Meet Anjolina Esser

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anjolina Esser a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anjolina, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

First and foremost: Being an outwardly more “alternative appearing” fashion model is certainly NOT for the weak.
Seeing as the fashion industry is extremely competitive for models, and only recently started becoming more welcoming to more “alternative appearing” models on the runway; there’s been countless times where I’ve genuinely felt defeated, unremarkable, or that there’s a “glass ceiling” on my potential in the modeling world.
Not to mention me having the blessing of working alongside so many talented, beautiful, and successful women; it both inspired me, but also made me look at myself and begin to question my own abilities at times.
I felt like I had to choose between modeling, or my forms of self expression.
With comparison being the #1 thief of joy, having that mindset made me feel isolated, and even “ugly” in comparison to the people I looked up to.
Upon coming into myself with the experience I gained since starting over a year ago, I’ve found that the most effective way for me to overcome my feelings of Imposter Syndrome was to simply:

Do my best.

Because through my hard work I’ve earned every opportunity that comes along my path no matter how foreign it may seem at me upon arrival.

Conquering Imposter Syndrome is about doing hard things even when you’re feeling anxious or afraid, because no matter how confident someone may appear on the outside, we’re all human, and we’ll always experience feelings like anxiety, or fear.

But I persevered through those thoughts and limiting mindsets.
I watered the plants which watered me-
Worked hard both physically, and mentally so I could then more easily affirm my being, and allow myself to be grounded and present wherever I am; because sure, feelings of anxiety will always creep into the psyche every now and then. But my father once told me, “You can’t control every bird that flies over your head, but you can control whether or not said birds’ make a nest in it.”

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Anjolina Esser.
I was born bout’ 20-some years ago in Beaufort County North Carolina and was raised in Southeast Michigan with my family which I hold very dear to my heart.
Growing up during The Great Recession, times were hard for us all- seeing as it was just little ol’ me, my 2 slightly older siblings, and my single father at the time.
Although I was relatively oblivious to our families financial issues as a little girl, there were times we didn’t have working plumbing in our house so i was aware we were- to some degree “poor”… But my father worked very long, and hard hours in his trade to provide for his family, so although we weren’t the most “privileged” when it came to the material things in life at the time. My father and the other adults in my life tried their best to protect me and my siblings from the daunting reality of our family’s financial status.

As I got a bit older, my family became more well off, and I was able to blossom more into the person I am today.
Although I don’t identify with just 1 name or title, some of the plants I choose to water include:
Fashion modeling, content creation, spiritual healing/teaching/wellness (which encompasses as many things)
I love everything I do, and am grateful to be so privileged to have more than one passion in my life, but I know in my soul that spiritual healing/teaching is what calls me professionally.
In the future I plan on getting a degree in yoga therapy so I can become an instructor of my own class, and I’m going to acquire the proper licensure to professionally tattoo so I can combine my passion for art, and my spiritual disposition into a healing practice for others and eventually own my own shop.

Whatever impact I have with the passions I choose to indulge in, I know that at the end of the day I want to have a positive impact on the energies around me no matter what space I’m in. Even in modeling- where I’ve gotten the privilege to consistently work with an amazingly talented self taught designer who goes by the name JoMaWoo and the other lovely models in her “posse”- I’m able to come in direct contact with many beautiful energies and give my own to amplify our experience to the point where- in only a years time, we’ll be walking in NY fashion week together already.

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?

The three most impactful qualities I’ve acquired through my journey include:
Discipline, self love, and patience.

It takes having love for yourself to realise that it takes patience and discipline to get yourself to the places you want to go.

My advice to anyone else who may be reading this is to trust your process, for what is meant for you may not be there when u initially want it, but it’s surely on the way so long as you don’t lose sight of your goal.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My family has for sure been the backbone to the success I see today.
I will always give my family their roses for the sacrifices they gave and still actively give to support my success as much as possible.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: earthangel.lina

Image Credits

Shots by @bullheartedprod on instagram