for a better quality of life.
What was your greatest stage of growth? What made it a shift for you?
My greatest stage of growth wasn’t all the bad things or painful things. My greatest stage of growth came from seeing the happiness I was able to obtain by opening my heart and mind to new opportunities. I fell in love with a Korean-American whose family was so strong they immigrated for a better life and worked extremely hard. I saw my nieces thriving in a new school and learning a new language after losing their dad and grandpa. I saw my mom try to find love again. I saw my sister-in-law become a super mom. Through seeing the strength of everyone else, I grew up. I saw the woman I wanted to be. This realization created the shift in my life to want to continue being the best person I could be in order for everyone else to continue to thrive.
What’s your favourite or most read book or podcast? Now or at each of your greatest stages of growth?
My favourite book I ever read was Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. Trevor Noah inspired me through all that he had gone through, he could still make others laugh. Through all his pain he chose to smile, and let it fuel him to become successful. His pain turned into a thriving business.
What’s your deepest learning from this past year? How did/will you apply it?
My deepest learning was that no matter what happens, you always have to keep moving. Other people invest more into you than you think, so it’s important not to let them down, and to stay true to your heart. I’ve applied it with my relationship with my boyfriend by believing it’s possible to get through anything. I’ve applied it to work, where it’s important to be happy and in order to do that you have to work hard to get to where you wanna be. I’ve applied it to my nieces and nephew, making sure that they have a good life.
Who’s inspired you, directly or indirectly? How have they inspired you?
My biggest inspiration is my sister-in-law. My parents practically raised her so my dad was kind of like hers in a way. She lost my brother and my dad, by doing that she lost the father of her children, the love of her life, and the grandfather to her kids, and a parental figure. Watching her be such an amazing mom holding back the tears for her kids to be able to have the best life possible is the most inspiring and motivating factor in my life to date.
What would you have done differently?
I would’ve listened to people more. I wouldn’t have been so stubborn, by allowing my pain to dictate my decisions I didn’t listen to other people’s advice.
What are the principles you live by?
Never give up on something just because it’s hard. Value yourself and your family by holding everyone to a higher standard. And never stop believing in yourself or your worth.
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Artist, motivational speaker, animal lover, business oriented, ambitious, highly cultured Métis woman