We recently connected with Micaela El Fattal and have shared our conversation below.
Micaela, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?
When I was in 7th grade, I was failing history. After avoiding my teacher as much as possible, he finally pulled me aside and told me the news, I may have to be held back in school due to my bad grade.
He sat me down and gave me a new box of colored pens. He told me that although the daily homework assignment was to write paragraphs in our notebook about what we learned, from now on, he wanted me to doodle, color, and do whatever it was I needed to show I was still learning and understanding the assignment.
I immediately improved my grade. Using different colors of the rainbow empowered me and doodling symbols or even country flag details, helped me memorize historical details.
I’m so grateful for this teacher, who changed my perspective on learning, by giving me an individual education plan and by taking a risk on me. To this day, I still write notes and details in different colors.
Due to the respect and love from this teacher, I never thought of myself as unfit or dumb, but realized that as a creative, I need to find ways that work for me, personally.
Micaela, 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?
As a child, I really struggled with external factors in my life, that made school my safe haven. Even after getting into school fights (often!) and ditching classes, school was still so special in encouraging my educational development.
As an adult, I could identify that as a child, I was actually extorted. Learning that and recalling details reminded me how much school really helped me work through that horrible experience, but still motivated me to learn more to create a beautiful life.
Due to my own personal experiences and having such a fond, positive memory of school, I opened Lovely Hearts Arts Academy in Cambodia, in June 2023. There are currently 60 students that attend daily, all being from rural, low-income families in the countryside.
I also opened Lovely Hearts Nonprofit in California, which is a 501c3 organization, that empowers others through education, purposeful travel, and community enrichment opportunities.
Both of these organizations are thriving, even after being opened for less than a full year, and we have incredible international support, as well.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
The particular mission I have is to empower others through education and a lot of education has to do with art and creativity. I have a mission of helping every student or child reach their full potential.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson I had to unlearn is receiving the word, “no,” and at once, believing that hearing that was a dead end. I now know that many times, if we have a detailed conversation with the person, we can get critical feedback and details on how to improve our “ask” to get the answer we really deserve.
One of the first grants I applied for, I was told “no,” but after calling the organization, they ended up changing their mind and approving our grant. You never know what someone will say, if they have more information and details about your mission.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010072570251&mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LovelyHeartsNGO
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PS-2iGgdMmc&t=85s&pp=ygUaTG92ZWx5IGhlYXJ0cyBhcnRzIGFjYWRlbXk%3D
- Other: Instagram: CaliBeachLover
Image Credits
It was a selfie.