I have a very special interview to share with you all today. Jesse Galvez has been my friend since my senior year of college and I can thank Jesse for two of the most hype semesters of all time. We bonded through our love for environmental science and got close when we both decided on a whim to join the lip syncing + dance battle competition at our Uni. I have so many memories with Jesse from camping to having heart to hearts under the stars, so sit back and let’s get to know Jesse or “Mimi” (inspired by Mariah Carey).
Q: Who are you and what do you want people to know about you?
Hi Green Girl Leah and the world! My name is Jesse Galvez, I am a 23-year-old gender non-conforming person, who just graduated from Chapman University in May of this year! After graduation I decided to go into the Social Media Industry and bring my flavor into the social media industry. I work for a marketing company in Costa Mesa and I also intern for a eco-friendly/sustainable brand called “Give Back Goods” where I run the company’s social media accounts. I am a big on fighting for equal rights for every person in the LGBTQ+ community and also preaching about the importance of saving the planet. I also have a blog that I started post-grad called “Words of Wisdom From Mimi”. This blog is a way for me to talk about what is bothering me or what is on my mind. It is a way of therapy that allows me to relax and just get things off my chest.
Q: When it comes to our friendship I think a lot about radical-self acceptance and being on a journey to truly love and value ourselves. It isn't always easy, but I see you doing that more and more. What has that journey towards self-love been like for you?
For me self-love has always been a struggle and has been difficult to achieve. Growing up I was picked on because of my weight and because I was super shy and afraid to be my true self. When we met in college I was finally accepting who I was as a person and was discovering who I really was. College my confidence was at my highest because I was able to finally be myself. However, I also had really low times with my confidence in college because of trauma that occurred. For me self-love is like a roller coaster, there are many ups and downs and you have to keep pushing and learn from your struggles. In my opinion no one ever fully learns self-love and acceptance but you do learn how to keep pushing and moving yourself forward! Self-love will always be a learning process and will always be a challenge to keep and maintain consistently but the struggle is also the beauty of it. In the words of queer icon RuPaul “If you can’t love yourself then how in the hell are you are going to love somebody else.”
Q:What advice would you give to your younger self?
I would tell my younger self that it is ok to be different and that being different is what makes you special. I would also tell my younger self to follow your dreams and don’t be scared to think outside of the box and to love yourself when no one else would.
Q:What's one of your favorite quotes or lyrics?
I would say my favorite quote would be from RuPaul. Which would be “If you can’t love yourself then how in the hell are you going to love somebody else.” This quote also sits with me because self-love is something that I always struggle with and for me I think that in order to help others, I need to help myself first. Putting yourself first is never selfish and is something that you should always do in order to help others. Loving yourself should always be high in your priorities and is necessary to truly love others as well.
Q: Who are some of your favorite musicians and why?
I would say that my ultimate favorite singer is Lady Gaga. For me Lady Gaga has always been a person that I inspire to be. Lady Gaga is in my opinion one of the biggest activist for the LGBTQ+ community and for people who aren’t what society considers to be normal. Lady Gaga is a true business woman with so many different talents and excels in all of them. If I could even have a quarter of her success than I would be the happiest person in the world. Another favorite artist of mine is Sam Smith. Being a person that is gender non-conforming I can truly appreciate Sam Smith and his bravery to come out as non-binary person. This representation in pop culture is much needed and gives a voice to a community that is not talked about a lot.
Q: Why did you study environmental science and what do you do to be better to the earth?
In high school I always knew I wanted to major in something that was science related and I originally thought that would be biology. But during senior year of high school I realized that biology was not the correct major for me in college. In high school I took an AP Environmental Science class and that class was what helped me decide that Environmental Science and Policy was something I had passion for. The earth is our only planet and protecting it should be everyone’s biggest contributions. For me I believe that my part in helping protect this planet is being able to do it through social media. I help give other tips and tricks on how to be eco-friendly through my blog and through my internship with “Give Back Goods”. I also practice what I preach and try to thrift my clothes when I can and use reusable bottles and utensils in my everyday life.
If you are interested in following me and my journey you can follow me on Instagram @jesse__world and follow my blog “Words of Wisdome From Mimi” on WordPress. If you are interested in following my work through my internship you can follow @givebackgoods on Instagram. I would like to thank Leah for not only being a caring and love friend but for being a role model in many different ways. Lastly I would like to say to spread love and not hate towards every person you meet in this world.