Social Justice, Beauty & Sustainability with Naydeline Mejia
My name is Naydeline Mejia and I am a freelance writer and content creator based in The Bronx, NY. I am mostly interested in writing about beauty, culture, sustainable fashion, and music. My work has been published in sites such as Salty, DORÉ, Coveteur, Remezcla, Refinery29, and Women’s Health. I am extremely interested in living a zero-waste lifestyle and also environmental racism, especially when it comes to food access and equity as someone who grew up in a borough known to have many food deserts. I think every kid should have access to healthy, nutritious foods because what we put in our guts affects everything from our education –– concentration and brain functioning –– to our mood and health!
As your elevator pitch, you describe yourself as a freelance writer and content creator. What originally attracted you to each passion?
Funny story, but I originally did not intend to pursue a career in writing and journalism. I always liked writing, and English was one of my favorite subjects in school, but I never really saw it as a career. I actually entered college thinking I would work in healthcare –– first as a nurse, then as a speech-language pathologist. It wasn’t until the summer after my sophomore year of college that I actually started gaining an interest in journalism, and saw it as a viable career.
After discovering my passion for writing, I took a leave of absence from school and spent a gap year back home in New York. I am now pursuing a degree in journalism from Baruch College, and I have not looked back since. I think that the ability that writers have to weave stories and amplify marginalized voices is so powerful –– my pen is my superpower in this way.
As for being a “content creator,” aren’t we all content creators if we have a social media account? We’re all just creating content and creating this brand for ourselves through apps like Instagram, and that’s what I mean when I call myself a content creator.
I recently started creating infographics in response to the recent momentum around the Black Lives Matter movement as a result of the murder of George Floyd; after one of my posts gained a lot of attention/traction, that’s when I realized the power social media has to create change, so I am excited to keep being vocal on my social platforms. I honestly did not intend to have that many eyes on something I created; I was merely sharing information that I had learned through taking a Black studies course and adding to the conversation on systemic racism.
Why did you choose to focus on beauty, social justice, and sustainability specifically?
I chose to focus on these themes specifically because they are what speaks to me the most. As for beauty, I am a total Libra, and I admire beauty so much, in all forms –– faces, places, art, nature, etc. I think for me, I am really interested in redefining what people deem as beautiful and also showcasing more diverse faces and people. I grew up with a very Eurocentric idea of beauty, like most people, and I really want to work to debunk that as a beauty writer.
As for social justice, I have always been interested in social justice just from living a marginalized existence –– I am a Black woman, my parents are immigrants, I grew up in a low-income neighborhood –– so being an advocate for social justice is just inevitable for me, I believe. I am constantly working to address injustices in education, healthcare, mental health, food access, hiring, etc. with my writing and advocacy.
As for sustainability, our planet is getting warmer and less habitable every day, so I have to care about sustainability if I want to see a habitable Earth for the generations that come after me.
You’ve created a handful of great infographics to educate and raise awareness for Black Lives Matter. What inspired you to devote your talents to this movement?
I think I was just inspired by seeing a gap in the conversation that was happening around systemic racism. I kept seeing infographics and posts saying, “We need people to be anti-racist,” but no one was really explaining what anti-racism really is. I learned in my course called, “The Evolution and Expressions of Racism,” taught by an amazing professor, Dr. Karanja Keita Carroll, that there’s kind of levels to becoming an anti-racist: there’s the non-racist, the racial progressive, and anti-racist.
This was information that was new to me when I learned about it in my class, and I thought my followers and people on Instagram would appreciate/gain something from knowing this information, so I created a short infographic. I thought a few hundred people would like it –– I was definitely not expecting nearly 8k likes and hundreds of new followers because of it. My cousin, who was also taught by Dr. Carroll, shared my post with him, and he ended up liking it so much that he shared it with his entire department. 8k likes are nice, but that recognition from a prominent Black educator definitely meant more to me than anything.
Additionally, explain the importance of intersectionality in environmentalism.
Intersectionality is vital in environmentalism because poor Black and brown communities are often left out of the conversation when climate change affects these communities the most. Many low-income communities don’t have easy access to supermarkets or fresh produce markets; many of these communities are located near landfills and are breathing heavily polluted air, which causes a number of health problems; many poor communities of color don’t have access to clean water or other basic necessities; many of our public parks and beaches are trashed, and no one is prioritizing cleaning up these community spaces; yet, these topics aren’t at the forefront of environmentalist movements, especially those that are white-led. We need more Black and brown folks at the forefront of these movements because we need people who care about and are working towards improving the livelihoods of our most vulnerable communities.
Do you practice a sustainable/low impact/zero-waste lifestyle? If so, how do you practice it and what are your motivators?
I am not completely zero-waste, but I try to live as much of a low-impact lifestyle as I can. I don’t use single-use plastics. I buy mostly vintage and thrifted clothes. I try to limit my dairy and red meat intake, and even before the plastic bag ban, I was carrying canvas bags to carry my shopping items to avoid having to accept plastic. I think my motivation is that we only have one Mother Earth, and we need to take care of her and all of her children; also, our landfills are full, so if I can avoid creating unnecessary waste, then I will.
What’s one small change humans can do to show a little love for Mother Earth that they may not realize?
Stop using single-use plastics! Getting rid of single-use plastics is such a small yet significant change that everyone can do. If you don’t have a reusable water bottle by now, get one immediately and stop purchasing plastic water bottles. Purchase and carry reusable utensils, if you can, to avoid accepting/using plastic utensils at restaurants or along with take-out orders. I wish take-out/delivery apps had an option where you could say, “no plastic please,” because the amount of unnecessary utensils I get when I order take-out to my apartment is so frustrating –– I don’t need it, I have silverware at home!
How have you been finding peace and recharging during this time?
It’s difficult to find peace right now when the news seems to be unavoidable as soon as you open any social media app, but I try to take incremental breaks from my social media apps, especially Instagram, which is the main app that I use. I’m also trying to do more yoga and stretching to get the blood flowing and the body moving. I’ll watch tv shows or YouTube videos unrelated to the news –– right now I am re-watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, the tv show, not the movie. I am reading more –– trying to expand my anti-racist literature repertoire –– because even though I have studied racism for two semesters in college and have lived through it, there’s still so much learning to do. I am currently reading Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi!
What are you excited about? Do you have anything coming up you want the readers to check out?
I am excited for the day when I can hang out and hug my friends again, but for now, I am appreciating the slowness and reflective moment that is living in self-isolation and social distancing. As for upcoming work and projects, I don’t have anything big coming up that I am particularly excited about. I am just excited to keep freelancing and amplifying voices that I believe should be heard, through my writing.