Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laasya Goriparti. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Laasya, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
If I didn’t believe in my purpose I would have never been able to face every moment of helpless isolation and abandonment or even the bittersweet milestones I’ve encountered along this journey. I spent all of my childhood and teenage years observing the world as if it were some fantasy realm that I’d never truly be able to be a part of. It felt like I was an alien forbidden from escaping my seclusion. Before I realized it, I had walked down a path leading into this cursed cage that it seemed society had built for me. I never understood why it was that way or why I must always swallow my troubles and pretend like they didn’t exist despite how suffocating it became every single day. The years slipped out of my hands as if time was robbing itself from me, and I slowly started noticing others who were also suffering in the silence and void of their cages. Amidst the foggy chaos of the cheerful world, every rare opportunity I had to meet and get to know someone led me to discover yet another lonesome world in the eyes of the outcasted and forcefully silent. Before I knew it, I’d met a universe of such decaying stars through all the paths that crossed by chance whether it be through people I met through various servers worldwide or those around me that always appeared to be swallowed by their silence. Hearing their stories and sharing their pain through answering their 3 am desperate cries for help and learning to use nothing but my voice to talk them back from the edge of life, I realized that simply obeying the endless, taxing demands of this society that’s decided to be deaf to our cries will never change anything. We’ll always remain pawns of the system as long as we restrict ourselves from experiencing life with any other of our senses besides sound. Yes, it’s very important to keep your ears open and take in what others have to say, and yes, that is the only way I was able to keep meeting and helping many people – because I kept genuinely listening. But if we all just left it at that, what is the point? Many people told me that that’s all we can do – but to me, that was an excuse. The more cases and stories I witnessed of suicide and self-harm, I understood that those whom we’ve lost to this never wanted to “end it all” but rather desperately hoped for even the smallest beam of light to seep through their dark worlds because, unlike the common misconception, they want to live more than any of us. There came a time when it felt like being complicit, not just in the injustices being done to them but all that I was facing as well, to not take action beyond just hearing and absorbing the pain of all. It was that rage, disappointment, and being genuinely baffled by the deliberate ignorance and further self-justification of everyone around me that drove me to create what I wished existed for me and others suffering like myself. I turned every single experience, that either someone I know or I faced, into fuel for a project aimed to solve or assist others enduring such issues anywhere in the world. I eventually lost myself in the service of others as it brought me a sense of purpose to my existence and gave me a reason to push through my lows even if life only gets harder and harder every day, and made me want to wake up every day and kept me up pondering late into every night. I never believe that it would all magically “get better” because, at least for the majority of us who don’t often encounter miracles that fix our problems overnight, it is entirely in our power to pave a path to guide us forward despite how helpless and powerless we may feel. As I spread my mission and impact through uplifting voices and making a more solidified, tangible difference in the lives of youth around the world at my non-profit Unmute, I began to find healing in healing the wounds of others. Through this, I found both my purpose and the value of having one in the first place. Purpose isn’t just something we have to fulfill but should in return be fulfilling to us, and that is exactly what being a social entrepreneur and humanitarian activist has brought me.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Every second of my life, I find myself either dreaming or working toward my dreams, however, this doesn’t really make me outstanding in any way. We were all dreamers once: eager to learn, discover, and create. I used to wonder why everyone around me felt so pressured to abandon their childhood ambitions and dreams to become a new, near-perfect, and almost robotic version of themselves. The answer resided within us, enclosed in our intricate minds. Just as our petals begin to unfold, we are restricted and tamed, by the same heart that once yearned to explore every hidden corridor. The societal mindset that emphasizes perfection above fulfillment, reputation above morals, and success above impact molds us into mundane uniformity rather than enabling us to sculpt innovation. Despite facing this myself, I’ve always treasured my infinite imagination, and I’ve taken pride in never striving to become one with such a suppressive system and pursued my passion for changing the world one smile at a time. When I was 14, I founded my non-profit tech start-up Unmute, with a vision to cultivate an anonymous global community of support and acceptance for all through utilizing emerging technology and a plethora of accessible and efficient stress management and mindfulness services to empower youth to embrace their true identities and voices, especially those from demographics and societies where high stigma and taboo exists for all things mental health. Beyond fostering psychological healing on an individual scale, Unmute also works through the NGO sector in over 12+ different societal reform sectors that do not already receive mainstream attention, advocacy, and action as the victims of these issues do not have the financial means or freedom of social mobility to seek justice and therefore remain forgotten and isolated by the press and the privileged world. From funding microloans for economically underprivileged women to create small businesses in developing countries to advocating and assisting refugees and victims of humanitarian catastrophes, we are constantly leading grassroots societal reform in over 16+ countries through the hands of youth who find that contributing to such humanitarian efforts is intrinsically healing and self-empowering. Unmute is not yet another organization that dusts our hands after simply spreading awareness of these issues. We’ve developed long-lasting impact and societal healing platforms to do more than single-occurrence service events but rather embedding reform into the system itself. Our podcasts and blogs are platforms for victims of any socially instituted issue who have had their voices stifled to come forth through the security of our anonymity-embedded outlets to share their raw, unfiltered stories to the world whether it be through voice on our podcasts, or through sending emails or letters to our various branches globally. This initiative, I believe, is the most powerful component of our organization that will allow us to bring our vision alive. Unmute envisions a world where everyone can express themselves with confidence and stand against the evil we’ve built in our society and the voices we fear the most that reside in our minds. Fighting for a reality, such as the one envisioned by young social activists and changemakers today, against all the limiting and scrutinizing forces we must face becomes demoralizing when fought alone. That’s why we welcome anyone from any background or experience to join us in our efforts. Being a part of this journey is far more rewarding than anything we can put into words. Our dream, Unmute, was born embedded with an identity of its own. A voice that yearned to be heard, a culture to be experienced, and a message to be embraced – by anyone anywhere.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Growing up, my circumstances forcefully shaped me to become an introvert. As much as I wanted to start a conversation with someone or “just hang out”, I simply couldn’t, and often it would even end up with the other person leaving our interaction discovering an introverted and awkward side of themselves that they never knew existed. As you can probably imagine, this lack of self-confidence, an abundance of insecurities, and low self-esteem and faith in the potential of my ideas did not put me in a good position as an entrepreneur. Many people would laugh just at the sound of the word “entrepreneur” and my name in the same sentence, and in fact, I know that many who only know me by my outdated version of 2 years ago would still do so today. As much as that would make me want to confine my dreams to the ink in my diary and crawl back into my secluded, criticism-free world – I didn’t. I realized that I simply couldn’t sit around waiting for everything to work out; I had to forge a path for myself even if that meant throwing myself into uneasy and overwhelming situations. So that’s exactly what I did. I began growing my personal brand and networking with individuals from all different walks of life, and I even made such encounters a part of my daily schedule to make it become second nature as quickly as possible. Soon enough, my newly developed conversational skills opened many doors I didn’t know existed before for me and my ventures. Another skill I can not fail to mention is designing your brand and its presentation; In essence, it is how you package your idea. Although I didn’t have the first clue how to do graphic design when I began Unmute, thankfully my previous experience with art and editing allowed me to develop this priceless skill quickly. Regardless of how brilliant or promising your idea is, how you present it through design and aesthetics, can entirely define and brand its identity and also predict how much of its potential will be attained. For Unmute, I made it my top priority that every media or content piece about the company was designed with the concept and theme of graffiti, which commonly symbolizes rebellion, identity, and expression in the face of suppression which is what our mission envisions. In my opinion, this unique branding itself brought Unmute’s mission across geographic and sociocultural borders throughout these years. Last but not least, the art of public speaking can single-handedly make or break your trajectory. It truly wasn’t easy developing this skill because 2 years ago, I would even struggle to speak up to ask questions in class. But just as I grew my confidence and networking abilities, I forced myself out of my comfort zone by diving into the intense (at the time) leadership development grounds of FBLA, Future Business Leaders of America, in which I began welcoming every opportunity for growth that was presented to me. From local to state-level leadership, every tier and step of the journey that I’ve gone through brought me immense personal and professional growth and has nurtured my confidence in my abilities, within 6-8 months of dedicated, intense speech delivery practice, I was able to confidently speak to audiences of over 5,000 members at major conferences. Now for anyone starting out in their journey, I think that the sooner you establish how much you’re willing to risk and invest yourself for your goals, the more efficiently you’ll be able to identify your strengths and weaknesses and begin your journey of self-improvement. As I’ve talked about throughout my journey, it is important to prioritize tangible validation to attain any skill or overall confidence. Instead of seeking validation from your peers, or anyone for that matter, aim to prove your competence and potential to yourself with every milestone of your journey. Your biggest supporter and competitor in this journey is always going to be yourself. Hence in the very initial stages, your biggest priority should be to establish genuine evidence and persuasion to convince your own mind to let you commit to this dream and vision of yours. With that mindset locked in, you’ll be able to find unlimited intrinsic motivation to keep you thriving higher and beyond.
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?
When I embarked on this journey as a naive 14-year-old, I believed that those who work out of humanity and genuine passion for creating reform would be undoubtedly praised and uplifted by society because I presumed most people wouldn’t object to a better world for everyone. Well now that I’ve dived all into social entrepreneurship, activism, and humanitarian service, I’ve realized that, in reality, our society only uplifts those driven by materialistic ambitions. My biggest challenge in this has been paving a path for myself to genuinely serve the greater good of society while many organizations and people that I come across, more often than not, are disguised under a facade of superficial diplomacy and staged acts of philanthropy. Of all the many challenges that I face daily as a student entrepreneur, this fight against artifice poses the greatest potential threat to hinder my progress and even crash my whole system of operations altogether. Although it sounds silly that something so seemingly trivial or psychological can affect me this much, those of you who are fueled by a passion that originates from an honest desire for actual reform of societies and lives will understand how truly demoralizing it is to see that most of our society – and the activists and philanthropists within it – only exist for show. I think the younger we are when we encounter this harsh reality, the more severe the impact of this can make you stumble out of astonishment at how broken our social perspective and values are as you take your first steps on this journey. I didn’t realize how direly empty the words people speak on grandiose stages could be. Realizing small but significant aspects of our world such as this through each of my encounters, losses, and lessons, I’ve discovered that I should invest my efforts and hope entirely in my abilities and stay true to my purpose and mission. As a young, genuine, social entrepreneur in such an artifice society, you will constantly be led to believe that something must be wrong with you for chasing such “unrealistic” and “financially unproductive” visions and priorities. For anyone out there navigating similar backlash and setbacks, I want to encourage you first to make yourself believe in yourself. Prove to yourself – through whichever means necessary – that the causes and vision that you’re fighting for are invaluable and creating tangible solutions for them brings you intrinsic fulfillment and joy. When you establish this understanding with yourself, it serves as the foundation that allows you to waive any dilemma or negativity that you will ever encounter. For some of us, it is just natural to be selfless and committed to helping the welfare of all. It isn’t something that we desire money or recognition for doing. Yes, most of society can’t seem to sit well with this perspective, but if this is who you really are – then you need to understand how scarce and necessary your existence and perseverance are to humanity and never give up your identity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.unmutecz.org
- Instagram: @unmutecz
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laasya-goriparti-a4615b229/
Image Credits
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