We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melanie Rae Perez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melanie Rae below.
Hi Melanie Rae, appreciate you sitting with us today. Maybe we can start with a topic that we care deeply about because it’s something we’ve found really sets folks apart and can make all the difference in whether someone reaches their goals. Self discipline seems to have an outsized impact on how someone’s life plays out and so we’d love to hear about how you developed yours?
My self-discipline comes from my heart, from my need to grow and become someone I am proud of. It is not easy, by any means, there are plenty of days when I wake up and feel tired and not good but that is when I ground into what my heart wants. Self-discipline, for me, is a daily practice. It is making the conscious choice to keep going after your goals and dreams on the days that are hard, the days you don’t feel like it.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Right now, I am a PhD student getting ready to finish my first year. This first year has pushed and challenged me in new ways from speaking up in class, to rearranging my sleep schedule to read, and even traveling to conferences. It has been rewarding and challenging and while I am enjoying studying there are a lot of things, outside of my coursework, that I am excited about. Some of these things are mentoring/helping students, expanding my social media presence, and my research/advocacy work to aid in ending gender-based violence. As you can tell, I have a lot going on but at the root of it all is working towards getting my PhD and so I can achieve all the dreams that follow. I have big dreams and right now I am focusing on the daily tasks that will get me to those dreams. My days are filled with work, trusting myself, and trusting who I am becoming.
Looking back, what do you think were the 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?
There have been quite a few things that have helped me get to this point, but I think the most important one is being grounded in trust. When things feel hard or do not go as expected I have reminded myself to trust the bigger plan, trust that I can overcome, trust who I am becoming. Trust has held me on my best days and worst. By allowing myself to trust, I have given myself freedom to just keep on going and pushing with hope that it will all work in my favor even if it looks different then I imagined. Trusting myself and my path has allowed me to see light where there has been darkness and feel safe when there has been challenge. Trust has also helped me rely on family, friends, and mentors to help me along this journey of life. Without them and trust I wouldn’t be here today.
What are some challenges that you are facing? How are you overcoming them?
The biggest challenge I am currently facing is trusting and using my voice. Stepping into new spaces where I am being challenged intellectually and emotionally has left me feeling shaky and not grounded in the power of my thoughts and voice. I am exploring ways to strengthen my ability to use my voice even when it does shake. Right now, what I am finding to be most helpful is showing up, pushing myself to speak first, and doing so in a way that invites others to speak as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: melanieraeperez.com
- Instagram: melanie_rae_perez
Image Credits
All photos have been taken by me and can be found on my Instagram.
