We were lucky to catch up with Yossuana Aguilar recently and have shared our conversation below.
Yossuana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
I remember a young Yossuana playing with her barbies for hours creating stimulating stories. It seemed as my creativity had not limits, nor a beginning nor an end. It just poured out of my veins all over my body, I was embodying a creative goddess throughout all of my childhood. I felt safe during these creative hours.
As I matured I started connecting with elemental things that sparked my joy such as dancing, painting, writing and singing. Then one day a camera arrived and a new passion developed: filmmaking.
Filming, what a beautiful thing it felt to capture the present moment and play with it. To sit down and be creative, to play different roles, different hats and different versions of myself. I had a new creative tool that would help me personally deal with my emotions: creating short films. Why not? Fiction is always fun to get you out of your funk.
I got my first camera when I was 13 years old and took it everywhere with me. It served as my creative escape to express my feelings. I quickly began to feel like the camera was an extension of my arm and I just couldn’t let it go. At that time I never thought it would develop into something more in the future.
I was in such joy that the only moment that mattered was the present.
In 2012, My grandma passed away and the first thing I did was to collect all the footage I had of her and edited it into something beautiful. A short film that expressed with visual detail how heartbroken I was. And that day truly began, my
connection with a passion that would develop into something with a higher frequency. It had intention, it had a motive and most importantly it had me being vulnerable and real.
I used my videos as a key to have a catharsis and let my emotions out. Not keeping them in but expressing them out through creativity helped me feel better, lighter, softer.I connected with my vulnerability in such a depth that I felt like flying and kept doing more of it; not for money, not for fame but for myself. And the consistency of it all brought me to where I am today; to be known among friends and colleagues as the audiovisual poet that I am.
I am an artist and I use my emotions into every work of art I make. I kept sharing my work, and saw how people connected with it and shared it with their family and friends. As I reach 18 years of truly doing my passion every day I look back and honor my evolution.
I have evolved.
By embracing my passion and I was led to where I am today. A place where I can truly be me, my work leads me to travel to new countries and discover new cultures and new people where I in turn bring to light new versions of myself.
I am happy that I chose what sparked my joy and that I found a way to economize my hobby and turn it into a job that is truly my passion. I get paid to release my emotions in a healthy manner and in a manner that creates an impact on society. When I allow myself to be vulnerable I show the world they can be vulnerable too and that is ok.
I never chose my passion, it chose me.
So yes, sometimes I stop and look back to see where I was yesterday and appreciate where I am today. Who would have thought that a 13 year old girl shooting videos as a therapy tool to allow her to feel and process emotions would allow her to become what she is today.
At that time, I saw it as a hobby. I never thought it’d become more than just that. However, my passion transitioned and my short films that were deeply emotional and private were seen worldwide, and it’s now my full-time career.
Today I have clients who hire me to do the thing I love. My passion saved me emotionally and financially, I hope you find yours and let it save you too.
YOSSUANA AGUILAR
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 am a Venezuelan filmmaker dedicated to expressing life in images and words.
I work with clients from new families, musicians and small businesses to large corporations; I maintain hands on at every stage of the production process to bring visions to reality.
I graduated from Houston University with a Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Studio Arts in December 2012. Fluent in both English and her native Spanish, I currently reside in Mexico where I produce, direct and edit emotional films, music videos, weddings & fashion promos.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
To create meaningful work not for me, but for society, something that will create social change, be it through love, through kindness, through nature. I don’t want my work to be about me but of service to others without losing my true intention which is:
to connect.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Honestly, the best lesson I learn is to set your limits and say no.
Don’t be a people pleaser.
Saying yes just to keep your client happy when whatever you are saying yes to could ultimately interrupt your work for being meaningful will definitely hurt your company and your self really.
I have to value and honor myself by putting limits with my clients, when they were being too demanding in moments where they wanted something fast but realistically couldn’t be done, I learn with patience and love say no and the work I deliver was better for it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yossuana.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsyossuana/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yossuanaaguilar
- Linkedin: https://mx.linkedin.com/in/yossuana-aguilar-1285ab63
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/yossuana
- Youtube: https://vimeo.com/yossuana
Image Credits
Photographer: Mayra Carreno