Image: courtesy of Samsung.
Rosario Dawson faced a tough medical journey earlier this year. “I had fibroids taken out and endometriosis,” she shares with EBONY. “I had four rounds of extractions and a lot of hormones.”
She’s now following a simple formula to maintain her health. “I’m being really good about just getting my steps and my sleep and getting back into meditating and doing a lot of stretching,” she reveals. The Ahsoka star hasn’t yet returned to the rigorous martial arts training she did for the Disney+ series’ first season. “I really put my body through it this past year, on top of the training and the physical stuff, so I’m being gentle with myself through the holidays.”
The actress/producer has also produced a film about the condition. “We did a documentary on endometriosis that we’re trying to screen with this organization, Loom, she says. “It takes 10 years for most people to even be diagnosed with it. And a lot of women find out after they get the fibroids removed, which is the exact thing that happened to me. I’d been struggling with it and didn’t even know I had it.” She hopes that sharing her journey will encourage others to seek medical attention if they are experiencing symptoms.
The Haunted Mansion star is also giving back to the youth in her old New York City neighborhood. “I grew up in the Lower Eastside, and the statistics were terrible regarding education and access,” she recalls. As a board director of The Lower Eastside Girls Club of NY, which offers free programming in art, science, leadership, entrepreneurship and wellness for girls and gender-diverse youth, Dawson has partnered with Samsung to bring its technological advances to location.
“They’ve got monitors and you can do meetings, play video games and do different things. One of my favorite things is an outside, all-weather streaming TV. And they’ve got this beautiful green roof. For the girls who are directing, writing and starring in things they’re making—they have a planetarium there and they are making planetarium shows—they’re learning media,” Dawson says. “It’s special for me to bring the most cutting-edge Samsung technology to the Girls Club to prepare these kids for the future.”
Dawson sees how technology can improve your wellness in many aspects. “I was raised to burn the candle at both ends. If you’re not stressed out and overworked, you’re not trying hard enough. Now, I’m trying to flip that so still we do great work in how we maximize our time.” The partnership with Samsung allows its participants to be more efficient technically but also artistically and creatively.
“Having these materials in that building allows the girls to be exposed to the most advanced technologies and learn how to incorporate them holistically and healthily. It’s something I wish I would have had.”
Access to Samsung’s many products allows the actress and Studio 189 fashion apparel entrepreneur to use her time more efficiently. “Our time is precious on this earth,” exclaims the multifaceted star. “Black people always talk about multitasking. For me, multitasking is making sure that my integrity, values, morals, time, energy and the content that I’m creating have a multifaceted approach that is mutually beneficial for multiple different people.”
At home, Dawson is enjoying her new Samsung smart TV that “does all the cool things,” she says. “I love that you can draw on it. You can take meetings on it. It gives you your schedule, and I have ADHD, so it’s perfect for me.” She’s using her aura ring on her phone app and doing everything to “get on and off the Jetsons life and live a little bit more efficiently and with more quality.”