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Arielle Estoria - Poet, Speaker, and Creative of Many Talents

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I met the beautiful soul that is Arielle at Yellow Conference. This gal beams sunshine and brightness. She was the emcee for the whole event and hosted with amazing style and grace. The conference kicked off with a spoken word poem she wrote and performed. It basically had the whole room in tears including myself. We chatted there and I started following her journey on social.

She has started to do some modeling so we planned a photoshoot. Then I decided we may as well do a full Dazey Lady feature! She's always doing creative things, speaking at events, and just being an overall inspiring human being. Quintessential Dazey Lady right there! THEN an hour before she got to the shoot I asked her if she would be down to recite the whole poem she did at Yellow on video, and lucky for us she was down! Then I asked her to come in again a week later to film some b-roll, and she was still game, such a trooper. I'm not a videographer or sound technician so please bear with the not so perfect visual & audio :). The message and gorgeous soul make up for it!  I also have a full Q & A with Arielle about all sorts of things from being a poet to how she prepares for public speaking. 

This poem went perfectly along with the theme of our new collection, "Dreamer & Doer." She perfectly captures all the different emotions you go through while following your dreams, and how you choose to keep doing so despite setbacks. Because you know it's where you're supposed to be. 

Q & A Plus Full Photoshoot with Arielle:

We love that when people ask what you do you use the label “creative” since you do so many things! Why don’t you list all the many creative pursuits you do?

I am a Spoken Word Poet both in performance and written, speaker, emcee, I am a blogger, writer, social media and brand enthusiast, I model sometimes, and a dash of acting (trying to).

Of all of these things what is your main passion and why?

Honestly, if I could just live a life and pay the bills from just creating if that could be Speaking: poetry, emceeing, motivational conversations and acting would be a dream! I’ve always been a super theatrical child and loved being on stage and I think I got older and really pushed those things away as not being parts of me or practical pursuits but
they’ve always been apart of me, now I’ve just decided not to run from them.

Your poem really hit home to me and so many women who were at this conference. So many Dazey Ladies are still struggling to support themselves while doing what they love. What are some tips on surviving these struggles and not getting burnt out?

Rest- turn the phone off, leave it in the car and go to yoga for an hour. Surround yourself with people who aren't creatives- the friends who keep you balanced and remind you that despite how it feels, you’re not drowning. I have a creative mentor who I meet with two times a month to dream, plan and create action steps for moving forward and she has been such a saving grace-- -i think so often we want to do everything on our own, figure it out on
our own but we really need each other. So that would be another thing i would say, be and stay in community with both non creative and creative friends, find the people who will be the fuel under your fire but also the people who remind you when it's time to come down from the clouds for sometime also.

We love that you do poetry, such a lost art in this day and age! What got you into this?

I have a background in theater but I’ve always written poetry, it was how i processed life and everything around me. I’ve always been a very internally processing type of individual. I went to an arts high school and delved into the art of acting and theater and really fell in love with it. I wrote monologues and scripts for fringe festivals and directed plays. When I got to college i continued theater for my first two years and then dropped it because having a double major was hard and honestly I didn’t want to take tech classes. The semester after I dropped my theater minor officially, spoken word fell into my lap and I competed in college on a competitive poetry team for two years, took over the poetry club and it just spiraled from there!

What is the inspiration behind your poetry and your process of writing one?

I am always inspired by what's around me, people, conversations, kids, the things I am feeling. I always write to music and that’s usually like a creative trigger for me. I don't really have a process, usually there’s always music playing but sometimes I could be on a run or a walk and the poem will spill, I say spill instead of write because that's what the
process feels like most times, as if the words are just pouring out of me like a stream of consciousness. My goal/mission in my work is, “Words not for the ears but for the soul.” If I can get people to connect deeply and more honestly with their emotions and elicit a reaction to feel then I’ve done my job.

You killed it being the host speaker at the Yellow Conference! Public speaking is one of the biggest fears people have. How did you realize you were good at it and how does one become a professional speaker?

Aw shux, thank you! Honestly I really avoided all on stage/spotlight professions. I thought it was shallow and not for me, and that’s a lot of the reason why I quit doing theater. But then poetry showed up and Yellow asked me to emcee the conference and I said yes, but I had never emceed or anything before that! So this is all very new and also attributes of myself and my gifts that I was good at but didn't even realize I was! The more I got involved with poetry and conferences the more I realized I had a lot to share through poetry but also just through how I communicate in general. I enjoy connecting with people and being a part of storytelling in any capacity so that's how I stumbled into it more than I necessarily pursued it.

I honestly couldn’t tell you what the process is for becoming a professional speaker because like I said I stumbled into it. But a lot of what I do stemmed from creating a website and business cards that advocated how I wanted to be hired and seen professionally. Poetry was just a starting point for that but then voice overs, motivational speaking and emceeing as well. I googled rates and how to get myself out there, built my social media and connected and networked with people. Find your “thing” that only you have and promote and advocate that!

What are some tips on claiming your nerves and learning to be a better public speaker?

Fun fact, I get nervous every single time. I have to breathe really deep and remind myself that it's not about me, that I am on that stage only because I have a gift and words to share with someone out there who might really need it. Once I’m past the first line or two, I usually settle. You remind yourself that this is your space, to take up as much as you need, to do what you were called to do in that very moment. It’s always going to be nerve wracking and terrifying, but it's just about fighting through it and placing the fear in the backseat and not the front.

So you are also an actress and now starting to model! Would love to hear about your journey in these two very competitive fields!

LOL. Okay well I started going to acting classes again in May because I was teaching theater to fourth and fifth graders and felt like a hypocrite because I hadn’t worked on my craft in a long time. I have always loved theater and acting but didn’t think to pursue it because I wasn’t competitive enough or I, “Didn't want it the way everyone else
wanted it.” When I was approached by a modeling agency in June I thought it was a scam but to my surprise it wasn't! I booked my first real shoot with them in August and it was so fun! I’ve always loved being in front the camera, trying out different characters. I was the child with the alter egos who was always on whatever I considered a stage in family
videos. I am easing into it, seeing what opportunities pop up and trying to be intentional and smart about what I want to accomplish while I’m in it! I’m not trying to apply this make it or break it pressure to it and instead enjoy what does come my way!

What does being a Dazey Lady mean to you?

Authentic, beautifully true to yourself, trendy AF and powerful. I feel like Dazey Lady is a term coined for empowering women seeking to build a community of empowering women.