Woman Wednesday: Andra


Q and A with Andra from New York, United States

“If we are having bad experiences in our lives, that’s how we feel inside. Our external world is a match to our inner selves.”


Q: What are you passionate about?

A: Igniting joy by guiding others to shed their ego and embrace life fully—because true happiness in health, relationships, and work begins when the ego ends.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: We all experience different levels of past pain and trauma, but we don’t have to be a continued match for it. We must forgive and accept our parts in it to move on. We are meant to have an incredible life to help one another through. If we are having bad experiences in our lives, that’s how we feel inside. Our external world is a match to our inner selves.

Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: At its core, feminism strives for a world where individuals are not limited or defined by their gender but are valued equally and have the freedom to pursue their goals and live their lives free from discrimination and inequality.


I personally believe women are change agents. That we can achieve anything in this world. But we must stop seeing ourselves as underdogs. If we give ourselves that class, we will always be received in that class. We were always the strongest sex capable of doing everything a man could and better. But we must align ourselves with helping, not competing. The only competition is with us to be our best.

https://www.facebook.com/andra.annette

Woman Wednesday: Iesha


Q and A with Iesha C. from Bear, Delaware

“…you will come through on the other side


Q: What are you passionate about?

A: What I am most passionate about is my mission to empower and encourage women to navigate through the ups and downs of life, while seeking the promises of God. This passion came from a personal traumatic experience after the loss of a child, which left me seeking God for answers. During that time, I established a women’s ministry that I felt would be both relatable and transformational. Beauty for Ashes Ministries Inc. is now a faith-based nonprofit organization.

My focus with this nonprofit is to be a bridge that helps women impacted by life’s challenges to find meaning and purpose. The mission is to provide resources to encourage, empower, and educate women. The ultimate goal is to help women develop a positive outlook and self-image. This is done through seminars, workshops, and support sessions, using various tools and literature such as my published self-help book titled A Walk Through the Valley, which deals with grief and healing. The vision for Beauty for Ashes Ministries Inc. is to be recognized as a premiere holistic resource for women from all walks of life.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: What I have learned through my journey through life is that as you keep going, you will come through on the other side and there’s life after. 

Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: To me, feminism means the support and advocacy for the rights of women to remove barriers and eliminate discrimination because of gender. 

Website: www.ieshacongowatson.com

Instagram: @mzscorpio18

Facebook: Iesha Congo Watson

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iesha-congo-watson-021b54131

Woman Wednesday: Kelly W.


Q and A with Kelly W. from Barrington, Illinois

“Personal development is more important than the right business opportunity.”


Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I am passionate about creating an unconventional lifestyle where work and life are more in a flow, rather than compartmentalized. This is why I love investing in things that give me time freedom as well as financial freedom. I invest in real estate, stocks, and online products that I don’t have to spend too much time on every day. Some days I may spend a lot of time, especially at the beginning of an investment but not consistently every day. The idea of a lifestyle like this was seeded from when my mom had an MLM business growing up. Her experience taught me about passive income, helping others, and personal development. Currently, I’m working on establishing a micro wedding and event venue in Alabama, learning to trade stocks, and teaching people how to invest in property without using much of their own cash through an in-depth, step-by-step, online course.

Q: What is a micro wedding?

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I grew up in Barrington, Illinois, and I have one sibling (brother) and my parents. My mom was born and raised in Holland. She moved here when she was 19. My brother is one year younger than me. He is an Eagle Scout, a high school football player, and now an attorney. My dad passed away in 2022. He was in sales, a CEO, and a business owner from New Jersey.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: Personal development is more important than the right business opportunity. Look at the people you’re around—your family and friends. Are they where you want to be? If not, then add MORE TIME with people that are where you want to be. Or make a different move that is going to put you on a different path. It is scary and they won’t like it because it’ll be different, but do it anyway and trust they’ll appreciate you later.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?
A: Feminism means to me the opportunity for females to have more options than the traditional stereotypes.

Kelly West Course

The Greenhouse

Woman Wednesday: Lauren M.


Q and A with Lauren M. from Chicago, Illinois, living in Jacksonville, Florida

“Having a solid circle and choosing to not give up is what got me through.”


Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I am passionate about serving others in an excellent way. I’ve been this way since I was a little girl. Today, I happen to do that via legal services as a business attorney. In this role, I help business owners protect and monetize their businesses. Through international business law, I help with setting up entities, mergers and acquisitions, trademarks, contracts, copyrights, and employee law.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: I’ve learned that once you say yes to your purpose, purpose will chase you down!

I want others to know that there are no limits to the things you can achieve and do.

activatedlaw.com

Woman Wednesday: Maria Z.


Q and A with Maria Z. from Bogota, Colombia, living in Palm Beach, Florida

“I believe loving what you do has the biggest impact in life. I try to live every day with purpose.”


Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I’m very passionate about my work. I believe that love is a force that guides us, and I love the human body and the human experience, and I love the magic that there is in how we were designed. The human body is such a simple yet complex system that is fascinating to me. I come from a medical background of 18 years. I went to school for surgical technology and health services administration. After everything changed with COVID, healthcare was never the same, however, people still need healing and I love healthcare so much that I decided to further my skill set and obtain my certification in Manual Lymphatic Drainage, ultrasonic cavitation, radio-frequency therapy, and laser Lipo.

Though I was familiar with the treatments from experience with my first child, the aftermath of my second child and the challenge that I was having to get rid of the “saggy skin,” despite exercising and keeping a healthy lifestyle, was what really pushed me to dive deeper into alternative treatments other than surgery. I also have a fairy hair and children’s entertainment business that is my heart. I started this project in 2020 inspired by my little girl and my friend and mentor who introduced me to fairy hair. Nellarina’s is a project based on magic and love, and I am known as the Fairy Hairmother, or the Queen Fairy as my friends call me [she laughs]. I believe in sparkles, and my inner child has healed tremendously with this project. I love to serve the community and have had the honor to work with foundations like Hands and Feet, which helps children in foster care, and the Palm Beach County Schools as a volunteer for their school events, and I am obsessed! I love to sparkle the kids, and their smiles when they look in the mirror is the best payment I receive!

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: If there is something I would like others to learn from my story it’s that only we are responsible for our destiny. Sometimes, we tend to get in our own way because we’re scared of failure, but understanding that there is no failure only lessons to be learned, we realize that we can always start again and do things differently.


I feel like the most valuable tool I have and what has helped me the most has been prayer/meditation. Being able to ask for divine guidance and really taking the time to listen will help you take the steps needed that are in alignment with your true purpose.


Remembering that we all put our pants the same way in the morning keeps me humble and grounded; it allows me to expand from a more authentic and empathic place, and to really take the time to listen to others…sometimes it’s important. To be of service is important. Walking without judgment is growth. Everyone is their own world, and oftentimes, we forget people are fighting battles we don’t know about. Being kind is important. A life of service is a life well-lived.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

Connect with me:

INSTA: https://www.instagram.com/nellarinasmagicalfairyhair?igsh=MWZyd2NxaTM5bm1ybQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

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