We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Adassa Ramirez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Adassa, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I definitely get my work ethics from my parents. They were a great example of hard work by having integrity in what they do, being responsible and reliable.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a multi-passionate person, who has their family centered in both my personal or professional life. I am poet, entrepreneur and teach ELA (English Language Arts) remotely. I went to school for cosmetology receiving my license and in 2016 I started my small business, MicMas ReMiX. I started MicMas ReMiX with the intention of offering natural hair care products without fillers, sulfates or parabens. Growing up my family used to use olive oil, coconut oil, aloe vera, etc. in our hair. My hair was extremely healthy with no breakage issues because it was being fed the nutrients from the natural ingredients to help it grow and shine.
When I became a mom I wanted to return back to the basics of hair care with using only natural ingredients to nourish my tresses. I did “the big chop” in June of 2017 and my hair has flourished ever since! Between using my natural and vegan hair product line, it has helped my hair retain length by keeping it properly moisturized. Many of my customers have echoed the same in their feedback. It’s a blessing and also exciting to hear so many people have great results.
In addition to my small business, I am also a published poet. You can see my poems in the poetry compilation. “The Black & Latinx Poetry Project”. In 2010, I went back to school to study, Early Childhood Education, with the purpose of having a more impactful career. I became a mom a few years later and began teaching remotely to. have a healthy work/life balance that would allow me to be more present in my children’s lives. Currently, I am taking professional development ELA classes to help expand and deepen my teaching skills.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three skills that have been impactful in my journey are being receptive, having the ability to compromise and continuing to want to learn. These three things have opened me up to more opportunities, a wider range of thinking and being able to adapt this skillset in both my personal and professional life. I highly advise anyone early in their journey to try to develop or improve on these skills, if they haven’t done so already.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
My number one challenge that I had been facing and continue working on is spreading myself thin. I found myself having a habit of taking on more than I should because I didn’t feel comfortable saying no on something I genuinely wanted to do but were long term commitments. This began happening when I got involved in volunteering and activism. I’m very passionate about volunteering to help make a difference in Puerto Rico and activism addressing the settler colonialism happening.
Being boots on the ground on these issues was an amazing journey. Yet, I had to reel in the line with myself to fall back because it was becoming more demanding of my time. Time that I knew I didn’t really have more to give especially with two young children. It was a life lesson for me where I found that I was putting the idea of disappointing people before my own feelings. I’ve learned that saying, “no” doesn’t require justification or over-explaining, like I would often find myself doing before. I started setting healthy boundaries for myself and now realize that not every request or opportunity is meant to be taken. It’s ok to fall back.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.micmasremix.com
- Instagram: micmasremix
- Linkedin: micmasremix
Image Credits
Alegria Publishing Earthship Aguada Mi Patria PR Se Acabaron Las Promesas
