A: I am passionate about helping people feel at peace with food and learn self-love! I understand that our relationships with food and our body image are often more complex than they seem. Self-love is the foundation of all positive change! I also love real estate investing and financing.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I was an adventurous kid, and as an adult, I enjoy extreme sports like skydiving and more relaxing options like paddleboarding. As a child and teenager, I used food to gain a sense of control and turned inward. I don’t want anyone to experience that pain.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: Self-love is everything. You deserve to love yourself. Your authenticity makes being your best self possible!
Q:What does feminism mean to you?
A: Feminism is about opportunity. Women need the same level of opportunities awarded to men.
Let’s connect! You can email me to get on the waitlist for my self-love course about our relationships with food and how to truly love ourselves. The course begins in May 2022!
Q and A with Adinafrom Timisoara, Romania, living in Sarasota, Florida
“It’s up to you to seek out the learning that will help you fulfill your desires.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I am passionate about women’s health and happiness. I want every girl to grow up knowing about her body and honoring all of its processes. I want her to know that she is magical and has the ability to create life, either in the form of other humans or in a relationship or business or any passionate project. I want her to speak her beautiful and powerful thoughts and feelings into the world boldly. I want her to willingly share her body, mind, and soul with others who appreciate her. I want her to understand her monthly superpowers and to make the most of each phase of her life in general. I want her to feel safe and powerful in her body.
I found this passion through contrast. My career started as a pharmacist, seeing people (especially women) come in month after month for “maintenance medications” that never seemed to help them actually get any better. My hobby turned career since 2001 has been belly dance. These two worlds, pharmacy, and dance are almost exact opposites in my mind. Pharmacy is very structured with many rules and regulations, not much freedom to say what you really feel. Dance is fluid and new in every moment (even the highly structured dances have this fluidity within them). Over the years, I began to see that dance, on its own, has more power to heal than conventional medicine. When combined with other modalities such as nutrition and mindfulness, dance can lead the way to true freedom of movement and lasting fulfillment. Currently, I am working part-time as a pharmacist, teaching about 9 belly dance classes per month in my membership, and including a free class each month (Yes, I teach free monthly classes! DM me on Facebook or send an email at ravenswoodrhythms@gmail.com, and I’ll add you to the list so you know when the classes are held each month.), and I have a coaching program helping women harness the superpowers of their cycles (menstrual and/or the moon and seasons).
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I was born in Communist Romania. At the age of three, my parents escaped and left me behind with my grandparents in the village. Nine months later, we were reunited in West Germany and another year later, we moved to the US. The message I received growing up was not to stand out in any way, to just be quiet and fit in, for fear that we would be found and possibly killed. So, I learned to stuff all my differing opinions, of which there were MANY, down deep inside myself and stick to what was safe. So, I became a pharmacist. But I’ve also stuck with belly dance for over 20 years now, so that’s the way I rebelled.
I actually discovered belly dance while visiting Romania when I was 15. We were at a restaurant and there was a belly dancer! I was mesmerized. A few years later, I was at the Earth Day Festival in my town and there was a troupe performing. I was so excited that it was so tangible! The costumes were bright and flowy, and I knew I found my thing. It took several months for me to build up the courage to attend a class, and several years until I felt truly comfortable in my own skin, and yet I persevered! When you find your thing, it keeps bringing you back home to yourself, no matter how far you stray.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: Your past definitely shapes you, but you are the artist and can shape yourself into whatever you want with that information. As a woman, you are life, and that is no small thing. You have such great power within you, and all the tools hidden in your biology/physiology make your world and the larger world a better place. It’s up to you to seek out the learning that will help you fulfill your desires.
Q:What does feminism mean to you?
A: I definitely resonate with equal rights in the larger world, social/political/economic, but as far as being equal to men, we are not. And that’s a good thing! I believe that all humans can do all things, but we are wired for great differences. I believe it’s okay to be ultra-feminine or masculine and that means different things for each person. I do believe that the more feminine types of contributions to society, compassion/collaboration/nurturing/etc. should be valued equally.
MORE FROM ADINA: I was born in Timisoara, Romania, and grew up in Columbia, Missouri. I’ve lived in a few other places, but now Sarasota, Florida, is home.
Let’s connect! Here:
DM me on Facebook or email me about my freely monthly classes so that you can get yours! 🙂
“My major challenge in life was dealing with infidelity.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I am passionate about helping couples and individuals find healing after infidelity.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I grew up in a single-parent home and as such I was extremely poor; however, my mum did her ultimate best to ensure that I received a great education. We lived in the “hood,” and mental health wasn’t a focus long ago, so I had to deal with a lot of verbal bullying. I suffered from low self-esteem and depression for many years. My major challenge in life was dealing with infidelity. However, the strength of my mum despite dealing with her own struggles pushed me into my purpose.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: I believe it’s important to always test the temperature of your heart to ensure its dripping with love. Most times, we especially, as women, try to change men without understanding that we can’t change anyone, only God can. If someone truly loves God, the love trickles down to self-love. And by extension, unconditional love.
Q:What does feminism mean to you?
A: I totally believe in the equality of men and women. Long ago, women were excluded from particular activities and conversations; however, we are in the 21st century and women are as capable and independent holistically.
MORE FROM DR. SHAMILE: I am from Trinidad and Tobago. I’m an island girl.
“You can’t expect people to support you when you aren’t advocating for yourself.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I am passionate about problem-solving and seeking solutions. The fascinating thing is that this can come in various forms, so it’s important to stay well-rounded. I recently discovered my passion. For a very long time, I thought that my passion was digital marketing. After working at my last corporate job at a marketing agency, I learned that my passion wasn’t digital marketing. Instead, my passion was to leverage digital marketing and UX design to create solutions.
I quit my job in December 2021. I am currently working on growing my online marketing agency called Ekko Media Inc. and I’m also about to launch my very own app in March 2022 called, Bite Reel!
Ekko Media Inc.is a digital marketing agency. My team is primarily made up of strong independent women. We provide digital marketing solutions such as paid social ads, content creation, e-commerce strategy, and design.
Bite Reel is my second startup. Bite Reel is a social media app for all things food and recipes. You can save, share, and organize recipes all in one place. If there is a recipe you’ve come across online, there isn’t a way to save those links or videos, but on Bite Reel, you can save all of it and be able to share it with friends, family, and followers. The app will be launched on March 3rd, 2022, on both the App Store and Play Store.
UX Design stands for user experience design. These designers are responsible for researching and creating the best and most seamless experience for people so they don’t have to think about the action they’re taking. To better explain, software developed is responsible for the code and the structure of an app, similar to how the bones are for the human anatomy. UX Designers are responsible for making sure that everything is working properly, efficiently, and effectively, just like the muscles and the organs of the human anatomy. UI Designers or user interface designers are responsible for the overall aesthetic and design of the app, similar to how the eyes, skin, hair play a role in the human anatomy.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I am the eldest of five kids and a first-generation American from a conservative Muslim family. As a child, I remember always struggling with my academics. I needed to study for a week to get an A in my classes, whereas my siblings would study the day before and ace it. I knew I wasn’t the most intelligent from the group, but I was the most hardworking. I believed that once I put my mind to something, I will see it through.
Because I struggled in my academics, I would put more pressure on myself and therefore more stress. Stress is a common theme throughout my life and it’s still something that I’m working on today. From the outside, people saw that I am a hardworking and intelligent individual chasing my dreams. The reality was that I was a struggling student trying to break stereotypes within my community and hoping to have a better future for my siblings.
My father always emphasized education and working towards an honest living. However, everything needed to be accomplished quickly. It was a race. I completed my high school diploma and my associate’s degree at the age of 18, finished my bachelor’s at the age of 20, and finished my master’s at the age of 21. I started my first company at the age of 22 while working a full-time job. Today, I am 26 years old and I’ve created my second company.
Being the third parent, the driving force to combat cultural and societal stereotypes, and dealing with my own personal demons, are all part of who I am. All these events in my life have shaped who I am today. I am grateful for my experiences because now I can do better and take care of myself better.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: The most valuable thing I’ve learned is that it’s absolutely crucial that you be your biggest advocate. There will be a time when you won’t have anyone’s support and people who are closest to you are making suggestions about your future that doesn’t make you feel excited. You need to be able to hold your ground and make the final decision. Just because people around you aren’t seeing your vision, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Everything happens in its own time, you need to do what is best for you. You can’t expect people to support you when you aren’t advocating for yourself. Be confident and have faith in yourself.
Q:What does feminism mean to you?
A: To me, feminism means that men and women have equal opportunities in all facets of life. This includes roles at work, responsibilities at home, and opportunities for the future. Everyone will make decisions according to what’s best for their lifestyle, but women should have the option of choice similar to their male counterparts.
MORE FROM SARA: Ethnically, my family is from Pakistan and India. My siblings and I are born and raised in Dallas, Texas. We have been in Dallas for most of our lives, but also spent a fair amount traveling. My goal is to be able to travel to learn about different cultures and cuisines. I want to learn different languages and expand my perspective, so one day when I’m ready to open my own orphanage and school, I will be ready.
*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.
Q and A with Jourdan, originally from Honolulu, HI, and currently thriving in New York City.
“We rise by lifting others. It’s so important to bring others up with you.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I am passionate about helping others and telling stories. I have a heart for people and a heart to serve. As humans, I believe it’s our duty to help one another and it really is the driving force of love. I stumbled into helping others through my career in television. My journey began in 2010 working for NBCUniversal at a nationally syndicated talk show and from there it took off. I’ve been in the entertainment industry for 10+ years, I’ve cast network shows, acted in national commercials, and sold a web series I co-created to BET Networks.
Click here to watch Two Grown, the BET series:
I am on fire for helping others find their voice and build their brand. That is why I founded Vera Jean Media. Named after my grandma, it is a boutique agency specializing in content creation, social media strategy, email marketing, and branding for individuals and small businesses. Authenticity is key.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: My younger years were built on the strength of evolution. I was born and raised in Hawaii. My grandfather was in the military and retired there. I was raised by my grandmother and a single mother. When I was ten, she married my step-dad, who was also in the military. We moved all over the country growing up. I think seeing the work ethic of my mom and grandmother truly molded me. I’ve been working since I was in middle school. I started a dog walking and lawn mowing business when I was around 13 years old. Being an entrepreneur has always been in my heart.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: We rise by lifting others. It’s so important to bring others up with you. Know that you can’t do everything alone and there is so much abundance to gain through collaboration over competition.
Q: What does feminism mean to you?
A: We are a force to be reckoned with. There is nothing stronger than a strong, determined, fearless, woman. Feminism means to empower one another and that there is strength in numbers. When we are gathered with a mission on the brain…good luck stopping us. Period.
