Paola
“For me being a woman is being able to delve into all parts of my personality and my passions and having the choice and freedom to do so. I think society is very quick to try to label women and cage them into only part of who they are.”
*Content Warning: Discussions of suicide
Paola’s energy is radiant and welcoming, enveloping all in its path. She is well-traveled and has called many places home over the years, while also establishing lasting connections with those she meets. She is hilarious, outgoing, and fun-loving, but also extremely hard-working, diligent, and determined. She will go to bat for the people in her life, and always leads with an optimistic and empathetic foot forward. Meet Paola. This is her story.
K: Please introduce yourself!
P: I’m Paola, I’m half Spanish and have Belgian and grew up moving around a lot, so have lived in 12 countries. I grew up very close to my parents and my younger brother because they were the one constant I had moving around so much, but am also really close to my very large extended families and spend most of my time with them when I’m in Spain and Belgium. I studied International Relations at Boston University and then did an MSc in International Migration & Public Policy at the London School of Economics. Right now I live in London and work in Tech (super different from everything I studied).
K: Describe yourself in your own words
P: I think I’m really bubbly and outgoing – I can talk to pretty much anyone about anything. However, I’m also super intense which can translate to having too much energy for things but also being really stubborn. I’m really passionate about social impact projects and have a big sense of empathy. I’m a bit of a mess, my friends call me chaotic energy: I always lose or forget things and weird things always happen to me that don’t seem to happen to anyone else.
K: What is your favorite thing about yourself?
P: My favourite thing about myself is that I’m a really big cheerleader/hype girl. I easily see the good in people and as of a couple of years ago I really try to vocalise that. In HS, I thought I had to be mean and cold-hearted, but growing up showed me I couldn’t be any more wrong and that the world really does need more love and kindness. I know how good it makes me feel when people randomly compliment me or really believe in me, so I try to pay that forward often now.
K: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
P: A month before turning 15 I moved from Belgium to Bolivia. My best friend from Belgium was struggling because she had just changed schools and was getting bullied there, and I imagine it also wasn’t easy for her that I moved across the world. The day after my 15th birthday, she committed suicide. To this day, it’s one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through, and especially at that age. I think my sense of empathy really came out of that experience, because it taught me that everyone is always struggling more than we imagine and that small acts of kindness can go a really long way. It also made me realise the impact of our own words on others, and how small things that we as teenagers often think as funny jokes are so harmful, so it taught me to really reassess how I was speaking to and about people. I think it was the first time I really saw the impact and importance of mental health and that experience is just something that has stuck with me and has changed the way I go about life.
K: What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
P: I’d tell myself to stop taking things so personally, more often than not the way people treat you has much more to do with their own issues and insecurities than with you. Often the way they react is a reflection of what they’re going through right now, and has nothing to do with you.
K: What does being a woman mean to you?
P: For me being a woman is being able to delve into all parts of my personality and my passions and having the choice and freedom to do so. I think society is very quick to try to label women and cage them into only part of who they are (ex. the smart one, the pretty one, the “manly” one). For example, if you go into politics as a woman, it’s almost like you have to get rid of all your femininity, emotions, and personality to prove that you’d make a rational politician. As a woman in the 21st century, I really want to go against that and embrace the variety and duality in ourselves. I can be incredibly smart and be into clubbing and reggaeton music, I love all things pink and glittery but also love football. I love getting dressed up and looking cute, but will also have a 2 hour conversation with you about migrants rights and why I don’t believe the securitization of migration works. I feel like I used to struggle with being all of that and felt like I had to choose parts of my personality to be taken seriously. However, I’ve come to embrace that I’m actually all of that and that that is where my strength lies and for me that’s the true meaning of being a woman: being all of it and embracing every single aspect equally.
K: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to them if they were here now?
P: Cliché, but my mom inspires me. She’s the definition of unconditional love, of trusting in love above anything else and having the courage to take leaps of faith. She stands up for what she believes in, and isn’t afraid to raise her voice if it’ for the right cause. She’s one of those people who always does what she says she’s going to do: if she says she’ll travel to visit you, she immediately does. She’s definitely a woman of her word. Most importantly, she continues to learn and grow and change her opinion when she’s presented with new information. Over the last few years she has become one of the strongest feminists I know and always speaks up when she sees inequality and it warms my heart so much.
