Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendy Plata-Acevedo.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have a vivid childhood memory of me sitting in my kindergarten, trying to very carefully draw in between the bold black lines with a red crayon. I cared so much about how the strokes looked. It felt so good every time I completed a part of that drawing. I soon realized that I was able to tune everyone out of my mind. At a very young age, I realized how good drawing made me feel because when things would get tough that was the one thing that I knew would help me block everything out.
Years went by and I filled journals and journals with drawings and words. I wrote and drew about everything.
I noticed I had a gift around 4th grade because teachers and classmates began to really take notice of my artwork. Despite all the nice compliments, I never thought of myself as an artist. To me, it was a skill that helped me put a lot of things that happened throughout my life in perspective. Kind of like that hobby that you do just for you and don’t really talk about.
I finally made it to high-school and that is when reality came and slapped me in the face. Some of the best moments happen during these four years of your life. Like getting your driver’s license, getting your first job and applying to college which were all very important things I had to miss out on because of the simple yet complicated fact that I was undocumented.
It was the beginning of my junior year when I was sitting in my counselor’s office going over the game plan for the most important year of my high-school career. I had goals of playing softball for UCSB or UCLA on a scholarship and was willing to be in all the time and effort into school to get there buuuut my counselor had another idea.
Due to the lack of legal residency she strongly suggested I move back to Mexico or just get married and have children. That was a crushing moment for me.
I lost all my motivation for school and barely managed to graduate. Soon my friends took off to begin their college careers and I was at home feeling stuck and hopeless.
A year went by and an opportunity of moving to San Francisco presented itself and at 19 years old, I packed my bags and moved.
I lived in the bay area for a little over a year. I enrolled into a few classes at SFDigital Film school. Besides my love for drawing and writing, I also had a strong passion for film. During this time, I took the opportunity to learn more about this art and evolve into it.
After a year, I decided to move to Los Angeles to strongly pursue film production. It was very clear to me that I was undocumented but that was not going to stop me from trying to become someone with the skills that I had. I knew I had to be resourceful with that I did have.
Things were going great for me in LA but I still had the desire to go to school and learn.
In 2012 everything started to changed for me. Thousandths of young adults undocumented like me were now open to apply for universities and apply for financial aid, student loans and scholarships under the Obama administration. I moved back to San Diego and enrolled into the nearest community college. It all felt like a dream. I was now able to go to college and expand this gift/skill with art.
I transferred to the Visuals Arts program in UCSD a couple of years after. Never did I think I’d ever make it that far.
I am now an illustrator and animator working on building my own brand online.
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?
I had not been as smooth as I’d like it to be but if we look at the bigger picture, I think it’s safe to say that everything that has happened has been part of the plan. As cliche as it sounds, I firmly believe it.
Despite of being undocumented I am daughter of a single mom which also brought other obstacles. Being daughter of a single immigrant daughter meant having to grow up a little bit faster because you have to translate almost everything to your parent. Writing the checks for the bills was my one of my biggest tasks. Not having insurance always made me feel unsafe. My mom’s stress was also my stress because we were a team to keep our household running.
Falling into an abusive relationship was tragic but coming out of it was like being born again.
It happened but I am glad it did because I learned so much in those 6 years and I hope to soon draw about it because many many women have experienced this.
People and situations will forever be challenging you.
It is so important to never stop doing that little thing that makes you happy.
For me, that little thing that makes me happy is drawing.
Keep people around that love and support you because when you have those moments where you don’t believe in yourself, they will remind you of your worth and value.
I’ve learned to get rid of
Tell us about your business – what should we know?
My day job consists of creating marketing content for an online pet company called Honestpaws.
I get to create educational animations and illustrations for all the social platforms.
I am also an online illustrator where I draw about my life experiences and share it with everyone.
It is important for me to illustrate about important topics that may be uncomfortable to talk about or don’t talk about enough.
Like birth control, menstruation, gun control and elementary schools and mental health in particular depression and anxiety which are two things I’ve struggled with my whole life.
We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
I’d like to hear more female stories as much as we’ve heard the men’s throughout history.
I want to see more female faces at the top of any field of career field as much as we have seen men.
I didn’t know of any female animators or illustrators growing up. I still don’t know many.
Things are changing and I am grateful for that but we still have a lot of work to do.
I think sharing our stories as women can only help motivate a little girl to dream big and look past all the barriers. It feels good to learn that someone else did it before you and it has worked out well for them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wendyplata.com
- Email: wendyplata.acevedo@gmail.com
- Instagram: wendylizart
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