Influential Women Part 1: Celeste Villanueva "The Find Print"
Hello everyone,
Welcome back to another blog post! I wanted to start a series called "Influential Women." These are women who use their voice to create bigger and better things to influence or reach out to others in a positive way. Our first Influential Woman is Celeste Villanueva, author and creator of the blog "The Find Print "(www.the-findprint.blogspot.com).
I interviewed Celeste on January 9th, 2019:
About Celeste Villanueva:
Hi! My name is Celeste Villanueva and I am the author and creator behind The Find Print. I'm 21 years old, a Creative Industries student at Ryerson University, and born and raised in Surrey, British Columbia (Or Vancouver if you don't know where that is haha). Thanks so much Catherine for featuring me on your blog I'm truly so humbled and honoured to be here in this space with you!
Why did you create The Find Print?
I decided to create The Find Print for a lot of reasons. Mostly though, I needed an outlet for myself. 2018 was the hardest year of my life and after a lot of unexpected events that happened, I found myself at my wits end not really knowing how I ended up where I did, and who I had become. I was broken, hurt, and yearning for authentic joy and happiness. I needed something to be happy about again. I discovered that I really didn’t know who I was and what I was passionate about. And thus, The Find Print was born. It’s served as a way for me to keep chasing the good and joyful in this life but also to remain accountable in my faith journey. For me to write, create, and explore what this world has to offer, what I have to offer, and how I can connect with the world around me has been the dichotomy of it all. It’s quite literally my heart out out for the world to see and take in their hands!
What Purpose did you hope that The Find Print would serve to others?
I also wanted The Find Print to be a place where others can find good, meaningful things to add to their lives. A place where people can connect, feel seen, and just take in some wholeheartedly good content on the internet - because I know that’s hard to come by these days. Genuine, good-for-your-soul content that promotes good ideals and not bad ones. The Find Print is about documenting the messy, joyful, awkward, and beautiful process of finding yourself and being unapologetically you. I’ll consider this blog a success when I can embody that ideal and when my followers can too! But yeah, I really just wanted this platform to be a safe space for others to find inspiration in and validation in the idea that it’s actually the greatest service to be yourself and to dive into your creative endeavors and passions. In a roundabout way, TFP is also my way of trying to harness and find the gifts that God has given me, so I can use them to help others.
If you had the chance, what would you say to your younger self?
If I could say anything to my younger self it would probably be this: save yourself the heartache and just do what you love. Be yourself. It sounds so cliché but it’s so true. Don’t listen to what anyone else says - if you find something cool, if it makes your heart beat a little faster and a little stronger, then chase it. Without hesitation or doubt. I used to be really into musical theatre and singing but I didn’t pursue doing those kinds of activities because of fear and extreme insecurity. And, because sports were a more safer option, and considered “cooler”. I really wanted to impress people when I was younger but honestly looking back I would tell my younger self to just work on impressing me. I would tell her to stop minimizing her voice on what counts, and tell her to keep speaking up for what she believes in and loves. And, that the girl she used to be - the one who was so incredibly weird and spunky (lol) but people still liked her - is someone she should’ve fought to keep around. Not someone she should’ve stifled. These days she sometimes comes out in waves, but it would be nice to have her around more. I could learn a lot from that girl. Lastly I think I would tell her to be more confident in herself, and in her God. I spent so much of my youth worrying about absolutely everything in my life, that if only I could see where I’d be now, I would’ve been a lot more laid back and secure in the fact that I would make it through everything, always. And you know, maybe, I wouldn’t have so much grey hair now if I did these things!
A message from Celeste:
I think the last thing I want to say is just to anyone reading this, if you want to do something then just do it. Or take the baby steps to work towards it. Right now. Don't wait for a "perfect" time or the "right" one. It took me a long time to realize that those don't exist and we wait our whole lives for a fantastical moment that actually exists the moment when we decide to just take the leap. We're already into the 9th day of 2019-that took me a hot minute to realize. So what if it's past the first week already- you can still make today your new year. Once you do decide to leap into the depths of your heart and look for your passions, it's gonna take constant effort to keep diving deeper. Don't hold back. Keep searching, keep exploring, and keep trying. If you fail, there's still room to try again. My blog is nowhere NEAR where I want it to be- and that's okay! This is where I'm learning to be okay with the idea of "unfinished" and "imperfect" and it's becoming more and more comfortable with me. That for me is a huge win. So, to end off my ted talk (ahah) I hope you hold onto the courage you have - even if it's only a sliver - to try new things and to validate your passions. There's a reason your heart is gravitating towards those things. Thanks so much again Catherine for having me speak on your platform. It's been the greatest to be reminded on why I'm doing what I'm doing, and to fix my eyes again on my great hope for it in the end. Endlessly grateful and humbled for this experience. Take Care and I'm keep you all in my prayers :) .
I hope you enjoyed reading about Celeste and the story behind "The Find Print"
Follow The Find Print on Instagram @thefindprint
If you have someone you believe is an "influential woman" feel free to email me @ itscatherinejoy@gmail.com or leave a comment below!
Welcome back to another blog post! I wanted to start a series called "Influential Women." These are women who use their voice to create bigger and better things to influence or reach out to others in a positive way. Our first Influential Woman is Celeste Villanueva, author and creator of the blog "The Find Print "(www.the-findprint.blogspot.com).
I interviewed Celeste on January 9th, 2019:
About Celeste Villanueva:
Hi! My name is Celeste Villanueva and I am the author and creator behind The Find Print. I'm 21 years old, a Creative Industries student at Ryerson University, and born and raised in Surrey, British Columbia (Or Vancouver if you don't know where that is haha). Thanks so much Catherine for featuring me on your blog I'm truly so humbled and honoured to be here in this space with you!
Why did you create The Find Print?
I decided to create The Find Print for a lot of reasons. Mostly though, I needed an outlet for myself. 2018 was the hardest year of my life and after a lot of unexpected events that happened, I found myself at my wits end not really knowing how I ended up where I did, and who I had become. I was broken, hurt, and yearning for authentic joy and happiness. I needed something to be happy about again. I discovered that I really didn’t know who I was and what I was passionate about. And thus, The Find Print was born. It’s served as a way for me to keep chasing the good and joyful in this life but also to remain accountable in my faith journey. For me to write, create, and explore what this world has to offer, what I have to offer, and how I can connect with the world around me has been the dichotomy of it all. It’s quite literally my heart out out for the world to see and take in their hands!
What Purpose did you hope that The Find Print would serve to others?
If you had the chance, what would you say to your younger self?
If I could say anything to my younger self it would probably be this: save yourself the heartache and just do what you love. Be yourself. It sounds so cliché but it’s so true. Don’t listen to what anyone else says - if you find something cool, if it makes your heart beat a little faster and a little stronger, then chase it. Without hesitation or doubt. I used to be really into musical theatre and singing but I didn’t pursue doing those kinds of activities because of fear and extreme insecurity. And, because sports were a more safer option, and considered “cooler”. I really wanted to impress people when I was younger but honestly looking back I would tell my younger self to just work on impressing me. I would tell her to stop minimizing her voice on what counts, and tell her to keep speaking up for what she believes in and loves. And, that the girl she used to be - the one who was so incredibly weird and spunky (lol) but people still liked her - is someone she should’ve fought to keep around. Not someone she should’ve stifled. These days she sometimes comes out in waves, but it would be nice to have her around more. I could learn a lot from that girl. Lastly I think I would tell her to be more confident in herself, and in her God. I spent so much of my youth worrying about absolutely everything in my life, that if only I could see where I’d be now, I would’ve been a lot more laid back and secure in the fact that I would make it through everything, always. And you know, maybe, I wouldn’t have so much grey hair now if I did these things!
A message from Celeste:
I think the last thing I want to say is just to anyone reading this, if you want to do something then just do it. Or take the baby steps to work towards it. Right now. Don't wait for a "perfect" time or the "right" one. It took me a long time to realize that those don't exist and we wait our whole lives for a fantastical moment that actually exists the moment when we decide to just take the leap. We're already into the 9th day of 2019-that took me a hot minute to realize. So what if it's past the first week already- you can still make today your new year. Once you do decide to leap into the depths of your heart and look for your passions, it's gonna take constant effort to keep diving deeper. Don't hold back. Keep searching, keep exploring, and keep trying. If you fail, there's still room to try again. My blog is nowhere NEAR where I want it to be- and that's okay! This is where I'm learning to be okay with the idea of "unfinished" and "imperfect" and it's becoming more and more comfortable with me. That for me is a huge win. So, to end off my ted talk (ahah) I hope you hold onto the courage you have - even if it's only a sliver - to try new things and to validate your passions. There's a reason your heart is gravitating towards those things. Thanks so much again Catherine for having me speak on your platform. It's been the greatest to be reminded on why I'm doing what I'm doing, and to fix my eyes again on my great hope for it in the end. Endlessly grateful and humbled for this experience. Take Care and I'm keep you all in my prayers :) .
I hope you enjoyed reading about Celeste and the story behind "The Find Print"
Follow The Find Print on Instagram @thefindprint
If you have someone you believe is an "influential woman" feel free to email me @ itscatherinejoy@gmail.com or leave a comment below!
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