Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Navarro.
Hi Vanessa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
It all started back in August of 2019 when I was listening to a podcast about stay-at-home moms. I remember this moment vividly because it changed my life forever. I remember it asked what we were good at, it challenged us to think deeply and ask ourselves that question so that we could find out if we could perhaps make some income from home by us doing what we love, all while still staying home with our little ones. So, I thought, “cooking”. Now, I have many hobbies some including makeup & fashion, but my favorite one is cooking. Not only is it therapeutic for me but I also love to see people’s reactions when they try my food! It makes my heart full to feed the ones I love the food I cook with love. Back then, there were no reels on Instagram, just stories and posts. So, I began sharing my everyday family meals on stories. I started to get great feedback telling me to continue them. Shortly after that, people started to recreate my recipes and it made me realize that I was actually helping them. When Instagram came out with reels, I jumped on it and began recording and uploading them. Something I did to continue to grow, help, and inspire people to cook, was that I kept going no matter what. I never gave up. I was persistent. And now 3 years later, here I am, and I am so happy to say that I can be with my family and work from home doing what I love all because I chose to not give up.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been pretty smooth for the most part but of course… as we all know it’s the Internet and there will always be negativity that comes with putting yourself out there. There were times when I wanted to give up, I’m not going to lie, there were times when the negativity got to me and I questioned why I was even doing what I was doing. At the end of it all, I share what I love and how I do it, to help people out there and I finally understood that it isn’t for everyone which is perfectly fine. It made me happy to know that I was helping at least 1 person out there, and that’s all that mattered to me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a wife and a stay-at-home mom to 3 beautiful children. My husband has always been hardworking since day one and has taken great care of us all so that I can be able to stay home with our kids. But I knew I wanted to do more, I wanted to be able to make a difference by helping others. I love to cook; I grew up with strong and hardworking women around me who also cooked delicious foods and I remember I wanted to be like them. Getting home to a delicious meal after having a long and hard day made all the difference. It fueled my body and made me feel loved. I spent a lot of days in the kitchen with my mom and sometimes my grandma and aunt just watching how they very carefully put a meal together, you could tell that so much love went into every plate. I was always willing to learn. Cooking is very therapeutic for me, it helps me focus, and relax & most importantly it allows me to be creative in the kitchen. I think what sets me apart is my authenticity, I am able to freely express myself when cooking and sharing my recipes with people out there. I am very proud of the growth that I have made along the way, and I don’t mean numbers or followers, I mean growth as a person. The old me would have been so scared and worried of what people would think of me or scared to think that not everyone would like my content. But I have learned that it’s not for everyone and not everyone will like it which I’m 100% ok with. I can honestly say that I am truly happy, doing what I love, and helping people along the way. That’s always been my goal.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
If there’s one thing that I learned from Covid, is that we need to love and cherish those around us because we never know when their last day on earth will be. Love hard, always.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifewithvane/
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCazMwBox1jJCF15c3ehi2eA/videos
