We recently connected with Natalie Naranjo-morett and have shared our conversation below.
Natalie, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I always thought of myself as a quiet and shy kid growing up as I was always the youngest in my family, so I never felt like I quite fit in. Language also became a barrier for me when my family decided to move away from our extended family in Tijuana, Mexico and English became my dominant language from a very young age. For many years I felt very insecure about this language barrier, and it led me to constantly question my identity- Was I Mexican or was I American? Having this identity crisis from a young age deterred me from feeling confident in who I was, no matter where I was.
In my pre-teen and teenage years, a whole new factor came into play- body image. As with my language and identity insecurities, culture was front and center of this issue. Planning for my Quinceanera, which is the religious and social celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday, meant I had to find a dress and look my very best. Diet culture at the time was at an all-time peak and it crept into my Quinceañera preparation. I was 14 years old and I had already become very familiar with eating small meals, skipping breakfast, and following countless diets that promised to give you a healthy lifestyle. I never felt satisfied and as a young girl still developing and going through different stages of life, I thought that dieting would be a constant in my life. By the time I made it to junior year in high school my life revolved around academics and ensuring I would get to the best university I could get into. Stress, anxiety, and sleep deprivation became the norm for me and it left very little room for me to care about diets anymore. One day I realized it had only been doing more harm than good, and besides, I just didn’t have time for it. From that point on, it was a long journey of therapy and self-reflection- even today.
As I finished school and went into higher education I grew in my confidence as an intellectual and somewhere along the way I think my self-image grew with it. When I finished my bachelor’s degree at UC San Diego in just three years, with honors, and half of that time during the Covid-19 pandemic I had finally felt a satisfaction and accomplishment that I never genuinely felt before. Finishing that degree was what I had worked for in all those years of insecurity and self-doubt, but even with those struggles I accomplished my goal and even did it in circumstances no one in the world could have ever imagined. Two years later, I was off to New York City to pursue my master’s degree at Columbia University and that was one of the biggest confidence boosters I had ever felt. I had been rejected a lot when it came to college acceptances, and never did I imagine I could get into an Ivy League school, much less living in New York City. My time in NYC was really a time where I came face to face again with figuring out my identity and my culture. Missing my family and my community allowed me to come to terms with the fact that I didn’t have to choose between my Mexican identity and my American identity. I decided I was both and I decided I could speak English, Spanish or even Spanglish. My confidence in this belief was stronger than ever and nobody could convince me otherwise.
I have now come to be in my mid-twenties and while I’m thankful I have grown out of the angsty teen years, I am also thankful that those years of self-doubt, low self-esteem, and anxiety made me stronger and have developed into my confidence. This confidence allows me to ask for help and support from my loved ones when I need it; It allows me to trust that I will eventually feel like the accomplished intellectual woman I know I am when I’m having a bad day; And it allows me to be gentle with my body even when I don’t like what I see in the mirror.
Some days my pre-teen anxieties make re-appearances, but when they do, I remind myself that it’s just a rainy day and being able to feel those emotions is part of working through the storm.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I knew I wanted to become a museum curator since I was in 8th grade. I knew what colleges I had to apply to, I knew what classes I needed to take, and I also knew how competitive the field was before I even went into it. The museum field is not one for the faint of heart. I was told that it requires you to either get your doctorate’s degree or simply climb your way up from customer service based roles until you reach the department that you want. Unfortunately for me, and everyone in my generation, this has become much more difficult than prior times. There seems to have been a huge increase of people interested in the field while at the same time many of the roles that existed in curation have merged into higher-paying positions, making less opportunities available. As of now, I am working in two different museums in two different roles. One museum is a folk and craft art museum where I have the role of visitor experience associate, and the other museum is an art and technology museum where I have the role of retail supervisor. With a master’s degree I thought I would be at a different place in my career. However, I’ve come to appreciate the experiences and skills I have gained from every museum and role I’ve had as I continue to search for better opportunities wherever I can.
When I’m not focusing on my career and on museums, I have a different hat. A baker’s hat to be more specific. I was always fascinated by baking because my mom has been a cake decorator for 20 years and would always make the best desserts as I was growing up. When I was younger I would occasionally help my mom to make desserts, but I didn’t really think of it as a hobby until the Covid-19 pandemic was in full swing. I had sold cookies in high school for a time to raise money for a college-seeing trip, then later in college I sold cinnamon rolls to raise money for a study abroad trip to Peru. I realized how much I enjoyed baking and of course how much I benefitted from it. By the time I was getting ready to go to New York for grad school, I decided to officially start a baby business to once again raise money, only this time I could keep it permanently. Flash forward to when I came back to California from New York as a recent graduate, finishing my master’s thesis, and no job I was able to reignite my baking business.
I first made Natty Bakes with the intention of selling all sorts of desserts, but there seems to be a huge influx in people’s desire to buy cakes and be able to personalize them with all sorts of themes, colors, and sometimes funny memes. It always excites me being able to deliver a cake and seeing the client’s reactions, then later getting a text saying how much everyone in their party enjoyed the cake. While there was a time I only cared about the money I was gaining from this hobby, I now found a true joy in doing this and finding connections through new clients. Learning new techniques and overall improving my craft over the years has given me an experience I didn’t consider to be essential to my growth as a person, but I think when you find an art form that you enjoy it can really impact who you are as a person and how you perceive other areas in your life.
I’m staying focused on my career and navigating through the museum world, but I am also embracing my baking business and finding ways to improve my art through cakes.
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?
Three qualities I think are essential for, really any career in any field that is perhaps more competitive than other fields is being persistent, consistent, and also understanding. For a long time I always thought I had to be just as perfect with everything I did as much as hard working and never back down. But the reality is that you will always face failures, you will never be perfect in everything, and sometimes you have to be understanding of changes in life. As a society we often place this need to be hard-headed and never give up, but I think that it’s just not accurate to reaching real life success. Being persistent means you continue to try even through adversity, whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally. Consistency is needed when you are working for something, and it requires discipline. Being consistent with your daily routines, being consistent with your goals, and being consistent with searching for those opportunities that will propel you into the right path that is meant for you is completely necessary for any kind of journey. I learned through many different situations in my journey that curveballs will always be thrown and even though they might alter the path you thought was meant for you, there will eventually be a new path with better experiences and better opportunities. I’ve been rejected from many schools and many jobs that I thought were perfect for me, but at the end of the day I am very happy and grateful for the people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve lived along the way. Being understanding not only of things out of your control but also of your own feelings is vital to getting to where you need to. It is so important for your own health to be understanding when you are feeling burnt out or even just tired because learning to be gentle with yourself will boost the confidence that you need to be the best version of yourself. That best version of yourself is the only one that is capable of achieving your goals and dreams.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
The first answer that always comes to my mind is my parents. They truly are my best friends and have always been my biggest supporters through everything, literally since birth. But I also can’t help but to think of my brothers, my sisters in law, and my best friends. They have all been so crucial to every step I’ve taken up until today, so I can’t not mention them, too. My family has been through many difficult times, and I feel very fortunate that through thick and thin we always find comfort in being together and being able to remember the best times we’ve had together. My parents and my brothers always encouraged me when I had sleepless nights studying or whenever I anxiously prepare myself for job interviews. They remind me of everything else I have been more than capable of accomplishing and are the people that have shown me how to be consistent and persistent. In addition, for the last few years I have also been fortunate enough to have my sisters in law who are the sisters I always wished I had growing up. Not to mention they have also given me my nephews who are my motivation every single day! I also have to thank my best friends who consistently make me feel confident in who I am and also inspire me when I need creative or emotional support. Having some of them in my life since elementary school and some since college means they were there at the most important times in my life and we really have grown together. I have learned far more from them than they might realize and I don’t think I could be where I am now if it weren’t for the courage I learned from them.
This little community that surrounds me is what I attribute a lot of my life to because they have been there with me in all of the biggest moments of my life and they are always there when I need help or advice. I have gained every quality and learned every single skill I have because of them, in both direct and indirect ways. It’s not that often people have so many people catching their fall when they need to, but I am so very blessed to have an entire community by my side leading me and cheering me on. This journey in my career, my baking business, and in finding myself has been because of my family and my best friends, so this is all dedicated to them!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nnaranjo.ohmaexhibits.org/RunaSimita/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nattybakessd/profilecard/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-naranjo-morett-5a8a21157
Image Credits
DNM Photography
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
