Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheryl Elizaga.
Cheryl, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Hi Y’all! Cheryl Elizaga here, but you can call me Ché (said like the butter, not like Guevara). I’m a copywriter and brand strategist by trade; community builder and people lover by blood. And Spread Joy SD, my organic community of strangers-turned-friends who gather to have fun, dream big, and do good around our city? Consider it a love child of these two worlds: an explosion of creativity and kindness the world truly needs.
So how does one Andie Sachs-type advertiser livin’ “the good life” in LA end up back in her hometown, gathering grown-ups in onesies at the beach to read children’s storybooks (and other shenanigans of the like) for free? Well, it’s a pretty great story involving twists; turns; drama! Love! And most importantly, saying “yes!” to myself despite a symphony of shaking heads.
(Lionsgate, the rights are all mine, got it?)
To cut this story short, I left my career at the top of my game to find what really moved me. You see, I wasn’t truly happy, despite seeming to “have it all” (how many of us can relate, though?). It was the hardest decision I’d had to make—leaving a lifetime I’d built, in pursuit of the unknown.
A series of divine appointments led me on a 6-month adventure with Youth With A Mission: the largest international organization of young missionaries. I grew up in the Christian faith but lost my footing as an adult. Through YWAM, I got to rediscover my faith on a personal level. I got to hang with people from 7 nations who loved me at my worst and championed me at my best.
I got to play with young refugees on the border of Burma and reaffirm how special they are. I got to befriend children in Thailand, singing songs and dancing with them. We’d work days on end, building homes and teaching English and cleaning toilets mired in the largest spiders you’ve seen and… really, doing anything necessary to show people they were valued, all throughout Hawaii, India, and Thailand.
And I found peace. Invaluable peace. I got to put to rest so many issues I struggled with, in exchange for a purpose I believed in: to show people how worthy they truly are.
Since 2016, I’ve been privileged to cultivate a freelance career as a copywriter and brand strategist for companies I believe in, all while giving back through Spread Joy SD and my involvement at a local church which serves the most diverse population in our city. I’m far from having everything figured out, but thanks to my faith, my fiancé, and an authentic community of friends-turned-family there for each other’s lows and highs, I’ve gotta say—the ride, not the result, is what makes all of this worth it.
Great, 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?
Smooth as ice, baby! … That is if you’re referring to the ice that’s melting away, causing polar bears to starve and all that sad stuff you see on @natgeo Instagram.
I think the largest struggle I’ve faced (and continue to) is how to tune into, and follow, my “yes” among that symphony of “nos”. It hurts to have the very people who believe in you questioning your resolve, the very next day. Add that to the cacophony of doubts we already heap on ourselves, and you’re just tangled in one murky mess.
I’m learning to follow my intuition. Every time I have an inkling about something—a business decision; a person to talk to; even something as small as what to post on Instagram—I try to follow it before the doubts have time to shout. Confidence is like a muscle: the more you exercise following your voice, the stronger and more sure you become.
I’ve also got to shout out my community once more. Surround yourself with people who call you higher, even at your lows. Every time I’ve struggled and prayed for assurance about my path, I’ve gotten a seemingly random, timely text from a friend about that exact thing I was praying for.
The hero’s journey as an individual is so elevated in our can-do culture. So much so, we forget that even Han Solo wasn’t so solo. 😉 (*Chewy growl*)
Spread Joy SD – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Spread Joy SD is an organic community; a group of strangers-turned-friends who get together for “whimsical, spontaneous, everyday adventurous type fun”. We accomplish this through quarterly surprise events and social media content that’ll encourage you to put the phone down and fully engage with life around you.
I like to say that it’s free to show up—all it’ll cost is your comfort zone.
Our mantra is to “have fun, dream big, do good around our neighborhood”. We’ve done some crazy things as a group, like a Christmas flash mob in Coronado featuring Buddy the Elf (see it here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00vzKsOW484&feature=youtu.be) or dressing up in onesies and reading children’s books out loud, because when’s the last time you did that?
But we’ve also done some amazing things—gathering three generations of families to volunteer with Feeding San Diego; picking up trash in said onesies; participating in a reverse scavenger hunt, where teams were challenged to give back rather than find and collect. Some of the activities included leaving a kind note for someone to find; making a stranger laugh with a silly joke; dancing in a public area, etc. People were so into it, they even joined our teams and continued the hunt with them!
I wish I could tell all the stories of lives impacted by Spread Joy SD in our launch year alone: kids having the time of their lives putting their devices down to pick up trash; parents touched, getting to show their kids what it means to be kind and do good; strangers becoming friends, and people telling us, “you just made our day.”
And to think, it all started as yet another whimsical idea.
Really, it sprouted in response to the political climate in 2016: the fear, rage, and discord sowed online from the election. As silly as it may seem to try to “heal the world” with whimsical fun, I truly believe that world change starts from your own neighborhood: giving your time and attention to the person right in front of you.
So, to anyone reading this: if there’s a crazy, larger-than-life idea on your heart, go after it! I challenged myself to commit to an idea and so many lives have been impacted because of it—not the very least, my own. We all have special talents and dreams to turn into reality, and I bet the world needs the very thing you have, right now.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
You know, I have a collection of stories to tell. Awards won; applause had. Celebs met; ceilings, shattered.
But the proudest moment of my standard career was leaving it. Having the courage to walk away when it was no longer mine to lead.
In following my intuition about how to best care for myself, I’m that much more freed to care for others, and to create from a place of joy, not burnout. I’m learning that success is no longer about saying “yes” just to please everyone around me, but that it’s defined on my terms, as you define yours.
I’ve learned the traditional 9-5 doesn’t have to be your story. You can leap off the page. That’s how I get to work for myself as a Creative while still using my imagination and heart for others to further my purpose.
And she who has the courage to own that definition for herself, resting in gratitude every step of the way while creating moments to reach for the stars? Well that, my friends, is a life I’d be proud to live each day.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://cheryl-elizaga.squarespace.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/checreates/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cheelizaga
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/spreadjoysd/
Image Credit:
Michael Castro, Eugene Xavier Ramos
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
