We’re looking forward to introducing you to Sarah Ceballos Ph.D.. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Sarah, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Yes, thank you for asking. I was recently confronted with something I have been working to overcome for a really long time. While I was tempted to resort to old behaviors and coping mechanisms, I didn’t. This time, I knew exactly how to hold myself and sit with my emotions, and I gave myself the space to process them, without forcing myself to feel them or running away from them, so I could rush the process. Whereas other versions of me would have done a myriad of things to keep myself from feeling heavy emotions. Honestly, though, I’m grateful for the things that I have been through because they’ve taught me about resilience and how to trust that I won’t revert to old behaviors. I’ve learned that when you’re trying to overcome something, it’s not about getting it “right” but giving yourself the grace to take one step back before making two or three steps forward. Eventually, you learn to show up better. I’m really proud of myself for showing up in a healthy way, perhaps the healthiest in my whole life.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi everyone! I’m Dr. Sarah Ceballos, I’m what you would call a multi-hyphenate. I’m an Associate Professor of Management, I’ve been in higher-ed for 10 years, and I worked in Corporate America before that. My true self is an artist though. I’m an actress, filmmaker, and producer. I also do stand-up comedy, and I enjoy making people laugh too. I’m originally from McAllen, a border town in South Texas. It’s commonly referred to as the “South Pole of Texas”, seriously, it really is a thing, there’s a sign too! I’m a 3rd-generation Mexican-American on my Mom’s side & I believe 4th or 5th on my Dad’s side. Either way, my family has always been here long before Texas became part of the United States, and I’m Spanish fluent. I love my culture though, I was raised to show up when it’s hard and to keep love in my heart, it’s something that has served me my whole life. I started acting when I was 11, and I did it off and on for a number of years. I picked it back up on 2016 and still enjoy it, but I also enjoy the “behind the scenes” process behind producing. It’s a lot of fun to create something that will not only outlive me but help others feel more seen and heard.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
That I had to be perfect, especially as a minority woman. That it’s OK to speak your mind, it does not make you a bad person, and that I’m entitled to express how I feel, it does not make me difficult. Naturally, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that it’s about how I say things and how I choose to express myself. I tend to be misunderstood a lot, but I no longer shrink myself to find other people’s molds, nor do I try to over explain. Honesty is probably my best quality, and staying true to who I am is very important to me. Although I am human, I make mistakes and ego can get in the way at times, still I always endeavor to own it and own it fully, and then learn from it. I’ve also learned that I am not responsible for others’ opinions of me nor what they choose to do with their life, but I am responsible for myself, and I’m still working to respond in healthier, better ways. I also believe there is enough room for everyone to make it, and do what makes you happy. No human being should ever be controlled.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
So as I mentioned earlier, I lost my dad. I had just turned 9 years old two months before his passing. I remember thinking this couldn’t be real. I kept wanting to believe it was just a bad dream and that I would wake up and my dad would come home again. It was my first experience with heartbreak and, to some extent, betrayal because I didn’t understand it, or why my dad didn’t take better care of himself. I will never understand fully understand death, especially when it happens unexpectedly, but it has taught me to live in the moment, appreciate and love others. Maybe that’s the whole purpose of it? In my experience though, the five stages of grief helped me to identify where I was at in the process. Yet they didn’t identify how long it would take to move through them, sometimes it felt like I was back at square one. It’s definitely a process and no one can tell how to grieve or what to feel. It’s something you never get over; you just learn how to fill the void in healthier and happier ways. Acting has helped a lot with channeling whatever it is I’m feeling into my work, and therapy! No one really escapes life unscathed, I wonder what would change in this world if mental health was the norm. Some folks are better than others in hiding their pain, but why hide? To me that’s how suffering happens, and if we keep identifying with our pain instead of making friends with or trying to understand it, then we never truly heal. We become doomed to keep repeating the same cycles or worse, live out of our pain and then bleed on others. I could never intentionally do that. How can the light reach us if we stay closed? Life is meant to be lived, the pain too, it’s what you do with your pain that makes all the difference.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
I think the difference between a fad and a foundational shift is that a fad only addresses the external. A temporary fix to whatever it is we’re dealing with or wounds we’re trying to either numb or run away from. Fads come and go. Where as a foundational shift is internal and behavioral that happens over time. What works for someone else doesn’t always work for me, and vice versa. I yearn to live in a world that celebrated our differences more than it tries to use those same differences to pit us against each other. That’s not what humans were meant to do; we were meant to connect. Going inward to look at how you’re responding to life and what your behavior is surrounding the way you eat, sleep, think, drink if you enjoy spirits, and what you’re putting in your body. Who are you surrounding yourself with? Are they healthy for you? The problem with society, or the world today, is we want the shift to happen overnight. As humans, we’ve lost our sense of appreciation for the process and being patient with it. There is no such thing as an “overnight” success, and we never really talk about the true work that’s behind well, pretty much everything. For me, the shift occurred when I finally started to take my power back and work on myself, therapy helped a lot with that. Life as well as the gift of age have also taught me that the answers we seek always lie within us and not in the external. There is so much freedom in love and accepting yourself no matter where you’re at in life, and staying open.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
Oh gosh! I can’t imagine what will get said about me when I’m gone. I hope I’m remembered for being someone that lived authentically. That I truly cared enough with my whole heart to leave the world better off than I found it. I like to think that everything I do now came from love, and while I may not ever get it “right” or perfect but I owned my mistakes and endeavored to be better. I believe in living life the fullest and making the best of something even when you feel like you’re left with nothing. This may sound “radical,” but what if we all just cheered each other along, what would change in our world? I love to see others happy. There is a lot of doom and gloom right now, but I also think about how far we’ve come and how much better we can be, and it inspires me. I really do believe humans are good at heart, most of us anyway, that’s what my travels have taught me. That’s gotta count for something! Thank you again for having me, I’m very honored y cuidate! Take care.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.336-films.com
- Instagram: @336_films
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahdceballos/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCikRs84SxRl_KJOPKyOIWnQ
Image Credits
Photos & Stills by: Lea Pfandler
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