Woman Wednesday: Melissa

*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 Melissa, Utah 

I learned very early on that I could either be a victim of circumstance or I could take those challenges and grow from them. I try really hard to be a force of positivity and a problem solver.”

 

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I am most passionate about my family! My husband and I have been together for 6 years, and he has a son who is 7. And just last year, I had a beautiful baby girl. She is actually the reason I started my business. After finding out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to be around for all those precious moments and I knew I could never afford childcare making the money I was at the time. So after thinking about my skills, I decided being a virtual assistant and social media manager was the best type of business to start. After I started, I realized I was more passionate about working than I had ever been, plus I was good at it!

 

Aside from business and family, I am actually super passionate about fitness because it has helped shape me into the woman I am today and has helped me deal with my depression. I enjoy having goals that I can work towards and fitness has provided that in my personal life! 

 

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Q: What were your younger years like?

A: As a little kid, I was a competitive figure skater and a cheerleader in my later high school years. I was always good at school and remember enjoying it very much up until my senior year of high school. I even graduated early because I hated high school so much! I think this particular event helped me grow up quickly though and all the competitive sports I was in really helped shape me into a go-getter! 

 

I grew up in a very conservative family but have always been super loud and outspoken. This caused issues when I was a teen and I did lots of things to push boundaries (sorry mom and dad). I was diagnosed with chronic depression at about 12-13, but I think this mental illness is a huge reason why I am successful today. I never once let that define me and only let it push me to work harder and stay busy. 

 

 

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

A: I learned very early on that I could either be a victim of circumstance or I could take those challenges and grow from them. I try really hard to be a force of positivity and a problem solver. I think if you take anything from my story it’s that you are in charge of your life! No one can force you to do anything, be anything, or act a certain way. You make decisions every day, so why not decide to grab life by the horns? Start a business, go to school, or travel the world. But whatever you do, make the decision to give it your all every day.

 

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Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: Feminism to me means equality for all. I know feminism is often synonymous with mainly white women and their rights, but I think as women, it is our responsibility to make sure that we are sticking up for women of color as well who don’t have the same level of privilege we do. I think feminism means the equal representation of all women in business and government. I feel like, as women, we are a force to be reckoned with and I would love to see us supporting each other in all things!

 

Business Facebook: The Worry Free Assistant  (sentence caps–no hyphen!)

Website: https://melissagamarramanagement.com/homepage31194097

 

 

Connect with me! I’d love to chat with you! 

Comment below!

Woman Wednesday: Julianne

*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 Julianne, Hartford County, Connecticut

 

“It’s all up to us whether we decide to use our broken pieces as a weapon or as a crutch.”   

 

 

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: Teaching others to fish. I saw a picture in a National Geographic when I was 13. This imprinted on my heart how I wanted to serve during my lifetime. The picture was actress Drew Barrymore in another country feeding a very long line of children. The kids did not have anything to eat, so their hands were out waiting for the “slop.” Their expressions seemed to be so grateful, yet they were so malnourished. It’s been 28+ years since I stumbled upon this photograph, but I see and feel like it was yesterday. I long to work full time with the youth in underprivileged areas to have an impact on the rest of their lives.

 

 

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Currently, I speak in front a few hundred at a time. I just launched my 3rd stream of income in a wellness project. The C word is everywhere. (Cancer). It stole my big sister when she was 27. This was also a huge variable that has shaped me and my grit. I train folks on “tapping into their own human potential” and the importance of multiple streams of income. I’m excited to see it laid out. And I am always happy to inspire others.

 

 

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

A: We all bleed the same. Everyone has a story. Those of us with the toughest experiences make the toughest humans. It’s all up to us whether we decide to use our broken pieces as a weapon or as a crutch.

 

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Q: What were your younger years like? 

A. I grew up with my mom, who is a genius, literally. She has worked for the government for 35 years. And my dad is 100% American Indian, the Lumbee tribe. My younger years were, um, toxic and LOUD to describe it lightly. I found soccer to escape. Soccer offered me friendship, peace, confidence, and family. I clung to the soccer ball for so long. I was awarded almost a full scholarship to play Division 1 at a local state university. Soccer had a lot to do with who I am today.

 

 

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Pictured: Julianne and her parents.

 

 

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Pictured: Julianne and her daughters.

 

 

Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: Feminism means strength. Women are absolute warriors. So often, I’ve found, women have fallen into a trap behind a man. Or behind our children. Being a mother of 3, I’ve found out how capable and strong I really am. We get even more dangerous (in a good way) when women unite…Watch out world!

 

 

 

Connect with me! I’d love to chat with you! 

 

Instagram:

http://www.instagram.com/Julianne.j

Phone number:

860-866-6365

 

 

 

 

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Woman Wednesday: Kelly

*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 Kelly, Toronto, Canada

 

One thing I’ve learned is this: You cannot control what happens in your life, but you can control how you react to it. I think if I continued to sulk and think negatively, nothing significantly positive would’ve happened in my life. Changing my perspective and immersing myself in hope and positive thinking only resulted in positive changes in my life.”   

 

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Q: What are you passionate about?

A: It would be exceptionally hard to pinpoint one thing I am passionate about because I am passionate about everything I do. I currently work as a communications coordinator for a company that promotes financial stability in underdeveloped countries. Luckily, I found this position by accident, and I am proud to say that I am a part of a project that helps those in need in someway somehow. One of my passions is definitely helping others. Aside from my full-time job, I am the founder of the subscription box business “Petite Princess Box,” and I have to say building, creating, and executing my own ideas and seeing it all come to life is one thing I will always be passionate about. I think I have always been an entrepreneur at heart.

 

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Pictured: One of Kelly’s customers enjoying her Petite Princess Box! 

 

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

A: A year ago, I lost my dad suddenly from a heart attack. I had such a stable life and everything was going great for me. I just got into my master’s program, had a growing business, and my family was happy and healthy, and then my world just changed dramatically with his death. You can say I had to grow up quick. I had my hands fully immersed in everything after his death. I guess you can say I became the “new man” in the house. After his death, I lost a lot of motivation. He passed away two weeks before my master’s program would begin, and I could barely focus. I felt like the quality in my work was slowly diminishing. I also stopped focusing on my subscription box business, and I could see it literally sinking. I ended up picking myself up and telling myself that I have to really immerse myself in positive thinking and to focus on finishing the goals my father wanted me to complete. And so I did that, and a year later, my whole life has changed (for the better). I graduated with my degree, found a close and loyal tribe of friends and loved ones, got my very first “big girl” job, and rebranded my entire subscription box business, and it is growing very quickly.

 

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One thing I’ve learned is this: You cannot control what happens in your life, but you can control how you react to it. I think if I continued to sulk and think negatively, nothing significantly positive would’ve happened in my life. Changing my perspective and immersing myself in hope and positive thinking only resulted in positive changes in my life.

 

 

Q: What were your younger years like? 

A: My childhood was nothing but great! We lived a pretty modest life in the suburbs. I grew up with my parents who immigrated from Palestine and my younger sister. My parents have always been supportive and always pushed us to be our best. Growing up, I struggled in school—all the way up to my high school years. I was never able to maintain exceptionally good grades and as many tutors as I had to assist me in my studies, there was still this struggle I had in obtaining a single “A” on my report card. Before starting my last year of high school, I told my guidance counselor that I wanted to get into university after I graduate. She told me that based on my grades from my previous years, attending a university would not be a realistic goal unless I managed to maintain an 80% average in my final year. I remember going home to tell my parents how angry I was at the lack of encouragement my guidance counselor had for me, and I promised myself and my parents that I would work hard enough to get accepted into a university program. In my last year of high school, I ended up maintaining an 87% average and got accepted into the highest ranked university in Canada. Fast forward to my last year of university—I had maintained a substantial GPA and ended up getting accepted into a very competitive program for a master’s degree in communications. You can say that these experiences in school really impacted my life to where I am today. If you were to ask me if I’m still upset that my guidance counsellor for discouraging me, I would say no. If she didn’t discourage me, I wouldn’t have pushed myself as hard as I did to prove her wrong and prove myself right.

 

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Pictured: One of Kelly’s customers enjoying her Petite Princess Box!

 

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Connect with me! I’d love to chat with you! 

Business Links:

www.petiteprincessbox.com

instagram.com/petiteprincessbox

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petiteprincessbox/

 

 

 

 

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