We recently connected with Rocio Cortez and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rocio, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my current project designing graphics for a clothing line. My life has really come full circle in the creative world. I originally went to college to pursue an art degree and after getting my associate’s, I wasn’t really sure what sort of job I could get. After a few changes in my major and going away to grad school, my passion projects ended up becoming my new stream of income. Using social media as a creative outlet and staying consistent in using my creativity in every aspect from styling outfits to video editing, my hard work and ambition has been recognized enough for others in the creative world to take me under their wing and show me how to level up my skills.

Now, I’m creating graphics for a jiu-jitsu company, managing a social media account, taking and directing content, interviewing, and hosting jiu-jitsu events, and hopefully much more. These projects are especially meaningful to me because it intersects two of my biggest passions. Creating art and training jiu-jitsu.

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.

Currently, I am a second-year grad student at Texas State University and I now work as a graphic designer for a jiu-jitsu company. While I was in school, I began making content of things I’m passionate about like Jiu-jitsu, physical fitness, mental health, creativity, and personal development. A lesson I’ve learned recently is maintaining balance. I grew up believing hard work will always lead to success and what I’ve discovered is rest, reflection, and recovery are essential components to success and happiness. Sharing my wins and struggles over social media showed me, I’m not alone. Creating a platform where I can share my journey focused on inner peace, self-love, and gratitude, I began making connections with others who are on the same journey of self-improvement as I am. I won’t let fear and perfectionism get in the way of creating art anymore. I’m now learning to embrace it.

I believe my style, eye for design, and the diversity of my passions are what set me apart from others. There are incredibly talented individuals online and each is special in their own way. I’m grateful that I’ve gotten the opportunity to connect with some of these people and build a relationship with them and my followers.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The only book I can say that has had a huge impact on my management and entrepreneurial thinking is Atomic Habits by James Clear. Moving away to Grad school was one of the most challenging times in my life and I’m so grateful for the experience. The amount of anxiety and stress I had while managing multiple projects at once was overwhelming and there were many instances where I considered quitting. In some way or another, I managed to push through. Quitting and going back home was not an option I wanted to consider and so I went on a journey to seek advice and guidance. I was recommended Atomic Habits by a friend and it completely changed my way of thinking. Instead of focusing on the huge hurdles I needed to overcome, I focused more on the smaller steps I can take to get there or at least make that task easier for me.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

As a science major, I took a Communicating Science course and the majority of the topics we covered were about storytelling and visual cues. As a creative, these topics seemed rudimentary and self-explanatory but as we dissected what sort of presentations captures an audience’s attention, especially over topics that might not seem interesting to the general public, I was able to understand in greater depth how much of a struggle it is to create videos and visuals if you’ve never done it before. As an art major and a conservation social scientist, I was able to see both sides of the spectrum and how important it is for fellow creators to become more immersed in a variety of professions, including STEM fields. People are visual learners and will most likely not understand what you might do for work. This is where you learn the art of storytelling and painting a picture for others to understand.      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rociocorteztexas.wixsite.com/rociocortez/portfolio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockin_rocio/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rocio-cortez/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Rockin_Rocio/videos

Image Credits
A few images were photographed by @isozae. This is his Instagram handle.