Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Monica Perez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Monica, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

My soul has never been more full, satisfied, and happy in any other area since I have been working as an artist and creative. There have been numerous times I have wondered and even tried to get a “regular job”, and every single time, (I went to research either rejoining the military or going back to studying medicine) the path never allowed for that. The doors would remain shut. Other times I would feel overwhelmed about having to either beg for my creative jobs to pay me on time, or at all, or when the income was unstable, I would lean into prayer. The answer was and has always been the same. I am to stay in the arts.

Monica, 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?

Wow, well, I have been writing and taking photos since I was in elementary school. My dad always handed me a video camera at a young age so we could record our family holidays, but it was never anything I took seriously. I was always interested in the medical field because I wanted to help people heal and I thought it would be a great way to make a living.

At 21, my life changed in a very dramatic way and I began my soul journey and started studying about Jesus. I ended up at a bible school about an hour outside of Houston, TX. I spent 9 months there, reading, and learning about the bible. I would study and read for hours and learned about fasting for a spiritual purpose, to get clarity and answers, and how to hear the voice of God. I had finished my first year and began to utilize the things I learned and began to pray for my next step. My personal choices were: go back to college and finish a degree or go back to bible school for the second year, but God had another idea in mind that was not on my radar at all: the military.

I felt it in my spirit and experienced many signs very personal to me, so I went into a fast and began to earnestly pray to make sure it was the right decision. God gave me that “peace that surpasses all understanding” in my spirit and I was-for lack of better words- speechless when I received an answer. The next day, I laughed it off, and prayed saying, “Look Jesus, I know that, joining the military was, what I believe I heard you say in my spirit, but, just to make sure, I’m gonna fast again.” God answered me by lunchtime that day through a dream. The next weekend, I drove to my hometown of San Antonio and signed up to join the military.

I left in June and by August, I had obtained fractures in both of my hips and found out on Sept 11, 2003, that I was going to be medically discharged from the army. I was devastated. I cried for months and they took me out of my respiratory therapy classes and sat me behind a desk for 12 hours a day as I waited 7 more months for paperwork to finalize my exit. During this time, I spent most of it in my bible, questioning, studying, crying and asking for clarity. One day I was in the HQ office and I asked myself a very important question: “What do you know nothing about? What would make me a more well-rounded person and how can you talk to more people about Jesus?” The answer I came up with was ART, because at that time, I knew nothing about it! In 2005, I enrolled back into college and my art journey began from there.

I obtained my first bachelors of Art in 2008. Toward the end of that season, I was led to theatre, due to a cousin of mine being interested in acting, and me knowing the locations of the auditions. I was cast in my first play and fell deeper in love with another sector of the art field. I obtained my second bachelor’s in theatre three years later, and due to acting, I was led to yet another leg of the arts, filmmaking. During this time, I was also working for Apple Computers as a “creative”. My job was to teach the customers how to use their computers. I was good at my job, but I didn’t love it. I wanted to work full-time in the arts and told myself, that if that is what I really wanted to do, I needed to figure it out. I decided to pray and fast again. My answer came, I quit my job and began working full-time in the independent filmmaking world in 2011.

I am now an art therapy life coach and continue to pursue courses and education that help me better assist the community in those areas. The services I provide now are art therapy, original paintings and art work, photography, and video work.

The problems I can solve have a lot to do with using the arts to help mental health and gain profound healing. Through my guidance, education and experience, I can offer ways to help clients work through life issues with art, writing, theatre, music, and dance. What sets me apart is not only my knowledge and education but actual experience in these fields. I have a BA of Art, BA in Theatre, BA in Spanish with a minor in dance, AA in Music, and am currently working on my 6th degree in Radio, TV/Film, and Broadcasting. I have worked on numerous films and theatre productions full-time, since 2011.

I am most proud of the discipline and diligence that I have put into my studies and am proud of the fact that I have been brave enough to explore and discover many things that used to be so foreign to me. I have a voracious thirst for knowledge and am never afraid to find a solution to a challenge, and am very excited to help others on their journey.

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

I think humans are resilient by nature. I think everyone has their own personal story of resilience but here is mine:

I come from a very broken home. My parents fought often, my dad was physically violent with my mother in front of us and also with me and my brothers growing up. His discipline was very unloving and harsh. I had to have my chores done by the time he came home from work or I would get into serious trouble. I was often “put on restriction” for weeks at a time starting as early as elementary school. This is where my love for books and stories came from because I was sent to my room, without explanation, often. My mother was cold, unavailable, and distant. My dad was her third marriage in which we all discovered together when I was in 8th grade. Her main way of dealing with things was to just throw money at it instead of communicating. I could not rely on my parents for any kind of emotional, physical, mental or spiritual support. They finally divorced when I was living in Mexico City at 14. My brothers decided to move back with my dad in Texas, so I was all alone at home, while my mother was at work and with the man she was having an affair with. She bought me a dog who turned out to be one of the best pets I have ever had. I was also sexually abused by a babysitter’s son from the ages of 3-9. The great thing was, I never blamed myself. I always knew it had nothing to do with me, but it also made me very introverted, and insecure and I was a very quiet kid because of it.

By 18, I had been drinking and experimenting with drugs for 4 years already. I was arrested twice that year and my mother had remarried the man who she had previously been having an affair with. I lived with them and was severely depressed. I drank excessively and at 20, I was now working at a pharmacy and using drugs and alcohol to hide from what I felt was an absence of love and neglect. At 21, 7 years into drinking and drug usage, I quit and began my spiritual journey. I began to learn about and implement the teachings of Jesus and my life began to change. I still had many more hard lessons and mental philosophies to change, but God put me into the arts so that I could begin my journey of personal healing.

I now do something I absolutely love, and have obtained 5 degrees, with one in the works, a good reputation, and extensive experience as a professional in my field.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My particular mission is simple. To heal my soul, then to inspire, share and educate others with the tools on how to do the same.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/monicaleeperez.art
• Facebook: monie lee perez (Acting page). ////In Love Studios (art page)
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicaleeperez/

Image Credits

Photo Credits:
Christian Lopez-Cordova
Monica Lee Perez
Tricia Buchhorn
DB Entertainment
Not So Sane Entertainment