We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Daniela Garcia. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Daniela below.
Hi Daniela, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
In 2019, I was in one of my darkest years of my life. I found out my father was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Cancer. This was devastating news because my father was in remission for many years. I dropped out of Sacramento State in 2018 since I was in a Domestic Violence relationship that DESTROYED me inside. I felt hopeless, alone, defeated, pain, and so much hurt. The first week of January in 2019, I was at Sutter Hospital with my father and realized that this COULD be the end for my father. I had so much fear that I would lose him to cancer since he was fighting a very TOUGH battle. I realized that it was my TIME to go back to school. I didn’t want to make any more excuses for myself and even though I dropped out in 2018. I was broke, overworked, depressed, hurt, etc. It gave me meaning to go BACK and do it. I told myself I WANT my father to see me graduate and walk that stage. Later in 2019, I lost my grandmother to terminal cancer. I was devastated because I wanted her to see me walk that stage as well. I knew it was her timing and she passed on all her wisdom to us. It was OUR(my sisters and I) turn to carry on her legacy, which was to serve our community and love others while being authentically ourselves. I will forever cherish 2019 because it was a reminder that my PURPOSE are my ancestors and breaking generational barriers to make paths for future generations to know that it is possible! In 2020, I graduated from Sacramento State and I started my photography journey. My purpose remained to empower others and LOVE others for who they are.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a photographer in the Northern California region. I absolutely LOVE capturing people in their best versions of themselves which is who they are RIGHT now. I love capturing graduates because as a first generation student it meant the world to me to walk that stage. I love spotlighting graduates because we are doing collective work together by breaking generational cycles together. My favorite part of photography is connecting with others while being authentically myself. I love seeing others step into their POWER and love themselves for who they are. My vision has always been to empower others.
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 qualities that have been the most impactful of my journey has been HEALING myself, LOVING myself, and EMPOWERING others. With healing, we always have to look into ourselves because we are the creators although we cannot creating AMAZING things without healing ourselves. I spent a lot of time in my healing phase because my grandmother taught me to always embody love to others by giving and service. Loving ourselves, allow us to create ART for OURSELVES and for the people who get it! When we love ourselves, we love our art, we love others, and we love the world. Empowerment is my main focus in photography because meeting others where they are at is NEEDED. I love to meet people where they are at because this allows me to understand their journey and support them along the way. These qualities have been the most important to my photography journey and LIFE because I can always be myself in all aspects.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did for me is moving to United States in their late 20s. My parents left their whole LIFE in Caracas, Venezuela and not knowing what to expect while moving to a whole new country. My parents are DREAMERS and ENVISIONERS because they believed if they moved out here they would provide the best they could for us. I was able to have opportunities that I probably would have never had living in Venezuela. I am forever appreciative of my parents for teaching me that dreams MATTER and we can always achieve our dreams if we ENVISION it and work hard towards it. My parents also taught me to teach this to my daughter that we can accomplish anything we want in our lives as long as we BELIEVE it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bio.site/daniwiththecamera
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/daniwithecamera
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNM-Qkrj4w4EWEP1DrQRIOQ
