We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julyah Rose. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julyah below.
Julyah, 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’ve always been a very confident woman. I grew up outside New York City and New Yorkers are very confident because they have high standards and demand what they want and don’t take bullshit. Growing up my parents were pretty ruthless and confident, it was their way or the highway, this probably was actually a good thing. I grew up in a tough environment, I was not coddled. My dad and my mom both did not believe in feminism, so they never really encouraged me as a female. My dad said a lot of sexist, demeaning things about women growing up, as a result I craved love and appreciation as a girl and so I was vulnerable to the several pedophiles who molested and sexually abused me during my childhood and teen years.
Shortly before I turned 18 was the last time I was sexually abused, and when I turned 18 I said to myself, “I will start a new life for myself and I will not be a victim, I deserve to be treated like a princess, I will accept no less, and I will not be abused again”. No one else will give you confidence on a silver platter, at some point you have to draw the line and realize it’s up to you to be confident or get f*cked over by life, the power is in your hands.
Everyone has bad and sad things happen to them in their life, I’m just using being molested as a personal example, the key is to use your brain and think of things logically instead of emotionally. You have a brain for a reason, in my opinion most people are way too emotional for their own good. Your brain is like a muscle, you need to strengthen it by doing crossword puzzles, taking classes to learn new things, learning a new language, learning an instrument, yoga, meditation, travel, reading. I am intellectually curious, and I took the time to expose myself to a lot of stimulation so my mind could become as strong as possible. The stronger your intellectual mind is the less your primal desires, subconsciousness, and emotions will control you. Just because I was abused as a child does not mean I am of any less value or that I should be precluded from achieving my goals, for most people their biggest obstacle is their own restrictive mindset. It doesn’t help we live in this victim culture which mostly is propagated by liberals and the democratic party, it’s all a conspiracy, the elites want you to feel dis-empowered by your gender, sexual orientation, race, etc., they want you to feel like a victim because insecure victims are very easy to manipulate and control into buying things. There is always someone wanting to profit off your insecurity; the beauty industry, the fashion industry, the therapy and psychology industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the food industry, the illegal drug trade, the alcohol industry, church and religion, the self-help industry etc. The only worthwhile outlet for your pain is fitness, as long as you don’t go overboard and take steroids. I’m not going to let anyone profit off of me, instead I’m going to find a way to use my talents to profit for myself. Do not buy into the victim mentality.
Another aspect of confidence is demanding to be treated like a queen. I don’t know why some women accept such pitiful, disrespectful treatment from men, it’s the man’s fault for being the abuser but it’s also the women’s fault for allowing herself to be a victim. Sheep attract wolves; wolves don’t attract sheep. If you keep behaving as a victim you will continue to attract predators. I’ve never been in an abusive relationship as an adult because if a guy I’m dating does even the slightest thing wrong I’ll make a federal case out of it and never see him again, I don’t have time for bullshit. If a guy doesn’t pay for a date once or if a guy ever raised his hand to me or ever called me a b*tch I would never see him again. You set the standard for how other people treat you, so better set it high rather than low if you want to optimize your life.
Another way to develop confidence is by being a good person and a good friend, a lot of people are insecure because deep down they know they are horrible people and bad friends. This is why I avoid relationships with insecure people because they will only drag you down, if they’re not confident in themselves they will never be able to be there for you as a friend.
Many times, confidence is an accurate assessment of oneself, if you know your unattractive, boring, and untalented then it makes sense you would have low self-esteem. As for me, I know I’m beautiful, talented, kind, smart, and a great friend, so even despite what happened in my childhood it makes sense I would be highly confident. If you want to develop confidence, like anything else in life, it takes work, trying new things is a great way to develop confidence, but don’t give up so easily, confidence is developed after you practice towards mastering a skill. Nothing worth having will come easily. So, if you want an easy fix your out of luck.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a multi-faceted artist and making my art is very spiritual and fulfilling for me. Artists are among the happiest occupations because we get to create beauty for others to enjoy. From the time I was a young child growing up near NYC I was enthralled by the dazzling lights of Broadway and the colorful fashions of 5th avenue. I began in theater, as a child, then transitioned into modeling. I’ve modeled in LA, Miami, NYC, and Europe. I’ve been published in various magazines and have walked the runway for New York Fashion Week and LA Fashion Week. I have modeled for top clients from around the world, it has been such a pleasure working with clients from different cultures. I speak Spanish and Italian.
About 5 years ago I got serious about film and television acting. I also love filmmaking and cinematography and I’ve produced and directed three artistic short films. All of my films are available on YouTube (search “Julyah Rose”) as well as on my website ( julyahrose.com/art-films ). In the future I would like to grow as a filmmaker and female director or cinematographer. Unfortunately, there are a lot of opportunities for women to do sexy things like modeling and acting but not so many opportunities for women to do intellectual things like directing and cinematography, which speaks to how our sexist society values women for their sexuality over their intellect. This needs to change immediately!
I am also a singer, songwriter, and composer, I play the piano. In 2021 I released my first EP “Destiny” available on all major music platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, and in December 2022 I released a new single called “Distract Myself” also available on all major music platforms. I write much of my own music. I also used my film-making talent to produce my music videos.
As an artist I wear many hats, I also enjoy writing and makeup and hair artistry. I learned these techniques because I watched the makeup and hair artists work on me as a model. Many times, I’ve wanted to do creative shoots, but the budget precluded me from hiring a hair and makeup artist, so I just figured I’d be creative and do it myself.
Did I mention I’m also a freak? I also am a trapeze artist and aerialist in training and my goal is to join the circus when I graduate from Cirque School. I also love yoga and dance, I’m very physical and I love working with my body. I also dabble in stand-up comedy.
If there’s anything show business related; fashion, dance, acting, editing, you name it, I’m your multi-talented women to do it.
For more information, please visit my website: julyahrose.com/ and my Imdb page imdb.me/julyahrose
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?
It’s important to think logically and not be too emotional. It’s important to be calculating and think of life as a chess game. It’s also important to be strong and not to give up. Success comes to those who don’t give up, it’s as simple as that. People will try to make money by selling you self-improvement courses and self-help books filled with obvious fluff, but in reality, there is no secret, it’s not rocket science, success takes practice, repetition, and hard work.
It’s also important to have good knowledge of psychology and high emotional intelligence, if you can understand how to relate to others and how to appease the emotions of others and create meaningful relationships you have a huge advantage in life. In my opinion, no other area is more important to success than interpersonal skills. I believe psychology and emotional intelligence should be taught in high school, it’s much more useful than math or grammar.
It’s also important to dress well, in a dignified manner, if you want to make a good impression and have people respect you. You’d be surprised how many doors open for you when your dressed well.
I would also recommend kundalini yoga and meditation to strengthen your mind. The stronger your mind the more power you will have to manifest your goals. Just picture in your mind every day you achieving your goal, do something physical while you’re envisioning your goal, then write down concrete steps to achieve it, take the action steps, and keep imagining until your dream comes true. Manifesting is nothing new, people have been doing it for thousands of years, the power of the mind is not a joke.
And don’t overthink things or give your mind time to self-sabotage yourself. Don’t ruminate in your self destructive thoughts, because we all have them, get out of your head and get out there and take action, just do it!
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The biggest obstacle I have overcome in my life is being abused as a child, I was sexually, verbally, and physically abused. For me being molested changed my entire life and my entire outlook, I don’t think people realize what a different life experience it is to be sexually abused, it effects many facets of one’s life, for your entire life. I’ve gone to therapy for over ten years to deal with the aftermath of my abuse. What’s even more traumatizing is how people in society react to sexual abuse survivors, their callousness and blatant indifference to survivors is the secondary wound. I wish people would be more kind to sexual abuse survivors.
Secondly, coming out as bisexual in college was challenging. In college I was in a sorority, Gamma Phi Beta at Arizona State University, and they discriminated against me for being bisexual, which was really devastating, they told me being bisexual and kissing women at college parties was a “bad image” for the sorority, although all the fraternity boys loved it. The other women in the sorority rejecting my sexuality made me so upset I went home and cut up my arms with a razor until they bled (I would never do this again). Eventually I resigned from the sorority, and they were kicked off campus shortly after. It is important to note most fraternities and sororities have roots in discriminatory conservatism and white supremacy, most are from the south.
Now I’ve been out of the closet for years and I don’t feel any shame for being bisexual, in fact, now I think of being bisexual as an advantage because I can better understand the male and female perspective. I can understand the straight and gay perspective.
The biggest challenge I’m currently dealing with is having breast cancer, I’ve been dealing with breast cancer for the past two years. It is devastating being diagnosed with a deadly illness in your twenties. Having cancer is a struggle because I can only work part time, the other time I need to dedicate to healing and doing treatments. I also wanted to invest more time and money into my career but unfortunately all my money has had to go to medical bills. Compared to my contemporaries, having a major disability like cancer is a huge disadvantage. However, I think of myself as “The Little Engine That Could”, my train keeps chugging up the mountain, even if my train is chugging at a slower pace because of my illness the important part is I don’t give up and keep moving forward. It doesn’t always matter what pace you take, as long as you’re moving in a positive direction.
Contact Info:
- Website: julyahrose.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modeljulyahrose/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julyahrosemodel
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ModelJulyahRose
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JulyahRose
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/julyahrose
- Other: imdb.me/julyahrose
Image Credits
John Kennedy Helen Auerswald-Leuze
