We were lucky to catch up with Leilani Graceffa recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Leilani thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
I’ve taken a lot of risks within the last few years, but one of my biggest risks was publishing my first book because not only was it my first published book ever and I was putting myself out there for everybody to see, but it consists of controversial subjects and happenings, and I knew not many people are going to like or really understand it like I do. I took the risk because I wanted to (nobody ever told me I couldn’t do something, I don’t know what fear is when it comes to taking risks), and being an author became one of my dreams that came to fruition soon after I started writing the first draft of that book while I was in high school, and doing it/taking that risk (as well as with my other books) was definitely worth it.
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
The very first thing I got into was writing, I’ve written countless of stories when I was a little girl (usually after watching a cartoon, an anime, or playing a video game), but I never really considered being an author until I got into high school, and started writing the first draft for my first book that I published in 2018, Past, Present, Alternative: Nightfall (I originally wanted to be a singer, and then a meteorologist).
Photography is just something that I love to do, I never really directly thought of being a photographer, I guess it’s just a hobby for me. But out of my love for it, I decided to start a business selling Polaroid pictures for people because I love vintage Polaroids and polaroid cameras (especially after playing the game Life is Strange). After having a spiritual awakening in 2019, after my grandmother passed, I started getting into Spirituality and Tarot, and doing tarot readings (in which I don’t exactly do tarot readings anymore, I prefer doing pendulum readings now).
I also had a clothing line called Bermuda & Azula (it’s no longer one now because I’ve decided to close it down to do something else with them, that I’m currently working on), but while it’s not a clothing line anymore, it’s still my version of the meaning of duality (butterflies are light, moths are darkness, and I recently added a Luna moth named Cahlia as the grey, neutral area between Bermuda and Azula).
I don’t think anything sets me apart from anybody, we’re all unique and special in our own ways. I’m most proud of myself, and everything I’ve done so far because everything I’ve done is not something just anybody can do and handle (I recently graduated from college in May with my Associates degree, and I’m still going for a Bachelors degree, so I did everything I’ve done so far while taking full time semesters in college). One thing I want people to know is I’m not cut from the same cloth, and I’m not everybody’s cup of tea because I’ve always been a weirdo, so if you don’t like me, stay as far away from me as the Andromeda galaxy is from Earth.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I’m not really sure what the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is for me, I still have to think about that now that I’ve seen this question. Maybe it’s getting to freely express myself through my art and the things I do because I wasn’t able to do it during my childhood (I had to hide things, and I didn’t really talk about the things i did, mainly how I got so good at writing), it took me starting high school to finally be able to experience freely expressing myself.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My childhood, and a terrifying situationship that I was in while in high school. I was bullied and alone as a kid, I didn’t make my first, real friend (who passed in 2016) until I was 10 or 11. The situationship that I was involved in while I was in high school, I can’t fully elaborate on the contents of that relationship and those years, but it was nightmarish/demonic, and taught me the valuable lesson of not trusting people as easily and not everybody is around you for your highest good.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.leilanigraceffa.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leigraceffa/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/leilanigraceffa
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX-RO1zPhNjYln1ilCK2YPw
- Other: Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Leilani-Graceffa/e/B07MB85FKM Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/LeilaniGraceffa/