We recently connected with Brielle Melendez and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Brielle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
In short, yes I am happy as a creative and I have more days where I feel proud to have chosen this path vs. a more conventional one. However, I didn’t always feel this way. Like with any choice we make in life, I often wondered what the latter would have looked like, and it got to the point where it killed the artist in me.
Being a first-gen graduate of my Puerto Rican family, the pressure to be the one who finally builds a life not surrounding struggle and sacrifice was heavy. To my family, success was making it big, or making enough money to prove I had made it big. I knew the reality of that track and, frankly, it was never what I wanted for myself. I just wanted to make art (but you can’t just say that to your Latino family, they’ll think you’re crazy and have you pursue something like business or communications). I had to have a plan, an end goal. So, I continued to prove I could go that far through my hard work and ambition, taking any project I could find to show I could stay “booked and busy.” And I did. Not coming from money, I worked three part-time jobs while going to school full-time, and spent sleepless nights doing scene work, memorizing lines, and submitting audition tapes. Even after graduating I kept it up, and it worked for a long time. Until it didn’t.
I had a mental breakdown (classic plot line for an artist) and had to move back in with my folks. They were disappointed. An unfamiliar feeling having spent the entirety of my life making choices that would only please them. I was left in my childhood bedroom, a place I once dreamed so big, feeling so small. Now, the whole “woe is me” mentality has never been my thing. I knew I had to make a choice, so what did I do? I started applying to regular jobs (I’ve learned since then not to act based on fear and self-doubt). But at the time, I had to prove I could still be the generational curse breaker, the one to shift the future of our family’s story. Lo and behold, no one wants to hire someone with an arts degree (shocker!). Apparently, we’re “unreliable.” My opinion, we’re change makers and people don’t like change. Their loss. Anyway, the only job I could get was as a waitress/bartender. God, how I felt as though I fell so far, and I could sense my family thinking the same thing. But my loans weren’t going to pay themselves, so I put on the apron.
It wasn’t until my father got laid off and my mother began expressing the unhappiness she had in her secure job that I had an epiphany. No matter what we do in life, nothing is guaranteed, nothing. I had been killing the artists in me over thoughts of a life of guarantee when I never really thought about whether that even existed. Yes, I could have gone to school for something that would have “guaranteed” a future job with an income to afford me a home and a family (things I’m not even sure I want). But the reality is, life is unpredictable. One day I could be secure in a job and the next the economy goes to shit and I’m being laid off. Then and there my reality is pulled out from underneath me. It happens to thousands every day in a variety of ways. So, isn’t it more worth it to lead a life where I’m happy because I made choices that were coming from a place of fulfillment rather than desperation? I think so.
From that point on, I stopped filling my brain with worries about how I could be better off if I had a regular job. Sure, I have my days of worry where doubt creeps in (I’m human), but I’ve accepted that regular was never my forte. I like to take risks, I like change, and I like inspiring that change through the work I do and the collaborations I get to be a part of. I stopped worrying so much about whether or not I’d be the one to break my family’s generational curses because I learned I was already doing that. By choosing an unconventional life I am inherently opening space for future generations of women to lead life unapologetically and on their terms. To seek a life of ease and fulfillment, rather than a life that surrounds sacrifice and hardship in the name of conventional success. That’s my mark, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Brielle , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I got into the performing arts back in high school. I had always participated in choir and talent shows as a singer, but never extended my craft into performing arts until a teacher pushed me to. I fell in love, not just with the art of performance and storytelling but with the people I met and the community surrounding it. I met some of my closest friends, ones I still have today, and connected with so many people who felt seen by the roles I played. It was such a gift to give that space to people as someone who has fought most of my life to wear my identity proudly as a biracial, queer woman.
As I became more proud of my identity, I felt compelled to help others do the same often accepting roles that broke stereotypes or told stories centering underrepresented voices. Even after graduating college with my BFA and starting my own creative freelance business, Meraki. I strive to collaborate with businesses and entrepreneurs who have a mission that aligns with my own. While I still occupy performance spaces, I’ve found a calling to travel and seek freedom in my own life. My creative freelancing business has provided me with that. I’m able to feed my adventurous nature, doing things I thought I’d only ever be able to live out in the characters I played, but have now made my reality.
Most of the services I offer are in the creative digital media landscape, often as a social media coordinator, video editor, or graphic designer. However, my services expand into creative direction, branding, as well as styling and costume design. I’ve been lucky enough to work with female-owned, LGBTQIA+-owned, and BIPOC-owned businesses that share similar values to mine from gender-affirming care to intersectional environmentalism. When those I work with share similar passions as me, I find our collaborations to be much more seamless but also a space to harness critical conversations. Additionally, knowing how difficult it can be to receive proper support in building a business I typically have at least one client that I do pro-bono work for within a certain period of time. It’s always been important for me to give back and a value I’m proud my family engrained in me. It’s a service I hope one day I’ll be in a position to offer more of.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Other than better pay, to best support a thriving creative ecosystem, I think society could use a change in perspective on the value of artists and creatives. We are outside-the-box thinkers. We are change-makers. We can offer more perspective on how to build community and genuine connections because we so deeply intertwine our work with that of the human condition and understanding. No, we are not just people looking to mess around for the sake of fun, but if that were so, why would that be such a bad thing? The world could use a little more fun, a little more ease. Even so, yes, creativity can be fun but it also requires hard work and determination, something I think a lot of people assume we lack. It requires the risk of being misunderstood, rather than chasing being understood (often a waste of time in my opinion). Isn’t that more valuable to a progressive society, and on a smaller scale a progressive workspace too? We are so divided as a society because we have lost the ability to listen, to speak with each other rather than at each other. I think creatives and artists can lead the way on a path of healing through a stronger sense of community, and communication.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
While my personal account isn’t as strong as the ones I manage, I will say the biggest shift in my growth, and even that of my clients, was focusing on what makes them special rather than what they thought their audience would deem special. Social media is a challenging terrain because there is so much pressure to do what will acquire growth, what will be most popular, and how much engagement something will get. It’s easy to get lost and overwhelmed thinking about what you should do, so much so that you stop focusing on your mission and what it is you bring to the table. Truth is, people crave connection and authenticity. It’s at the core of every human need. So when you go about creating your content, supply that first and foremost. The beautiful thing about social media is there truly are people for everyone. Don’t stress so much about bringing yourself to the people. When you choose to be truthful and authentic, you’ll bring your people to you. It may take time and a lot of courage but this is how I’ve built genuine, long-lasting relationships and connections on social media. Just remember you are the secret sauce so be proud and flaunt it.
Contact Info:
- Website: briellemelendez.com
- Instagram: @Brielle_m
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brielle-melendez-7a3ba2223/
Image Credits
I own all images.