Q and A with Rockshana from Fairfield County, Bridgeport, CT
“Something valuable that I learned very early is that not everyone is going to enjoy my talents and, that if I wanted to get the role, if I wanted to get a high score, I needed to work hard, train, and only put my best foot forward...”
Q: Tell us about yourself.
A: I’m passionate about performance art and helping others grow into and in the best versions of themselves through a field of work that they enjoy so that they can be happy and feel good about themselves.
I found this through my own passion.
I feel most confident when I am actively doing something that I love such as dancing, modeling, and acting—whether I’m in class, on stage, or just consistently have it on my schedule. I feel confident and happy, and I feel like the best version of myself.
I help others find that confidence and happiness through their passion even if that might be as a nurse, financial advisor, etc.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I went to a private school from daycare all the way up to my senior year of high school in Connecticut [United States].
As a child, I always wanted to be on stage performing for my family at home which led to my mom putting me into modeling which then turned into acting.
I enjoyed singing and gained a solo at school, which lead to me taking vocal lessons and then getting into dance. Each of those activities taught me how to express myself in different ways and learn confidence. Taught me to have drive, determination, persistence, and individuality and that my hard work pays off one way or another.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: Something valuable that I learned very early is that not everyone is going to enjoy my talents and, that if I wanted to get the role, if I wanted to get a high score, I needed to work hard, train, and only put my best foot forward, and if I do get a no and/or if someone gets a higher score than me, it’s okay.
What I have to offer might not be what someone needs that day/in their production. Along with that, I learned that there are other people in the world that can do what I can’t and that work as hard or possibly even harder than me to get a high score.
Everyone puts in as much work as they are able to and it’s incomparable.
Q: What does feminism mean to you? A: Feeling confident in wearing whatever you would like to wear, working in a field that you enjoy and are truly passionate about, and being the best version of yourself that allows you to be happy is what feminism means to me.
“Art can give us strength to carry on, courage to push through.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I am passionate about empowering, uplifting, and bringing joy into people’s lives through art.
During the lockdown, I started a series of paintings called Urban Queen.
Initially, I gave up my studio and planned to relax at home for a month or so. I was planning to do all the things I never have time to do like reorganize my wardrobe, read, and drink cocktails on my terrace. It didn’t last long.
One day I read an article in Forbes magazine about the seven women head of states and how they dealt with the pandemic. I started thinking about all the women in lockdown, all the unsung heroes, and the women who are leaders in their own way, whether it’s in their home or in their community.
I had an urge to paint these women, so I set up a home studio and ended up working 12-hour days for two months straight. I took over the living room, and my family got used to fending for themselves.
Through my paintings, I want to bring every woman into the spotlight who runs her household, raises her children, puts up with her boss, looks after her health, and shows the strength and courage in her everyday life. I started sharing my art online and the response I had from women all over the world was incredible.
Art has the power to move people at a very deep level and women connected with the paintings in a way I didn’t expect. I had hundreds of messages from women telling me what these paintings mean to them and how they make them feel. Stronger, powerful, self-confident.
A deeply moving experience was talking with Kristen, a nurse on the front lines in San Francisco. She was working crazy hours, doing loads of overtime when the hospital needed her, only taking breaks and resting in her car when she was on call.
We messaged each other and spoke a lot. She told me, “I’m scared, inspired, and empowered, raising girls during this time! These paintings spoke to me on such a deep level as a nurse on the front lines and mother of two daughters. Seriously, these paintings blew my mind on so many levels.”
This expresses what I paint for: the power of art to lift our souls. It reminds us that we are magnificent beings capable of doing so much good in the world. Art can give us strength to carry on, courage to push through.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I grew up in a totalitarian communist regime where ‘freedom’ was nonexistent and food shortages, fear, and persecution was part of the daily life.
I hated the system that imprisoned my grandfather, I hated the fact that everything was grey.
When I was about 12, I saw a book on Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel. I was so moved by the art, the colors, the beauty that I decided there and then that if I can get out of the country, I would leave and never come back.
That chance came when I was 18 years old, so armed with big dreams and a bag full of clothes, I made it to London, UK, all by myself.
I wanted to finish my education, so I was going to college during the day and working evenings and weekends. It was then when I discovered painting.
I thought it was the most amazing thing in the world. I would stay up really late at night to finish my paintings assignments. However, the mentality I grew up with was that of the ‘starving artist,’ so instead I pursued a career in fashion where I thought, worst case scenario, I can get a job as a seamstress.
Instead, at the age of 25, I opened my business, a fashion label that expanded rapidly selling in 300 boutiques all over the UK.
Time passed, I fell in love, got married, and had our daughter. In 2009, my family and I moved back to my native Romania. This was now a totally different country I didn’t recognize.
Liberated from communist regime, the country was flourishing and exciting. I started an interior design business that made six figures in the first year.
Still, painting was something I was called to do all my life, so I started painting again, at night time and during the weekends. In 2013, I was invited to exhibit in Miami, during the famous Art Basel. That was all I needed to get me to pursue my long life dream.
Shortly after, I walked into my office and told all my staff that I would be closing the business in order to pursue a career as an artist. I was 40 years old! It was a bold, crazy move and what followed was a few years of really hard work.
As a self-taught artist, I made a point on working extra hard on my technique as well as finding my artistic voice. And still, I didn’t feel “worthy” unless my art was validated by the “art establishment.” When my family and I moved back to the UK in 2018, I got the validation I thought I needed by working with some well established art galleries, exhibiting in central London, selling my art to important collectors.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: Life is about constantly learning, growing, and evolving.
Painting the Urban Queen series has taught me my latest lesson: I don’t need the art establishment to validate me or my art. I am a queen and I wear my crown with pride.
At the same time, my biggest lesson that I’ve learned is that “I am on Purpose.” I have been searching for purpose, for the best part of my life, and asked myself many times, “How can I live on purpose?” I think Urban Queen has provided me with the answer. When you are passionate about what you do AND you serve others, you are living with purpose.
Q:What does feminism mean to you?
A: Feminism is reestablishing the balance between feminine and masculine. It’s recognizing and honoring our differences.
It’s understanding that vulnerability, sensitivity, intuition, creativity, and nurturing are very important qualities the world needs. They are not weakness as we were raised to believe.
We don’t need to be like men. We need to connect to our own inner feminine qualities and lead from there.
Q: Would you like readers to know anything else?
A: I would say honor yourself.
Women are used to doing everything for everyone else first, and we leave ourselves last.
I am also guilty of that sometimes, and it’s something I’m still working on.
To me, honoring yourself means working on your mindset, learning to appreciate what’s important in life, being grateful, being inspired, treating yourself, and most importantly, loving yourself. Find the Queen within!
“Some of the most important changes happen internally, in ways no one else can see…I’m drawn to the spaces people don’t always talk about—the quiet, the complicated, and the deeply human.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I’m passionate about storytelling—both the kind that comforts and the kind that unsettles.
Writing became that space for me during a difficult six-year period of my life.
I started writing letters to myself as a way to process what I was going through, and over time, I realized those words weren’t just mine.
That’s how Letters to Women Like Me came to life—out of a need to create something honest for women who feel deeply but don’t always have a place to put it.
At the same time, I’ve always been drawn to the darker side of storytelling—the psychological layers, the questions of identity, memory, and what shapes us. That led me to write Chalk Drawings, a psychological crime thriller that explores patterns, obsession, and the idea that what’s unseen can be more powerful than what’s visible.
What connects everything I write is a fascination with what people carry—emotionally, mentally, and sometimes silently. Whether I’m writing something soft and reflective or something tense and suspenseful, I’m always trying to understand that space.
Right now, I’m continuing to build both sides of my work—growing the Chalk Drawings series while also creating more reflective writing for women. For me, it’s not about choosing one path or the other. It’s about telling the full story of what it means to be human—both the light and the shadow.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: My younger years were fairly grounded and shaped by a strong sense of responsibility early on.
I graduated high school and went on to attend college for a time, but life began to take me in a different direction, and I didn’t complete my degree.
While that wasn’t the path I originally planned, it taught me that growth doesn’t always follow a straight line—and that experience itself can be just as valuable as formal education.
I’ve always been someone who observes deeply and feels things in a quiet way.
Even when I wasn’t writing, I was paying attention—to people, to emotions, to the small moments that often go unnoticed. Those early years helped shape the way I see the world now, both in life and in my writing.
Looking back, I realize that my upbringing and experiences gave me a strong sense of resilience and independence.
They taught me how to navigate challenges, adapt, and keep moving forward even when things didn’t go as expected. Those lessons have stayed with me and continue to influence not only the work I do, but the stories I tell.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: One of the most valuable things I’ve learned is that not everything in life needs to be figured out right away.
For a long time, I thought strength meant having answers, pushing through, and holding everything together. But I’ve come to understand that real strength is quieter—it’s allowing yourself to feel, to pause, and to be honest about what you’re carrying.
I would want others to know that it’s okay if your path doesn’t look the way you thought it would.
Growth isn’t always obvious, and healing doesn’t happen on a timeline.
Some of the most important changes happen internally, in ways no one else can see.
I’m drawn to the spaces people don’t always talk about—the quiet, the complicated, and the deeply human.
If there’s anything I hope people take from my story, it’s this: you’re not alone in what you’re feeling, even if it seems that way.
There is value in your experiences, even the difficult ones, and there is strength in continuing forward—at your own pace, in your own way.
Q: What does feminism mean to you?
A: Feminism, to me, is about recognizing the unseen weight women carry and creating space for them to feel, speak, and exist without having to prove their strength.
Thank you for reading!
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Comment below.
Check out my psychological thriller here: Chalk Drawings
“… if you give your body proper nutrition, your body can heal itself.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I am a shareholder in a hardware company and, because I invested early in life, I was able to retire at the age of 36.
I’m passionate about building a legacy with my Ardysslife business, helping families thrive through a healthier lifestyle, and to building a strong team for a wealthier lifestyle.
I’m interested in building a large clientele with getting them into nutrition, [products] made from fruits and vegetables to help the body heal itself. I also help them reshape their body without diet pills exercise or surgery, instead getting them to wear the reshaping garments made by an orthopedic surgeon.
I am currently working on getting a store front in my country so my team and customers won’t have to pay for shipping and have easy access like having the package shipped to their doors.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I grew up in the tropical Nassau, Bahamas, with family and faith.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: Something valuable I have learned if you invest in a positive and lucrative business, it pays off.
I also learned that if you give your body proper nutrition, your body can heal itself. I was diagnosed with high cholesterol and within two weeks of being on the products, I didn’t have to be put on medication.
Q: What does feminism mean to you?
A: Feminism means alot to me. I believe gender-based discrimination needs to be eliminated.
I feel there should be social, economic, and political equality between women and men; women should have the same rights as men especially if a man wants a woman to go fifty-fifty with the bills in the home.
A: I am passionate about travel and video. Both kinda blended so well together throughout my career that I never really imagined I could actually turn them into my job.
The first time I went abroad (without my parents) was on a trip to England and I caught the travel bug so bad, it made me study English, study abroad, volunteer in international organizations, take an internship abroad, go on a working holiday, and then I kinda stumbled into freelancing through video creation, photography, and my passion for sharing travel tips.
Still to this day, I could talk for hours about all the ridiculous and exciting experiences I’ve had over the seven years I’ve lived out of my suitcase (before a certain pandemic-you-know-what hit), all the cool video shoots I have set up (many of them spontaneously, aided by the trusty wigs I carried). And I cannot wait to return to a semi-nomadic work lifestyle again.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: In my childhood, I was the classic type A: overachieving, people-pleasing “good girl.” I tried to fit in so badly, but I truly lost myself and am still unlearning a lot.
What impacted and shocked me awake the most, however, was travel. And I realize that it’s a skill in itself, that it truly teases out excitement in my soul and challenges me in all kinds of different ways.
I remember having to do a quiz while on my school trip in England and despite being the shyest person, I absolutely loved chatting up random strangers on the street and making up stories to fill into the quiz. I won. And I honestly didn’t recognize this person even at the time. Who was she? I was impressed. Travel can be eye-opening like that.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: Everyone (and girls/women in particular) SHOULD go on a solo travel trip at least once in their lives. Yes, it’s utterly uncomfortable the first time. It will feel lonely, awkward, confusing, etc. But bear with it for the first few days, follow your gut, stroll aimlessly, talk to fellow solo travelers (hostels are great for that; you can get a single room if you don’t like dorms), take yourself out to dinner/museums/shows, etc., and really treat yourself like you would want to be treated. It will change your life. And if you realize it’s not for you, that’s totally ok. But it helps gain clarity if you ask me.
Q:What does feminism mean to you?
A: Feminism means dismantling a lot of the toxic structures, institutions, beliefs, and systems that societies have taught us over the past centuries. To see people as equal and treat them in a way that uplifts everyone. To include everyone. To be intersectional, to question everything and do better, to take responsibility, and actively (un)learn. This includes all genders because no society can fully thrive if it keeps discriminating and placing shame.
My passion for video developed parallel to my growth as a freelancer and traveling the world.
A friend challenged me once to package “all that” (I talk very animatedly) into videos because text and photos just didn’t cut it. Videos help portray multidimensionality, they can tell stories so succinctly, with so much emotion, and to me, they are just a huge playground. I can be whoever I want. Editing, framing a shot, and arranging clips all have such a huge effect on the end result, which is why I pivoted more towards helping fellow female entrepreneurs with their video endeavors rather than talking solely about empowerment through travel.
Videos do the same and you have so much control here. It’s perfect for introverts like me. It’s like sending out a clone into the world as a stand-in for all the digital introductions. Have a video explaining yourself and your business and those people that like your vibe, will stick with it. Those that don’t, will leave. Perfect! So, I now direct, edit, and film videos for entrepreneurs. Because video is its own language and little world.
Thank you for reading!
You can contact me and find video examples on my portfolio website:
The Woman Wednesday Blog 