We were lucky to catch up with Merissa Ware recently and have shared our conversation below.
Merissa, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I first knew that I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally during the pandemic. During the pandemic, I was a senior in high school, which is the point in life where you need to decide what you’re going to do postgrad, whether it’s college, the workforce, the military, etc. I knew that I wanted to go to college, but originally I wanted to major in biology to become a marine biologist. I also considered adding animation as a minor, so that I could potentially work in the animation industry. The lockdown gave me a lot of free time, even with virtual school. When I had down time, I would work on writing my own books that I wanted to publish in the future. Once I finished writing, I would illustrate the cover, the characters and the scenery. Later in the pandemic, I was watching a documentary about the behind the scenes making of Disney’s Frozen 2. I was in awe of the process that went into making animated movies. These experiences peaked my interest in media and it was the catalyst for me deciding to pursue the creative path professionally.
Merissa, 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 am a director, writer, animator, producer, and journalist. I have experience in various mediums of storytelling and that’s why I am a multimedia storyteller. Currently, I am a graduating senior at Georgia State University majoring in film and media with a minor in marketing. Many of the opportunities that I’ve been a part of as a college student has encouraged me to get serious about the media industry. I am the Arts and Living Editor for my school’s newspaper, The Signal, a technical director/director for GSPN (Georgia State Production Network), and the Vice President of Broadcast for NABJ-GSU (National Association of Black Journalists).
Outside of school, I am a published children’s book author. My book, “Yes I Will”, is a motivating story about a kid who dared to dream and follow her passion of music, regardless of the naysayers. I wrote that story when I was in middle school and I’m so happy that it is a published book. It is available on Amazon.
I am the founder of my company, The Dream Collective. The Dream Collective, is a creative community for storytellers. Our motto is “investing in storytellers”. We had our first event in November 2024. It was an indie film screening and networking event where filmmakers and storytellers from all ranges of experiences came out, networked, and watched their creations on the big screen. The purpose of the Dream Collective is to provide storytellers with resources, workshops, hands-on experience, and a community that uplifts them.
I am also a filmmaker/content creator for my production company Merissa Media Network. Merissa Media Network has created commercials, animated short films, documentaries, narrative short films, and more. All of my content can be viewed on my YouTube channel @merissamedianetwork. I tell stories that educate, uplift, inspire, and entertain others. One of those four factors are at the core of every story I put out there.
I am most proud of The Dream Collective. I know that in the future, it will expand to something big that will help countless storytellers and I am excited to see how beautifully God’s plan for it will unfold.
I want people to know that my passion for storytelling runs deep. I know that storytelling has the power to make people feel delighted, inspired, empowered, transformed, and much more. My goal is to make a positive impact with my work and to leave this world a little better than I found it.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is knowing that people are positively impacted by my work. When someone tells me that what I do inspires them, whether it’s through a comment on social media, a text message, or face to face, it fills me with great joy. It makes all of the hard times feel worth it. I always like to look back to a few years ago, when I was putting my work out on social media and I was getting 3 likes or no views. I remember feeling like giving up and feeling like what I was doing was pointless because I was so used to seeing overnight success stories. This reminds me of how far I’ve come and how rewarding the journey is when your hard work pays off.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is to accomplish everything that God put me on this Earth to do. I know that my purpose is centered around two things: to tell stories and to positively impact others. If I am doing one of those two things, then I am doing something right. Having this concept allows me to work on different projects in various mediums because, as long as I am positively impacting people with stories, I don’t care how I’m doing it or what it looks like. I am not putting a limit on storytelling.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://merissawareportfolio.wixsite.com/merissawareportfolio
- Instagram: @merissaware_
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merissaware/
- Youtube: @merissamedianetwork
