We were lucky to catch up with Monica Martinez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Monica , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative and artistic path when I was little. I just enjoy every dance competition, pretend I was in a movie and say random dialogue in my head or just watch movies and imagine myself in there. For me and everybody around me was clear that I was an artist’s soul. I was doing little theater shows, knocking on doors next to my mom going for the dream I had, However not everyone around me was supportive of that version of myself, which caused me to hide or try to just have a “ normal” professional career lifestyle while I was growing up. It wasn’t until I moved to New York City when I was eighteen to study at The Lee Strasberg Film and TV Conservatory, that I truly felt I could be just my authentic version and this could sound cheese or cliche but to me, it was like being in peace with my true self again.

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.

I couldn’t go into the industry with the discipline and commitment I have without the people around me, I feel inspired by them, and I share my main goals and aspirations with them to keep myself on track, thanks to the mutual support I found, I keep myself focus and pursuing my dreams became easier.

At first, it was hard because it was easy to lose track or postpone things, however, the people around me like my family and friends have kept me going pushing me to go for what I want. I do believe that’s important to recognize what type of people you are surrounding yourself and if those people are bringing something to your life. I found it a life-changing experience to jump from procrastinating in meaningful things to focusing on my main goals and what I want to bring into my creative work. I found myself taking a retrospective view of things while I was finishing my film conservatory realizing that I was completely lost on what I had to do to get where I wanted. One of the most important parts was surrounding myself with people who challenged me to be better. I remember having this idea of a film and one of my closest friends jumped and said to me lets do it. I was scared, I didn’t know what to do or where I was supposed to start, however just the support of “let’s do it”, made me just jump into the cold water and start to get out of my comfort zone.

The kind of inspiration I want to share is the inspiration I have every day, with the lows and with the highs. I do value real experiences and I want to express that with my creative work. Most of the films I have done have a real meaning and a real experience like the recent film I added to my portfolio “ Behind The Curtain” where the depression topic was discussed. I want to bring reliable and honest stories to what I do and that sets me apart from the others because I always do my best to deliver honest work in the most respectful and understanding way.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Something in my journey that I can say showed resilience was moving to New York City. I was born and raised in Bogota Colombia, where coming to New York was to adjust my entire mentality, learn a new language, meet new people, and be completely out of my comfort zone. However, I knew it was a must to do to follow my dream career. Through the beginning of my journey of living in New York, I had to endure moments where I felt unwelcome or out of place, which was hard because, at a certain point, you are ready for the hard moments but when they come you don’t know how that can affect you. Every day was learning and understanding that everything happens for a reason and everything is a lesson, which encouraged me to keep going even in the hardest days.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I unlearn the lesson that nothing is that broken that can’t be fixed. Sometimes when things are broken are better, when someone breaks a dream or a plan that you have put in that path or recovering yourself you find a better dream or a plan, which means it was meant to be broken and not everything needs to be fixed, and that’s the beauty of it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monicamartiinez4?igsh=Nm84Z2wwYnpzaDhj&utm_source=qr
• Email: [email protected]