Meet Jenna Seng

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jenna Seng. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jenna below.

Jenna , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilient is one of the first things I realized I was. I mean literally, in high school, as I was doing my very first learning about myself as a young adult, resilient was one of the first things I felt proud of myself for being.

What first taught me resilience was my background as a gymnast. I spent hundreds of hours growing up facing my fears and mental blocks, falling down, getting back up, and trying again until I could stick it. I wasn’t the most talented gymnast, which means I was falling down an extra amount, but even at 8, I begged my parents for more hours in the gym because I just wanted to get better. I remember acknowledging that gymnastics had taught me so much resilience the first time I tried to snowboard. I fell down the entire mountain for hours. Still, when I finally felt the wind in my hair as I successfully rode down at the end of the day, I remember thinking, thank god my parents put me in a sport that requires me to constantly face my fears, fall down, and get back up. Because now I’m not afraid of falling anymore, I’ve learned to be scared but do it anyway. I also think as I got to know more peers around me who didn’t grow up with this same background, I learned how big of a privilege it was to feel the way I feel as a result of my background because a lot of people are still grappling with this.

On a deeper level, as I got older, I battled a lot with my mental health. From a very young age, I’ve dealt with a lot of anxiety, depression, lack of motivation, self-esteem issues, eating disorders, etc. When you’re growing up and watching people around you who seem to have it all together, but for you, every single day feels like a battle to be okay and be stable simply, I think there is a natural desire and push to want to stop feeling so much discomfort. The discomfort that came with this struggle developed in me an innate sense to want to better understand myself to know why, and to overcome these struggles. Additionally each time I would go through a really severe depressive episode, or a really anxious time or simply just anytime that felt like I wouldn’t make it, watching myself time and time again come out on the other side okay when I never could have imagined I would. Those are the feelings that made me proud of myself and realize, okay, you know you struggle with these things, and they’re hard, but you always overcome it! At the end of the day, that is resilience, right? because your options in life really are to push through and be the type of person that does what they need to do to solve their problems, to build the life for themself that makes them happy. Or, you can stand in the same place that you stood a year ago, burdened by the same burden, and I think my fear of that is worse than my fear of continuing to try and fail.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My mental health has always felt like this huge roadblock when it came to going after my dreams. I’ve always known I wanted to work in a creative field, but with creative careers, you have to be a real self-starter. I always struggled with that and it made me doubt if I was cut out for it. I’d constantly compare myself to other people who seemed to have it all together and think, “Maybe this just isn’t for me.”

Fast forward to November 2022 – I got laid off from Amazon Corporate, and at the same time, I was finally diagnosed with ADHD and started medication. That was a real turning point. For the first time, I felt like I had the tools to manage my ADHD, and honestly, after being laid off, I had nothing to lose. It felt like the perfect moment to take control of my career, so I decided to create my own opportunities, and that’s how I became a freelance digital marketing professional.

I now specialize in content marketing, social media management, content creation, SEO, and email & SMS marketing. Over the past few years, I’ve had the chance to work with some really amazing industries – from health & wellness to food & beverage, education, fashion, and more. What I love most about my work is that I get to help real people. It’s not just about selling products or hitting targets for me, it’s about supporting the goals of businesses I genuinely believe in. I’m all about creating content that tells a story, unites communities, and brings people’s dreams to life.

One of my favorite projects has been working with The Loose Leaf Tea. I led their entire marketing effort, grew their Instagram following by 178% (from 6k to 750k reach!), launched their TikTok, and creative-directed their product photoshoots. But what really drove me was their mission and the fact that I could stand behind it 100%. That’s what gets me up in the morning – working for brands that have a purpose.

Looking ahead, I’m super excited to focus on developing my skills in videography and photography. I’ve always had a passion for visual storytelling, and I want to push that even further. Whether it’s shooting and editing videos or capturing moments through a lens, I’m ready to dive deeper into creative industries like music, fashion, and entertainment. I feel like there’s so much more for me to explore, and I’m really looking forward to growing as both a creative and a professional.

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 top quality that has propelled me forward to achieving my goals in life is my determination. If I want to make something happen for myself, I will devote hundreds of hours to researching and finding a way to make the wildest dreams into very logical possibilities. For example I grew up in a house that taught a lot of fear. I have the most anxious mother in the world, and on top of that, we grew up in a rigorous, devout religious family where we were taught to fear god above all else. I always knew I wanted to leave my hometown growing up and move abroad. My parents were terrified of this reality, and beyond their fear, they had 0 understanding as to why I would want this for myself. But at the age of 19 I found a way. I found a job as an au pair, interviewed with so many families, got my parents to meet my future host family and form a relationship to where they felt self, and ultimately I moved to spain at 19. People often think that I’m not scared to jump off the ledge and take high risks for high rewards in life, but in reality I have this skill of taking scary ledges and doing the research and work to understand them as opportunities I more so just have to step off the curb and walk across the street to achieve.

Another quality would be my curiosity. I think in life many people don’t ask enough questions, and if they wonder why a lot of the time society shuts down those questions. At an early age I truly learned to question everything, not to take things at face value because just because something is being done because it’s always been done doesn’t make it right. this would probably be my biggest piece of advice to folks on there journeys. if you wonder why, ask the question. Dig deeper because this is the only way you’ll truly ever understand anything. I think my curiousity has been a huge part of me being able to live a less traditional life and a life I want to live. Additionally when it comes to morals, values, politics, even hobbies I think it’s so important to continuously ask yourself… why?what does this mean to me? Do I believe this? How does this make my nervous system feel?

Finally I think a skill I am trying to develop and I would strongly urge everyone on there journey to work on is being able to take feedback and constructive criticism without taking anything personally. No one will ever view you the way that you view yourself because no one else lives in your brain besides you. Additionally every time we go out into the world and have a human encounter the other person only experiences a piece of us and there are so many factors that contribute to how we are experienced and perceived, Being open to constructive criticism is truly the only way to know how you are being perceived by the world, and while it’s good to not care too much what others think it’s really valuable to be able to learn from others as well.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I am really wanting to further develop my skills in Digital Photography as well as Videography and I’d really like to work in the areas of Dance, Music, and Fashion. I’m really seeking to connect with models in LA that I can shoot that are dancers, or any musicians that are open to having me come and shoot there shows I would absolutely love to collaborate in that way. I would also love to network with fashion resellers or other business owners that need product shots or content. Additionally I would love to be able to shadow a videography or photographer that is more established and assist them so I can learn the ropes further!

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @jennaseng, @jembaart
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-seng-1b334214a/