Adriana Montenegro

In the past, I would have given a more egotistic answer and said I've experienced a lot of trauma and had to overcome it, giving credit to myself. But I think because I'm at the point where I am and I've had to learn humility, I would say that a lot of my success has happened because of God, as well as the people around me who have given me things and helped me out when I couldn't do anything in return. Watching other people's humility and sacrifice has taught me a lot about how to love other people, and I think that is what I would consider success.

The best advice I got from a therapist was that if you approach it without the limitations of societal norms and you just approach it with wonder and curiosity, it doesn't feel limiting, and so you can just allow yourself to try different things and see what you enjoy without feeling the pressure of having to just pick a certain thing just because you're good at it or because it makes more money or is more beneficial in some way. I really liked that advice because even though it does make you feel a bit like a child in the sense that you're allowed to just experiment and experience things without feeling the pressure, I think in careers sometimes we think we have to succeed or we have this idea of success, and people cling onto it, but it can become limiting because that idea of success can kind of categorize you or put you in a box. I think it's important to be curious and be open and explore, kind of like a child, so that it doesn't ever feel limiting, and I try to approach art in the same way so that I don't just stick to one genre or one art form.

I would say just not to lose hope, not to lose their love for the things that they enjoy. I think, as with anything, we can make time for the things that we love. Even if they have to make ends meet by going and having to work other jobs, I would recommend not losing their love for what they're passionate about, to not lose sight of the gifts that they have, the abilities, and also to not lose their integrity in order to get wherever they are trying to get. I think that's one of the regrets that I have looking back sometimes in certain situations. I do have friends that are younger than me who are writers or artists who've had to survive and pick a different career, so they've chosen law or some other kind of guaranteed career that will give them money, and they put their art aside. The things that we spend the most time thinking about usually reflect what we love the most, so even if you have to work other jobs, don't lose sight of what you're passionate about.