We asked insiders and experts from various industries to tell us something they think outsiders are unaware of and we’ve shared a few of those responses below.

Val Lopez | Esthetician/Brazilian Waxer/Intimate Skin Lightening Specialist

The relationships you build while you gain your clientele. It’s really more than just me providing a service. I’ve made lots of friends actually as a business owner from the clientele I have built and am still building. It’s like a form of therapy while your service is being performed. You don’t just go to anyone when you’re waxing typically; you have to find your person and when you do it’s a whole different dynamic. For a lot of people, it becomes something they look forward too because it’s so much more than some smooth skin. It’s confidence that gets built, it’s relationships forming, and it’s “me time.” Read more>>

Sophia Krzyzanowski | Microinfluencer & Full Time Student

Getting into influencing is not as easy as people make it seem on social media nowadays. There’s a lot of work that goes into influencing such as reaching out to brands, attending brand calls and most importantly creating content, especially content that you love, etc! All of these things are time consuming especially with my situation as I work a part time job and I’m also a full time student, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world! I love being able to express my fashion sense through influencing. Read more>>

Kayla Olmstead | Wellness Advocate

Natural solutions really do work! A lot of people assume that only over the counter medications and supplements are what will help you. But if we look back 50-100 years, pharmaceuticals were not common place. They used herbs, oils, plants, and other natural sources to help with their emotional, physical, and spiritual health! This mindset is slowly switching and it will change the way we think about health and wellness as a society! Read more>>

Michael Buckius | Co-Founder and Program Director at Recovery Center for the Arts

I don’t think I ever had a choice. I started making films when I was 12 and dedicating serious time to writing by the time I was 17, but even before that I was this weird creative kid. I’m neurodivergent so I had difficulty forming friendships. I think art was a way to try and develop connections with other people, a way to jumpstart a conversation. As I got older I knew I wanted a career where I could create. I wanted to be a filmmaker but I didn’t know the path forward, so I pivoted to creative writing and academia. Read more>> 

Shelby Chesterton | Tattoo Artist

I didn’t have any real plans to be in a creative field. I always had an interest in the arts. I was an artsy kid in school, and enjoyed painting, drawing, ceramics; whatever creative elective I could take, I was into. Realism drawings of people and beloved furry friends was sort of my wheelhouse in my teenage days. Art was always just a hobby for me, though. My real drive was in academics and sports (because being a starving artist wasn’t a real option, duh). I had to choose a real future. So as I got closer to that postsecondary education age, my focus was on the sciences. Read more>> 

Lidia Win | Entrepreneur, Makeup Artist, Lash Artist, Influencer

During my time in college I worked as a makeup artist on the weekends to make extra money. My parents are traditional Vietnamese immigrants so I wasn’t allowed to get a clock in job in order to focus on my studies. When I graduated it was either grad school or get a job and I simply did not want to pursue what I studied which was Biochemistry, so I decided to try making a living doing makeup full time. 11 years later I am still doing makeup full time. Read more>>

J. Gentile | Artist, Alchemist, Spiritual Connoisseuse

Honestly I didn’t go to art school, take special art classes or want to be a painter. It all just happened. Professionally I come from a background in medical and pharmaceutical research. Science has its own way in being creative. I just didn’t know at the time that my creative purpose was not in the physical sciences, it was in the visual arts. I also have an innate ability in the spiritual sciences so as my abilities in this field blossomed more and I further expanded with my study I started interpreting my experiences and evolution spiritually with paint. Read more>>