We were lucky to catch up with Jana Miller recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I lost my Dad ten years ago to a heart attack and just recently lost my Mom 6 months ago to her battle with cancer. I was my mom’s full-time caretaker in my home during her battle. She depended on me for physical needs, emotional support, and everything in between. This journey is what has inspired me to start my creative journey and I am in the beginning stages of it.

Living without parents at 43 years old has propelled me into an unfamiliar world. When your parents pass away, part of your childhood dies with them. You yearn for that unconditional love that only a parent could give. You also miss the words of encouragement and the pride that oozes from their heart to fill your own.

My parents taught me through their lives and deaths, that connection is most important in life. I am so fortunate to have been so connected with my parents. They taught me compassion, love, and a hard work ethic. They taught me that if you open your eyes, so many people are going through some of the same things that you are going through. It taught me to look at the world and specifically people in a whole new and beautiful way.

As I went through my grief journey, I leaned on other stranger’s stories on social media to make me laugh, help me grieve, or simply not feel so lonely. Others, including my niece, inspired me to share my life with the world in hopes of helping others in the same way that they helped me.

My creative journey has started with sharing adventures with my wonderful family. My goal is to simply be real about my life because there are fun adventures and there are impossibly hard times that we all go through. Sometimes a stranger says the exact thing that you need to hear that day or a family may inspire you to make a special memory.

Lastly, I will leave you with a quote that continues to inspire my creative journey. “One genuine connection can make you feel at home in an unfamiliar place.”

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am 43 years old and have lived in Minnesota for 23 years now. I grew up in a very small town in Louisiana, so I am a southern mama living in the north. I have been married to the love of my life for 17 years, Brian. We have two beautiful daughters, Briana (15) and McKenzie (11). I absolutely love connecting with people, which is what inspired my creative journey. There is no better feeling than coming across someone on social media that you can relate to or being inspired by someone to try something new. My mother’s recent passing inspired me to share my life with the world as an outlet to connect with others. I love going on adventures with my family, so my focus has been sharing those experiences. I hope that my own experiences inspire others to connect with their families and make special memories. I hope you will come along and follow me as I am always “on to the next adventure, ya’ll!”

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being a creative is when you know that you have impacted someone’s life in a positive way. It doesn’t even need to be in a huge way. Maybe someone was able to relate to you, or you gave someone a platform to share their story. For instance, I made a video on September 11 and the tradition that my family does each year locally for one of our hometown heroes who perished that day. By sharing that simple story of our tradition and how we honor that day, it gave hundreds of people the opportunity to share their story. It felt so good to connect with so many people about such an emotional day and I was a part of it, or maybe even prompted the discussion. THAT is what is so special about being a creative.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Coming from someone who is just getting started on building their audience, I think my main advice would be to continue consistency and resilience – don’t give up. I struggled at first being in front of the camera or using my voice for videos. Believe me – No one likes their own voice, you are not alone! But as you put yourself out there, you realize that there are people just like you out there and people are looking for your connection. I would also say that you should utilize all social media platforms to promote your content and get creative on how you utilize each one to make it interesting. For instance, I will often create a video on Tik Tok and put a clip of it on Instagram to draw people to my Tik Tok account. And at all costs, stay true to yourself – there is no one on social media just like you, remember that.

Contact Info:

• Other: My creative journey is on Tik Tok Please share site below: https://www.tiktok.com/@jananeworleans