Meet Hera Güneş Barlowe

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hera Güneş Barlowe. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Hera Güneş, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?

I take a step back. I remind myself all I have is merely right now. The biggest risk is choosing to stay in my bubble and never growing out of it. As long as my gut and heart feel at ease, I’m on the right path and I’m not taking any risks, I’m just living my life. Either way, we’re all going to die one day, and I would rather live my way till then, instead of being scared about the “future”. The future that we all bet our money on while skipping out on today. My life has turned out nothing like I’ve planned out to be, it turned out better. I’m very keen on serendipity. Sometimes the best thing to do is to let the universe lead you. Trust the journey, even when it seems the grimmest. You can never discover something new if you already know the road leading to it. So the question is how much do I not want to risk wasting my life? The fear of waking up one day and regretting I didn’t “risk” enough, creates the strongest fuel and motivation in me to try more, get wilder, and just live as I wish, and not under anyone’s superficial restrictions, or judgments. Do something out of your comfort bubble every day, start small, yet stay consistent and resist the urge to cave in. Remember, the world needs your full undimmed shine 🙂

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?

I’m an actor and artist born and raised in Istanbul, Turkiye, based in NYC.

I love staying diverse and trying new things. Starting from an early age, I was fortunate to try many branches of arts and sports. Such as singing, dancing, painting, sculpting, kickboxing, horseback riding, fencing, ice skating, and many more. Some of them I gave up on, like basketball or tennis, after a couple of years of trying them out, and some are trades I still carry with me to my acting journey.

Traveling is also a big passion of mine. I feel deeply connected when I’m traveling. I’m always so excited to learn about new cultures and meet new people around the globe. It truly nourishes my work as an artist and keeps me focused on what actually matters. Being able to be the voice of someone’s story. And that someone could be an animal, or nature itself, or a kid all across the world from me.
And that’s the power and beauty of film and theater, it can connect you instantly to someone’s life who you’d never known about, and still affect you like you’re right there with them. As an artist, this is what matters to me the most, being the voice of someone whose story is unheard, spreading awareness, and hoping to make a difference in that someone’s life for the better.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

They would be resilience, endless belief in myself, particularly when I’m feeling imposturous, and finally emotional intelligence, which involves skills like empathy, and awareness.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying, I never yield, or nothing lets me down. Cause a lot of things do, even just being in my luteal phase will do it. But I’ve learned to get back up quicker and quicker and come back to my core especially after the rockiest times.

The advice I would give is, that the only relationship you will have at all times throughout your life is the one with yourself, so never neglect or run away from it. Instead, face it, work on it and make it a trusting and loving one. Then you’ll start the see the weather outside won’t affect the inside as much, cause each time you’ll know you will get through the storm, becoming stronger and freer 🙂

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

Always! 🙂 Right now I’m actually in the creative process of a new play called “Stain” and would love to collaborate with folks who are interested in spreading awareness and want to work on a project they deeply connect and resonate with. Feel free to reach me through my website or Instagram! Hope to talk to you soon :)))

Contact Info:

• Website: https://herabarlowe.wixsite.com/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gunesp/

Image Credits

Corey Hayes
Bronwen Sharp
Bianca Victoria