“We never really know what people are going through, so it’s best to be kind to everyone.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I am passionate about helping people. I absolutely love seeing people and businesses grow and succeed! I also love being able to help people be more positive and motivated on a daily basis.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: When I was younger, I was part of a very loving family and home. I have two older sisters, so I am the baby of the family. I was born and raised in San Diego, California, which I love! Education has always been important to me, which is why I got my master’s degree around the time that I moved to Nevada in 2013.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: Something valuable that I have learned is that we never really know what people are going through, so it’s best to be kind to everyone.
Q: What does feminism mean to you? A: To me, feminism means that women are treated equally. Just because we are women does not mean that we should be treated differently!
MORE ABOUT JESSIKA: I used to be a teacher, but I have been a virtual assistant and social media manager for the past three years. I absolutely love being able to help people remotely! I’m also currently starting my life coaching journey.
“Never be afraid to try something new. If your heart’s not in it and pulls you toward something else, let it guide you. ”
Q: Tell us about yourself.
A: Hello! My name is Vivian, and I’m passionate about helping others. I am the owner of Xpressive Mocha Cafe, which was created because my husband and I wanted something natural to aid in the healing of our son’s eczema. After discovering shea butter and the wonderful benefits it offers, I began to mix the butter with essential oils to create something that was not only working but assisted in giving my son’s skin the extra moisture it needed.
After being asked what I was using, Xpressive Mocha was born. Me being a coffee lover as well, I knew the caffeine in coffee would just be a bonus so I added that as well as tea. Our online store was created in 2014. Since then, fast forward to 2022, we opened our storefront in Bloomingdale, Illinois.
At the Xpressive Mocha Cafe, our passion for skincare allows us to provide helpful information and products that help with the treatment of eczema, psoriasis, and other personal skincare issues. We provide skin consultations with clients to discuss their skincare concerns; educate clients on how to use skincare products and provide product demonstrations; we plan, organize, and participate in skincare events and shows; and give accessibility to order new skincare supplies and maintain relationships with our customers.
Our body butter doesn’t contain any preservatives. To use it, you simply put a small amount on your fingers and rub it into your skin, just as you would with lotion. Body butter is thicker than lotion, so you don’t need a lot to moisturize.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I’m from a small area in Wisconsin where everyone knows everyone and you are a community. I remember cooking with my mom daily and imagining I was making a meal for my imaginary family. I’m from a family of 10 children, so we did a lot of cooking. Cooking and experimenting have always been a passion of mine. When I had to take home economics in school, that just solidified that making things with my hands was a stress reliever for me. I was always a fan of chemistry class because it intrigued me, and my teacher was wonderful! I believe this is the same passion that drives me to create my plant-based products for men and women today.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: Something valuable I would like to share with everyone is to never be afraid to try something new. If your heart’s not in it and pulls you toward something else, let it guide you. When I first started college, I truly believed I was going to be a lawyer and that it would be great. One computer class changed my life. It’s as if I had found my calling and switched career paths that day. I continued with the information technology world for years before having kids and discovering my newfound love. After moving from Wisconsin to Illinois, I became a computer science instructor and did that for seven years. Covid proved to me that time waits for no one and you have to go for your dreams now. Quitting and persuading myself to go after my dream of having a storefront was the best decision I could have made.
Q: What does feminism mean to you? A: Feminism to me means being true to yourself and taking advantage of all the opportunities that are available to help you. As well as having multiple sisters to confide in along the way when you feel you can’t.
Q and A with Chloe from South Korea, living in Dallas, Texas
“It’s important to be grateful for all the things we have and to be positive since we have no idea how things will ultimately turn out.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I’ve always been passionate about traveling, fashion, and good food! My favorite cuisines are Korean and Chinese!
My business is 100% handmade. I make handmade aprons, eco-friendly bags, and accessories such as ribbons or scrunchies from scratch. I started Chloe Choe in 2018, and that’s when I got married and started to cook. As I said, I love food, so that’s where I started to cook myself and I tried to find a pretty apron but I couldn’t. I decided to make my own and then people loved to buy it, so I started my own handmade business. Fashion is my passion, and I am thrilled to have been preselected for Fashion Week in April. However, the cost to enter with the right sponsors is $8,000, and I need help to make it happen.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: My dad passed away when I was 10, and my mom raised me and my younger brother all by herself in Korea while building her own business. I was so inspired by her example that I decided to come to America and try to make a successful business here.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: My biggest lesson is that it’s really important for women to work on mental health and feeling good about themselves. It’s really easy to become depressed or sad at life events when they happen. It’s important to be grateful for all the things we have and to be positive since we have no idea how things will ultimately turn out. Some of the biggest blessings in my life came after what I initially thought was a bad event.
Q: What does feminism mean to you? A: Feminism just means that women should have equal opportunities as men.
I’m Chloe Choe and I’m from South Korea and living in Dallas, Texas, with my husband William Ling.
“Boundaries that aren’t enforced aren’t boundaries. ”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: So many things! I love reading, and always have, which ultimately sort of accidentally spilled into writing books and building a business out of authoring. I’m a licensed professional counselor, and I still work a couple days a week as a counselor doing mental health therapy with clients, and then I write every day, in every spare moment from that! I write therapeutic children’s picture books like I Love You When You’re Angry and When a Donut Goes to Therapy under Erin Winters, and then on the other side of the spectrum, I write YA fantasy novels under E.A. Winters!
We’re a military family and our boys are two and almost four years old. I have a therapeutic deployment book launching on Kickstarter in May, and a new children’s book about a super cute lamb that’s based on Psalm 23 and will be illustrated this summer.
As for novels, book #2 in my dragons and assassins series launched just yesterday, and I’m finishing up writing book #4 now! Book #3 drops in April, and book #4 in June, so I stay pretty busy. I want to offer heartwarming, therapeutic children’s books promoting emotional learning and normalizing having conversations about feelings with kids on a variety of topics. I was surprised to find there were so few picture books doing this effectively, and blown away by the response I’ve gotten to my books. In regard to fantasy novels, they’re honestly escapism. Daring adventures, sword fights, dragons, assassins…what could be better, right? I also discovered they were cathartic for me, and phenomenal self-care, and I get grumpy if I haven’t written in a couple of days. I think almost accidentally, I discovered part of what I do is provide wholesome family-friendly fantasy that refuses to romanticize toxic relationships but shows realistic people overcoming enormous challenges. What hope there is in that! If they can do it, and be brave enough to face the monsters within along the way, surely so can we.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I was homeschooled all the way through. My parents did an incredible job, and I hope I do half as well. I respect them so much. My dad is a mechanical engineer and my mom has degrees in biochemistry and zoology. Critical thinking skills were always emphasized growing up. My mom currently teaches high school science classes to about 150 homeschoolers across a number of different classes. For extracurriculars, I was in a singing ensemble, did drama, and loved it. I also did piano but didn’t apply myself like I probably should have. My relationship with God has been the biggest factor in my life overall, and spine surgery at age 13 taught me a lot about not being in control. I also had the opportunity to serve others overseas on short-term trips a couple of times, and the experiences I gained impacted me in huge ways.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: Therapeutically, something I say a lot is that boundaries that aren’t enforced aren’t boundaries. So, there you go. Personally, I’ve learned that being in control of life is an illusion. The only person in control is God, so without Him, we’re all sort of just swirling around in a storm-filled ocean, clinging to driftwood and hoping we hit land. And since having kids, there’s a lot I have left to learn, but I think taking care of yourself so that you have the mental space to pour out is really important. Being sacrificial, patient, and consistent is so important. And doing whatever I need to do to work on myself to get to a place where I can be that way needs to be a top priority for my own sanity as well as the best for my family!
Q: What does feminism mean to you? A: There are way too many definitions for this word. As a therapist, I see terms being tossed about all the time with no grounding, so it’s important to define our terms carefully, and unless there’s a reason to use an operational definition, the regular one does just fine. Google says this: “The advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.” I think it’s apparent that men and women are equal. Equal in worth, intelligence, and having a broad scope of personalities, desires, and all the complexities within humanity. People should never be discriminated against by their age, gender, or race. It harms men and women alike when either gender is devalued, no matter which side is doing it.
“Learn to celebrate the small wins and enjoy the journey to the next goal.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I am passionate about life, helping people, and walking in my God-given purpose. Which is to inspire and motivate others. Whether it is through spoken words, singing, writing songs, or writing a book.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: My early years were interesting. I am the youngest of six brothers and sisters. People would say I am spoiled. I was not. I was brought up in a Christian home and a home filled with music. From listening to rock steady and reggae music to jazz to Ska to the gospel, and so much more. I also remember that I was always singing whether it was at church, school, or an event. For the most part, I had a close-knit family. Being the last one means I always tried to be assertive as I felt that I was never listened to. In high school and onward, I continued performing and I was the president of the drama club, I.S.C.F. I was also a leader in the student body. I was always a leader, always excited to help, learn new things, and get involved in any way I could. I have too many memorable experiences growing up to mention that have directly and indirectly shaped the woman I am today.
I am from Kingston, Jamaica. I am a proud Caribbean queen and a serial entrepreneur, singer, songwriter, and writer.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: Something valuable that I hold close to my heart is to walk in your own purpose and focus on your journey because God’s timing for everyone is different. Also, learn to celebrate the small wins and enjoy the journey to the next goal.
Q: What does feminism mean to you? A: Feminism for me is simply giving recognition that is due to strong and powerful women regardless of where they are from, status, or color. It is not degrading or putting men aside as some may think.
The Woman Wednesday Blog 