We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Constantina Zacharakis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Constantina below.

Constantina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today 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.

The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was going to law school and leaving New York the only state I’ve ever lived in to go to Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida.

I had never been to the gulfcoast of Florida (let alone even seen the apartment I’d end spending the next 3.5 years of my life in) when I packed up everything I own and even possessions I’d collected through childhood and drove down, uhaul in tow.

Don’t get me wrong I’ve traveled all over the states and even abroad and even went to undergrad hours from home…but never an actual permanent move.

Here I was, about to delve into one of the hardest professions and degree programs, and I knew next to nothing of where I was going, where I was living and just went.

The first year was rough; the pandemic happened within 6 months of being there.

Zoom school of Law was not easy.

Imagine hearing the most mind-numbing laws and history (which yes definitely need to know to understand the reasoning of how they came to be) but in person your professors are right there, bringing context and life to it…then bam webcam.

But I made it through. Countless sleepness nights reading massive casebooks and analyzing, synthesizing and regurgitating verbatim and 3 years later walking across that stage shaking the dean’s and provost hands; surreal.

My undergraduate degree took me 8 years. It wasn’t that it was hard but life happens, had to work 3 jobs at times to make ends meet and still do a full course load. Take over a mortgage, handling family bills and responsibilities, and the occasional stumble along the way but I never stopped.

Education is not trivial, if you aren’t into a trade then you truly need something to elevate yourself to be successful and contribute to society.

I’m not talking about income by any means; I’m talking about being able to impart something to those around you and not take advantage of programs and resources meant to help you in a lurch…what many often rely on because doors get closed on them early and don’t have the direction to get back on track.

Anyways, sorry about the tangent, but long story short, you can’t ever give up or doubt yourself and if you do, and believe it happens, at least know somewhere in the back of your mind that if everything’s not okay it’s not over.

You have to try and even if you fail, at least you took that risk.. because it might just be the best thing you’ve ever done for yourself.

Constantina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am all about getting back to loving yourself and knowing your worth.

Law school was a very sedentary endeavor and the pandemic did not help my cause.

I ballooned and eventually got fed up and made the change.

Slowly but surely I got to a place where I can say I really am happy with how I look and live.

Now I preach it from the rooftops because you are worth it.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Authenticity. If you truly are trying to influence others you have to be genuine. Social media can expose fake, number grabbing behavior instantly.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Lead by example. Surround yourself with people who align with your vision not for a paycheck but because they actually believe in what you’re promoting and the minutia works itself out.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Tinaaazeee
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Image Credits
Jeff Hibbard Self