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Welcome to the Feature Series on the blog where you get to connect and hear from some really empowered folks, who are changing the game and inspiring all of us to do the same. They are real people doing badass shit.
today, we are featuring Patricia:
360 Digital Brand DesigneR at RARA DESIGN STUDIO
Tell us about you, how would you describe yourself?
I´m Patricia, I´m originally from Venezuela, currently living in Spain, I´m 35. In short: I´m a world citizen making dreams come true. I´m an accidental digital nomad living my wildest dreams, I´m a self-taught brand and web designer and a business owner passionate about bad jokes, chai lattes and clean design.
What does empowered mean to you?
Not letting fear stop you from getting what you want.
How would you define yourself as an Empowered Millennial? What makes you one?
I feel like what makes me an empowered millennial is the fact that once I understood I was terrified of making changes to my life and terrified about what my family and people around me would think of me I started taking action anyway to live without regrets and it´s the best decision I´ve ever made.
What have you gone through that now makes you empowered? Sometimes you have to go THROUGH IT in order to be this strong version of yourself. What was the event, situation or ah-ha moment where you decided to BE this empowered?
Dear God, so many things. I definitely had a very rough childhood, I grew up trying to please everyone and keep everyone happy and totally forgot (or didn´t know it to begin with) I was supposed to be my own person. At some point my country started to go down hill, I was super stressed and a friend asked me what did I want to do and I froze, couldn´t answer... and she was like, I feel like you know the answer, you´re just too scared to go for it. I was so embarrassed to be called out like that. Something clicked, I spent days thinking about that, "am I scared and I´m making excuses or is that what I want?" at the end of that week I bought a plane ticket to move to another country without knowing anyone in 4 months. I can´t tell you how my heart was about to break my ribcage, I was SO SCARED... but I did it and it was the start of the journey of getting to know myself, making mistakes and living a life with no regrets.
How have you changed course away from something that wasn't working for you and are now doing something aligned and empowering for yourself, personally, professionally, spiritually?
I´ve had to do this several times actually, when I was living in Venezuela. I absolutely loved my job but the situation of the country was getting worse by the minute so I decided to become an expat, left the country with only 1000U$D and somehow made it work. A few years later I found myself in Argentina with $400 and starting from scratch... somehow made it work. Then I was in a horrible job with horrible managers and realized I needed to do something independently and online so I could have my own thing even if I needed to move again and start over it wouldn´t be so difficult, so started working as a VA online. Then I had to move again, this time to Poland in Jan 2020... pandemic hit as I was trying to figure out what my next step would be, I got an email from Yahoo saying they were giving away free hosting for a year for people starting their "pandemic businesses" lol so decided to take it as a sign, I leaped (I was already designing as a hobby for my friends´ businesses) and now I have my own Brand Design Studio and work with clients all over the world, I, in fact, had to move again last year and didn´t have to go crazy trying to find a job because my business and my systems were already in place to support me, and I couldn´t be happier past Patricia made that decision for me.
What challenges do you face (have you faced) staying empowered and what strategies do you use to overcome them?
Fear. I´m always freaking out, I breathe and I freak out, I eat and I freak out, it´s not easy knowing that I´m living in a foreign country alone and everything is up to me, I have no time to break, I have to keep going, and the best strategy I´ve found to prevent it from freezing me is asking myself, what´s the worst that can happen?
I tried thinking about the best possible thing that could happen but then felt super vulnerable. Asking myself what´s the worst that can happen (even though the universe sometimes gets a bit too creative and you can´t see it coming) thinking about all these situations and knowing I have the tools and plan b, c and d to tackle them makes me feel powerful, confident and empowered to actually go for it because I´m more than ready to make it work.
If you could give someone who has experienced a similar situation to you and maybe isn't on the other, brighter side of it, a piece of advice, what would you say?
Open up and trust people, in my experience complete strangers are more than happy to help you, don´t be afraid of asking for help and be vulnerable, that´s what allows you to connect with other people, build friendships and relationships that will last a lifetime and that will get you to the other side faster than you might think
If you could tell your younger self ONE thing, what would you say?
Would your 90-year-old self regret you didn´t do this? (be honest) THEN DO IT!
That's great advice!! I love it. What are you most excited about and how are you taking action to go and get it?
My business for sure, getting it to be more stable and support the life I want to live. I´m revamping my packages and creating more opportunities to help others. And I´m networking and connecting with people I admire, who inspire me to level up every day.
What is your favorite part of being a millennial?
Being younger than your age!
What is your fav millennial pop culture moment?
A moment? That´s a very difficult question. Pop culture is absolutely fascinating to me, how it looks meaningless and then you have things and people that literally change how the world works... But then Kendall Jenner trying to cut a cucumber was pretty epic.
Where can people find you?
I´m usually hanging out on Instagram, WhatsApp or some coworking space both online and in person - if you´re ever in Valencia, Spain, let me know :)
LINKS: Add all your social links, website,
If you want to offer something, a free sum sum, describe it here and leave a link for people to get involved:
360 Brand/web audit:
I´ll take a look at your brand´s digital assets to help you get the elevated professional-looking online presence your business deserves. You´ll get an actionable checklist with prioritized next steps to make the changes you need to improve it and have a full brand and website that´s optimized for conversion.
Thank you so much for being part of this feature! You are amazing and definitely trailblazing something special. Thank you for sharing your story. Folks, make sure you connect with Patricia and get more inspo and ways you can up level your brand, too!