We recently connected with Odalis Canchola and have shared our conversation below.
Odalis, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Thankfully I am very curious by nature so when I started to take risks in my creative career I didn’t realize just how intimidating taking these steps would be until I was fully set in them. It taught me to ground myself in doing what I love to find ease in pursing things out of my comfort zone. I always remind myself and others that if you feel connected to something even if it feels new and scary you should always go for it, and if it doesn’t turn out as expected the first time now you gained knowledge and a new perspective to keep you motivated.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a latine business owner, photographer and writer. I was born in Guanajuato Mexico and raised in Colorado. Starting my business has emphasized how important it is for myself and others to stand out and to express themselves courageously and with that vxnusgems allows my clients to feel unique and expressive. I’ve always admired creative self expression and I’m beyond thankful that I can create a safe space for others. As for my other passions, I’ve always had a love for photography but it wasn’t until 2 years ago that I started to take it seriously, it holds such a special place in my heart. It grounds me and allows me to be in the present moment, similar to what I feel about writing. With writing I truly feel like I belong somewhere, it’s my safe home.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Finding a sense of comfort that you can’t really find anywhere else. I feel most liberated and connected to myself and my community when I’m able to express myself through art and the fact that I can also be able to create that comfort for other creatives brings me so much joy. All the experiences gained as a business owner and creative is something I am truly grateful for. It’s always an adventure being able to learn something new and being able to meet so many wonderful people along the way is the highlight of my journey.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Growing up with an undocumented status, lack of resources and limiting beliefs about myself I didn’t have the privilege to set a big dream for my future, while I watched everyone around me plan for college and talk about their dream careers, I was planning on which unfulfilling job would hire me the second I could work. From a young age, I understood that life from my perspective would be different from my friends and with that came a lot of insecurities about what my purpose here was. I learned to make myself smaller because it protected me along with having to deal with being ashamed of my identity. Now a days I prefer to openly speak about my background because I had to reprogram the beliefs society has put on me to feel content and comfortable with myself. Regardless of my background, me and others life myself have every right to take up space in a room and to dream big. Hiding or shaming my background would be a dishonor to what I stand for, which is self expression and nonconformity. When I accepted that being a full-time creative would be in my best alignment and bring me the satisfaction and joy I’ve always searched for, I started to understand how meaningful my purpose here can be and I hope to inspire others on the same journey the way many others have inspired me along the way.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @vxnusgemsllc and @diosadelunaa
Image Credits
Personal photo @xdamarix
Photoshoot @smileswithnotooth