WOMEN WITH A VOICE: JASMIN

Hi Kiwi’s!

It has been a hot minute since I’ve brought you a new interview for my “Women with a voice” blog series: a series of interviews with women from different walks of life who I find inspiring and felt compelled to talk too about themselves and what being a woman means to them. I created this series as something for other women (and others) to read, to enjoy and to be inspired by. It is a series that is special to me and something I hope to continue doing and potentially create into an online video series in the future.

Todays fresh interview is with Food + lifestyle Instagrammer: @thislifeasjasmin! She is a person I have been following for some time now on the gram. She always has bright, colourful and inspiring posts which I love. She shares pieces of her life, along with her thoughts on a number of different topics as well as delicious recipes.

Meet Jasmin!

(Photographs supplied by @thislifeasjasmine)

K: Hi Jasmin! Thank you for taking some down time to have a little chat. In a few words or more, could you tell me a little bit about yourself and your Instagram account you run?

Hey, thankyou so much for chatting to me! I'm Jasmin, I'm 19 years old and I live in the beautiful Wellington NZ, where I've lived my whole life! Through my Instagram @thislifeasjasmin I share bits and pieces of my life, my passions, the ups and downs - positive vibes with a good dose of reality! I have a strong passion for creating (and eating!) nourishing but delicious and colourful plantbased food, and share lots of ideas and recipes through my page also. Over the last year or two I have come to embrace a plantbased lifestyle, I feel GREAT eating an abundance of plantbased wholefoods, and bonus is it's once  of the greatest things we can do for our planet as well🌏💛 

K: I’ve been following your page for some time now and I’m in love with how colourful, positive and inspiring your content is. What inspires you when you’re thinking of what post to put out next or do you let things flow naturally as you can?

Thankyou! I think it's a real mix to be honest, i get inspired from so many places, both online and in the real world! Instagram and Pinterest are a huge source of inspiration to begin with. In terms of food and recipes, those are often inspired by what fresh, colourful produce is in season, or just what I feel like making at the time really! I note down any ideas I get in my head in my notes app and refer to this if I'm lacking inspiration, but I tend to just make things up as I go and see how it turns out, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't!  Majority of my content though is just inspired by what I feel like creating, or sharing at the time, it's very much my creative outlet... I try to make sure i share what feels natural, because I love my page to be a reflection of / a way to share my own life! 

K: It’s 2019 and there are a LOT of social media accounts out there - as positive as they can be, there are a lot of negative accounts that promote unhealthy, unrealistic ideas and content. Especially when it comes to “Foodies” or “Food blogs”. How do you feel you stand out from those accounts and how do you manage to keep your content positive and steer away from anything that could be considered negative or unhealthy?

I totally agree, as amazing as social media can be in so many ways, it is absolutely saturated with information and especially when it comes to something as personal and important as food and health, it can be really hard to know and pick out what is information you can trust, and what information is actually doing more harm.  Personally, I'm not qualified in nutrition, it would be wrong for me to share nutrition advice... So I don't! I stay aware that I don't want to force information or opinions on people, that's not my jam! Health is such a personal thing, it can come in so many forms and is going to look different for everyone. I'm a big believer in "healthy" coming from finding balance across all areas of your life, and that will be different for everyone! I want people to feel good, and inspired when they visit my page or see my content, not feel like they need to change parts of themselves in order to do what I do. I just share me and am conscious of staying true to and remaining myself! 

K: What are your goals for your account?

Honestly, I don't have any concrete goals. I'm just enjoying seeing where it takes me, connecting with amazing people, being inspired, and staying true to me. I have already been so surprised by the incredible connections, passion and opportunities I have received through my Instagram account, I am so grateful for this platform and am just exciting to see where it takes me next! 

K: So part of my blog series: “Women with a voice” I always ask this question, so Jasmine: What does being a woman mean to you?

Wow, what a big question! I think to me, being a woman means being unapologetically me, knowing that I can make and achieve big dreams, and that being a woman shouldn't limit that in any way. Not seeking validation from a society that tells me I should do or be something else, something I'm working on for sure, it isn't easy! But I also think being a woman means using your voice and privelage to continue the work of other incredible women before us who have made steps toward positive change... we've come a long way as women but there is still further to go! 

K: Who are some of the women in your life or that you may follow online that you find inspiring and why?

I do follow so many amazing women on social media who are all doing incredible things, but my greatest inspiration and role model is and always will be my mum. She is the most selfless, and giving human, and just through the person she is and the way she lives her life has taught me that who you are as a person, the way that you treat people, and make people feel will always say so much more about you than just what you achieve. Plus, she's always so supportive and always knows how to cheer me up or make me laugh if I'm down!

K: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time that helps you unwind and relax? And what does a self-care day look for @thisislifeasjasmin?

I love spending time with family and loved ones, going for walks, opshopping, drinking good coffee or kombucha, eating good plantbased food and chasing sunsets! Oh, and creating content and new recipes, this account has evolved into a huge passion of mine! 

True self care to me looks like listening to what my body is asking of me, and in all honesty I'm not always the best at listening to it (especially getting more sleep... I'm working on it!) it's a lifelong process I reckon! I don't so much have full "self care days", but I try to incorporate forms of self care into every day, whether that be through nourishing my body with good food or walking on the beach before work. My favourite form of self care is just getting outside and going for a walk, getting some fresh air, moving my body, especially getting out near the ocean or in the bush, somewhere I feel connected to nature just has the best way of grounding me.

K: What piece of advice would you give to a fellow woman if you had any advice you’ve either taken from someone or feel would be a good piece of advice for another woman to carry?

That life is happening now! Do the things that make you happy, stay true to yourself, value moments, and people over things, and don't try and change yourself to fit into a box. Otherwise you'll spend your life chasing things, and goals that don't light you up, and that will never truly make you happy. I'm still working on it too! Oh, and always be grateful, gratitude is such a powerful thing to have in your life💛