We were lucky to catch up with Ashleigh Ewald recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ashleigh, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
When I was a little girl, my recesses were frequently spent searching for a friend and wanting to be accepted by the community. I was a foster child in my early childhood years after undergoing adoption dissolution and, later on, adopted once again at age seven. This journey of rejection and misplacement led me to struggle to develop healthy relationships, and therefore, it took years with my adoptive parents to learn what love is. My confidence and self-esteem seemed miles away throughout my primary and secondary educational years. I lacked trust in myself and my potential to accomplish what I wanted honestly, and I allowed people’s opinions to shape how I felt about myself.
Until I began surrounding myself with bright, intelligent, driven, and supportive friends, mentors, and teachers who have helped guide me on the right path. I took action toward my hopes and aspirations to the point where I, over the years, began accomplishing milestones such as creating initiatives to help community members meet their needs. I volunteered at food drives, nonprofit organizations, and campaigns to improve others’ circumstances. These ways to give back and add value to the world locally or federally are what slowly increased my confidence. As for my self-esteem, I realized that with “failures,” moments where I didn’t get the internship or not the grades I hoped for, I had come with more success than my middle school self could ever have imagined me achieving. From connecting with influential people in high school, for instance, well-known actress Gina Rodriguez, national comedian Vena E., and much more due to harnessing my social media skills, I am beyond grateful to have been able to be where I am now. Self-esteem comes from believing in myself first. Then, I envision where I want to be in life years from now and later networking while taking action toward those goals. Most importantly, helping people recognize their own potential also helped develop my my self-esteem because that being as proof that we can improve the quality of life together.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a full-time student preparing to graduate a semester early and am part of two leading organizations. The first one is the Student Government Association (SGA) of Oglethorpe University and the Voters of Tomorrow Georgia. I am primarily involved with organizations where I launch and plan exciting initiatives. For school, our SGA had already hosted an inaugural for a new tradition on campus called the ‘Stormy Gratitude Day Event.’ This new tradition we created aimed to boost school spirit and unite administration/professors/staff and the student body in recognizing each other by sharing gratitude with thank you written cards.
As for off-campus work, I had my previous internship in the fall of 2023 as a digital intern for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and, afterward, began working on mobilizing young Georgians to participate in our democracy. My Voters of Tomorrow Georgia chapter recently launched our ‘Georgia Gen Z Candidates College Tour,’ designed to bring Gen Z candidates who are running in the local elections of this peach state and help bring them to where young people are, such as school campuses. These are some of the hopefully memorable events and initiatives that are a part of what I do. My team’s work is special because, like my podcast ‘100% Real With Ashleigh Ewald Talk Show,’ aims to empower young people to take the initiative and know that their childhood circumstances do not define their potential. I hope that my journalism writing from the heart, podcasting, mobilizing, and civic engagement work demonstrate to others that they can make a difference.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back, the three most impactful qualities or skills in my journey were resilience, networking, and self-motivation. My advice is to know your why on whatever you wish to achieve and stay true to yourself because there will be nayers, and you have to keep pushing. Life is too short to worry so much about what others think, and getting to know yourself will help you get to know your community genuinely then. Please don’t compare yourself to others. Argumentatively, everyone does it, whether consciously or not. However, it is the way we go about comparing ourselves to others that can be beneficial or harmful. For instance, in high school, I got Instagram for the first time as a sophomore. I wanted a platform to share important information about issues and advocacy. I used to compare myself to the verified people my age, sixteen, already on America Got Talent, and making huge waves within their music industry. Those individuals and I followed each other. I was fortunate to have been so young and connected with influential teens who earned their verified checks and taught me much. Once I started speaking at schools, I shared my story and, in doing so, realized that everyone has their own path and it’s not intellectual to compare your journey to someone else in a completely different field than what you are trying to pursue. She was kind to everyone and taught me not to compare myself to others’ progress but to learn how they did it from them. So you can learn healthier habits and skills by surrounding yourself with people to whom you wish to have similar success.
Please don’t compare yourself; when you see someone else within the same industry you are trying to make it into, learn from how they got to where they are now so you can become similar and boost your knowledge. That is a part of networking; my advice is to think and not be small. It’s alright to ask for help from peers or anyone. Networking is everything; many need to learn how to network efficiently because of fear of rejection. I can tell you that I have networked with notable people such as the national author of First They Killed My Father, later turned into a Netflix hit by Angelina Jolie, and Cambodian Genocide survivor Loung Ung. Be what most want to be. It’s alright to want more and be extraordinary. But your actions speak louder than wants and words. Therefore, my most extensive advice is to be your word and follow through until your goals are accomplished.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
I prioritize what is most essential and then go from there. I exercise daily by doing strength training and then every other day, leg day, where I get in my cardio. Writing about how I feel in that given movement also helps. When I feel overwhelmed, depending on the situation, I turn it into a self-development article that I pitch to later. Writing a self-improvement article helps me utilize what I processed and helps turn the overwhelming situation into a lesson I can share with others to help the community. My advice is to take care of yourself physically and mentally. As my mother always said, you are what you eat, and thus, on business days, I eat healthy, and on weekends, I have my cheat day(s). For strategies, I would advise that discipline has a significant role in handling feeling overwhelmed. Many would turn to toxic and addictive substances to cope. However, those toxic substances may make you feel better temporarily. If some think they must use toxic substances to cope with being overwhelmed, they are not truly happy. People who are truly happy with their lives don’t turn to those substances. They are temporary solutions and are not trustworthy solutions that will lead to long-lasting happiness. But eating well and exercising along with weekly therapy is the genius cure for handling stress or overwhelming matters. Think long run because those habits make or can break your potential.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/ashleighewaldofficial
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleighewaldofficial/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleighewald
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@AshleighEwaldpodcast?feature=shared
