Sylvia
“Being a woman to me means being a creator. Our ideas, our emotions & our love create life! Some of us can create life with our bodies! Being our authentic selves is magical! ”
Sylvia is a creative and free-spirited sojourner who documents her adventures living across the United States in her renovated van. Her page is full of positive messages and affirmations, especially surrounding body inclusivity, with her mission being to normalize different body sizes enjoying the outdoors and traveling. She is providing visibility, encouragement, and empowerment to other women to step outside their comfort zones and into new surroundings, leaving the stationary life we have so often become accustomed to. Meet Sylvia. This is her story.
K: Please introduce yourself!
S: Hi I’m Sylvia! I am 30 years old plus size Latinx woman and I live & travel out of my van!
K: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
S: I am a plus size travel creator sharing my experience of living and traveling in a converted van and encouraging my viewers to spend more time outside. I’m in a mission to normalize seeing plus size bodies outdoors.
K: What is your favorite thing about yourself?
S: My favorite thing about myself is how creative I am! I think I get that from my dad! If I think I can make it I will! Plus it saves me money haha
K: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
S: I have always loved books! I would get lost in them for hours going on adventures and falling in love with these characters wishing that my life would be as adventurous as theirs. I was in my 20s when I read a line in a book that has stuck with me to this day…. It read something along the lines of “you gotta like the way you look because how you look tells your story & fuck anyone that doesn’t want to appreciate that!” It was like a light switch went off in my brain. I had been so afraid of being judged for my body and afraid of not being liked that I stopped doing anything. It was in that moment that I started saying yes to things I was afraid of. I hung out with people when they invited me out. I wore cute clothes that revealed my fat body & I went on adventures without feeling the need to lose weight first. I became the main character.
K: What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
S: I would tell myself that it’s ok to feel different because you are! & that’s beautiful! I would also tell her that she will find her people one day and she’ll feel at home!
K: What does being a woman mean to you?
S: Being a woman to me means being a creator. Our ideas, our emotions & our love create life! Some of us can create life with our bodies! Being our authentic selves is magical!
K: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
S: I know I’m not alone when I say Lizzo inspires me! She is just such an incredible & talented woman! I love that she is unapologetically herself! She wears what she wants, she’s sexy & funny & so intelligent & she just happens to be a plus size woman!
I would say thank you for being that representation! Thank you for your words of encouragement & every lyric she has written & for being an overall queen!
