E345 Geena George

Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorced mother. She is really my superhero. That's why it's important for me to support women to share their uniqueness, their personalities, perspectives and emotions about life. Too many women in this world feel alone. They worry about the judgment of others and they struggle with their mental health. But when they listen to the rare girls podcasts where empowered women share their voices and tell their stories, many women will feel inspired to live a life of freedom and to overcome all their insecurities. they will feel. It is a safe space to find their confidence, to remember their unique beauty and to feel their self-worth, and they will connect with the sisterhood of rare girls who encourage their success and support their dreams. That's what this podcast is all about. My guest today is Gina George. Gina is a model and content creator from India, Kerala, born and raised in the UAE, Dubai. Gina always had a passion for makeup, not just any makeup, creative, unique makeup. That's why she started to publish her work by creating content. Now, she is a full-time content creator and influencer as well as a model. From a humble start, taking small pictures of herself in the balcony, Gina is now doing runways and professional photo shoots for various great brands. Gina, how are you today? Thank you so much, Aziz. I am doing very well. I'm so happy to have you here, ready to know so much more about you as a person. Probably a lot of people might only see the exterior or what they see through the content, but I want the real you. So let's first begin with this nice first question, which is, Gina, if your friends and the people who know you best could describe your personality, what would they say about you? Oh, OK, that's a very good question. I would say, like, I portray myself in Instagram as, like, a very bitch face kind of look, you know? Like, I would, like, beat people up. But to be honest, I'm a type of person who's very, very goofy, very lame. I make lame jokes. And I'm a fun person to be around. And I'm also kind of shy, but once I'm comfortable, I will like really, really get into it, you know, so yeah, that's me. I understand fully and completely. And you spoke about being a shy person that you need to get to know people before you open up and bloom. Well, let's say you meet someone new. How do you recognize like what traits are you looking for? how do you recognize they're your person? How do you see them as someone that you are going to safely open up to? And what are some red flags that if someone comes through and you feel them, you're like, no, no, no, I'll stay reserved around this person? Okay, okay. I don't really like have a particular type of like, oh, I need like this, you know, trade from this person. To be honest, it's just like energy and like vibe. like I've met like so many people who have met in the in just like one meetup and I'm like already close with them but that's just rare occasions but not much thing it's just energy going flowing like you know and red flags I would say like suppose if I meet up with a guy and like the next day he says oh my god I really like you like bro we barely even met like that's one red flag yeah personally for a woman if I meet or anyone in general I don't have a bread slice. I've never really thought about that, but yeah. I understand that's really really interesting. And can you tell more as an Indian woman who was born and raised in Dubai and you of course still wear sometimes traditional Indian clothes, how is it for you? Like do you feel the connection with you and India is different to your family members who are still in Kerala? Do you feel that Dubai because of the and part that it is and the UAE that you have your own unique culture that cannot be called the culture of the Emirates or of India or of anywhere you're cosmopolitan or how is your experience as someone growing up in a very welcoming country but still your family relations and all those there have the Indian culture and they might be even back home? To be honest, Like all my, most of my relatives are here in Dubai. So like whenever there's like a, there's an occasion called Anam and like many other occasions here. But the thing is we rarely like wear Indian clothes, but once I wear it, it's like once in a year type of thing, yeah. So once we wear it, it's such a, such a good like confidence and you feel so like pretty and so nice. Like it's very different. Like, you know, the culture is just beautiful, especially like as I'm from Kerala, like we wear like these set to under, it's kind of like a sari. It's just very beautiful. Like I cannot explain more. Like it's just amazing. And yeah, it just, it feels very nice. That's really, really interesting. And it makes me think about your love for makeup. I have interviewed a girl who is originally like from a different place. And then she immigrated to Canada before, no, when she was a little girl at first. And she said that she desired to become an actress and is fascinated by it because she felt that she was boxed into a specific stereotype as an immigrant growing up in the culture in Canada. And she thought as an actress, I can be anybody I want. I can be a Barbie or a pirate or a boss or a shy girl or a confident girl. There is no limit to who she can be. Is this relatable to your love for makeup? that you can be any mythical creature. You can be a dragon, you can be a vampire, you can be whatever you want. And it's part of the desire for freedom. Or is it something else that drives your love for makeup? To be honest, like I, okay, so I never really thought of that question. Thank you so much for asking me that. So when I used to be like in school, you can say first grade or fourth grade. Yeah, when I was in my primary school, I used to get really very much bullied by everyone in general, but mainly guys, and they told me like, why do you talk like this, Indian accent, oh my god, and just started bullying me for how I looked and all that, and that kind of inspired me to do makeup and in a kind of good way, I really liked it, and now I'm doing a creative makeup, it kind it gives me like, I have a niche now. So I hope that answers your question, but yeah. It does and it makes me wonder. So when you are growing up, guys used to bully you how you look and now they fall in love with you in one day. How does that work? Does it make you think like, oh no, if he's just interested in me now, he must be superficial. Maybe the bullying had something to do with it or how is it related? How is that evolution? Well, the bullying part was just like, like a part of it. But like, I would say like, the main reason why I got into makeup and like, you know, the creative side of makeup is because of I couldn't find my own niche within me. Like, I couldn't really, I didn't get myself out there. So I was like, you know what, let's let's try something new, like, you know, creative makeup is really different. And I saw many creators like do that. And Indian people doing that was like really, really like, you know, it was very rare. And yeah, I got into this and I'm really like, I'm glad that I found my niche in a really young age as well. I'm happy for you that you found your niche and your voice and you're growing it further and further. And even before that, as a shy girl, have you struggled with mental health? How was your journey of finding your confidence and was that first experience of taking that first photo in the balcony and sharing it part of you finding your confidence? Can you share how you felt when you were bullied? What did you struggle with with your confidence? Did you compare yourself to others? And then how did you begin to grow that so that maybe other teenage girls can also know and have ideas they could try to help themselves. Like you said, I'm still very shy, but I've become better. But you can say I'm kind of like an amber wood right now, but yeah, because I'm in this, I mean, how do I say this? I started this whole journey because I really loved it. I mean, love it, not love, love, love it. And no one stopped me in my family and people who made fun of me or joked around me were people just like telling like, Oh, you got like hairy legs. Why are you taking like, you know, shoots like this? She's wearing too much makeup. I would just say like, just do whatever you want. Like literally, nobody, nobody cares is kind of like a word which goes in two words. so nobody cares is like in a sad way like ah damn nobody really cares about me but nobody cares is like yeah nobody cares so you can do whatever you want like you know so take it as you want it so in the beginning i did take it like in a sad way that nobody cares about what i do but now i'm just like yeah nobody gives a shit like just i'm gonna do whatever i want i'm gonna post five posts in a day like nobody's gonna care like spam them but yeah I love that and I agree with that so much. How was that experience within you? Like before that, did you have a voice that was telling you, oh, what would people think? I mean, actually growing up, I remember my mom used to say that often that, oh, what will people think? What will people think? And then for me to transform myself and really take charge of my life, I the mantra of saying fuck people. Yeah, only, you know, my happiness is more important than anything. So just for you, how was it before? Did you have a, like, critical voice? Did you worry, oh no, I might get bullied or people will criticize me? And then a change within you, like, why is it? Is it because you thought, no, my life, I want to find my happy life, I don't care about happiness anymore? Is it because you said I want to know myself and the only way to know myself is to challenge myself? Like how did it work? Honestly it's not that I didn't or don't get criticism. I still do but in my beginning stage yeah like I got a lot and I was just like so sad about it but like now it's kind of to the point that I've gotten like so used to it and I'm just like, who are these people? Like, I don't even know them. Like, it doesn't really matter to me, you know? So yeah, it's pretty much what I can say right now. Yeah. Thank you. And you said that some people were bullying you for your Indian accent. Well, now you wear your Indian traditional clothes in those events, you feel great about it. What is the problem of speaking in the way that your whole country speaks? I mean, like, do you feel that those people felt, I don't know where, whether you studied with other people who are originally from India or from all over the world, can you tell me more? Because the Indian culture is, is a great culture is very deep. It's very rich. So I'm trying to understand your own perspective on it after being bullied specifically for being Indian. Yeah, I've gotten like a lot of criticism of my accent and like till I do feel insecure about it, like about how I speak, my Indian comes out, you know, but like, honestly, now I'm just like, I've been better. And like now that, I don't know if you've noticed, so people out there who's listening have noticed like the brown culture is, the Indian brown culture is getting a lot more recognized. So that has given me and many other brown women out like so much confidence in like putting themselves out and yeah like it's it's very it's very nice to like you know who cares if you have an Indian accent though like there's no problem like first it doesn't doesn't affect like who you are you know or it doesn't doesn't tell you who you are or whatever like yeah. I agree one million percent and just to share more about you How is a typical day an ideal day for you in Dubai if you could design a perfect day? When would you wake up? Would you be a morning person or a night owl and wake up at noon? What would you do first? Where would you go? Just share something that would be a perfect day for you because I know that will also Your interests and your preferences say a lot about you as a person and about your personality All right, so don't judge me, but I literally sleep at, okay, let me tell you what's kicking in now. So I sleep at like three, four. Okay, now listen. Creative people get their thoughts and ideas during that time and I'm pretty sure like people out there who's like very creative or maybe even you Aziz, you can like relate to me. Yes, I get tons of energy around midnight. It's like magic and a lot of creative ideas. And then it's hard to sleep because you need to get it out. It just wants to come out to this world and to this life. It's almost like giving birth. You cannot just sleep and chill when that happens. Yeah, exactly. Like I had, I once, um, literally didn't sleep for like a whole night and I just stayed up and I slept the whole morning, actually. Uh, and I woke up at 6 PM. So yeah, it's my schedule is pretty fucked up. But like, you know, that's how I get my ideas. And but yeah, for now, my schedule is 4am, I sleep still. Wake up at like, max 11 or 10am. Not p.m. I'm not that like, you know, but yeah. And then that just like, my creative mind like comes during the time of 12 to like four. Thank you for that. And you have a lot of family members, or you said all of your relatives are in Dubai, that's fantastic. Do you tend to make friendships with people who are from India and you stick within people who are related to you? Or are you more cosmopolitan and I guess you're introvert so you have a few friends, but that could be from any other countries. How does that work for you? or did you build like a small India or mini India within Dubai that you keep living within or your friends that could be from any continent in the world and therefore you're living a life that is very multinational? That's a very nice question. So in the beginning when I was like you know on my school time at the age of 16-17 I did have a group of friends which were fully Indian. They were really nice. But now that I've grown, I have varieties of friends. So you can say from Chinese to Pakistanis to Indians also, to North Indians, Iran, many other. Even Black people. I have various types of friends right now and I'm really like, glad about that. And yeah, I've met even though like, I'm an introvert, introverts, just because you're an introvert or like a shy person doesn't mean that, you know, they can't have friends or like, or they're so shy to talk like, oh my god, no, like, no, like, they can have friends, they probably need like an extroverted person to like, you know, be with them, and you know, get their whole self out, you know. So, Yeah, I've met my friends through mainly TikTok because that's what I do, you know, TikTok and like creating content. So yeah, I do have like people from outside the country as well. And I do have Indian friends as well, but it's very rare actually, which is sad. But yeah. I am an introvert. Like my measurement is 94%. And I remember I spent a summer where I didn't talk to any new person. I was just me chilling with my cat, not even a dog. So I don't need to go out and walk it. And then I thought, I don't want this life. And I changed myself. Now I'm thinking about it in a different way. I give people an opportunity to meet me, not in an arrogant way, but like I'm creating possibilities in this world. And because some people are the right people for us, They'll be part of our own small universe that will be full for great, supportive people on the right vibe and who will have compatible chemistry with us. And the other people who don't like it, well, they're just saying, I don't belong in your universe. So happy for them, goodbye. So there is no shame about it. But yeah, I know exactly what you mean. And now I have no problem talking to any new person or even being the initiator. I am my own extroverted friend, like you said, and then I don't because some people think, oh no, if I talk to them, they have to like me. No, they don't. It's like people already will either like you. I feel it's almost like predestined that people will feel your energy and then they will love it. And so there are some people who are great people. You just, your energy is not compatible and there is no reason why. And there is nothing wrong with So, yes, it's very, very important. And to finish this, I love speaking with you because I feel we have that common perspective on the world, but for women as well. There are many women who might be living within their comfort zone because maybe their parents, even Indian women, who gave them the expectation that you have to be a doctor or a lawyer or now an IT engineer. I'm happy that it's opening up for women. you need a stable job, all this nonsense, as I might say, of TikTok and makeup doesn't pay the bills, stop it. And then some women might have within them a lot of art, a lot of things they want to share, but they're living up to other people's expectations because they worry. What if I go into the unknown and then their anxiety triggers and they think, oh, something bad's gonna happen. And then maybe my parents will hate me and I'll be alone. And then they don't help me or whatever it is. What's your advice to them because everything that you dream is outside your comfort zone and women cannot reach their full potential if they're living within another person's reality. Okay, so I wouldn't say I made it, Roman, you know, like, no, I'm still growing, but I would say to people out there, first of all, my mom wanted me to become a dentist. I'm sorry, mom, but I don't wanna look at people's like teeth, like it's mouth, it's things. So yeah, I would say to people who want to just do whatever you want in a creative people way, especially Indian way, Indian people, and Indian brown hole people, first of all. And if your parents are really strict, I would say just do it in a secretive way and maybe move out of your house. I'm being serious here because I know brown parents are really, really strict, some brown parents out there. And you don't have to like listen to your parents if you know they're not supportive of your work like move out like you know do the take that risk. The risk is what will make you successful. Like I've gotten a lot of relatives told me like what is she doing like what the fuck like girl you're not going to make any money out of this like exactly what is he said right now. um but not like thank you Gina and I noticed something about myself I was born in a way where I really really wanted loved and saw myself as different I did not want to fit in I did not see myself as an average person or similar to anyone at all and therefore it was irrelevant to me a lot the opinions of most people because most people are by definition average and I did not want that life. Do you feel that for you personally, you were born in a way where you did not want to conform or apart at some point within your teenage years or whatever, you made the distinction and the decision to say no, no more. I am going to create my own path and nowadays we have options, we have TikTok, we have social media to do things in it that before wouldn't have been possible. So such people. So I consider myself as like when I was a child, like you can say in the beginning of when I started my journey, I used to not be rebellious like at all. I used to be, I used to be very, very like, oh, they said that, like something rude someone said. And I'm like, oh, they said that, damn, like it's okay, it's fine. Like they didn't really like mean it, you know, it's okay. But now I'm like, I will beat you up, okay? But kind of. But yeah, but some people are like, you know, when they start this journey, or what I'm doing right now, like the creative industry, some people may like give up, like I know so many people who had like given up my mutuals, but it's okay to give up. But at the same time, it's not because, you know, you're kind of like destroying what you loved for like, because someone else told you like, you know, don't do this, don't, you know, what are you doing? Like, no. Yeah. Thank you so much, Gina. I really encourage your success, your growth, your ability to express yourself forever and to pursue your niche and keep growing it and growing it and never ever have to look people's stinky teeth and mouth, as you said. Thank you so much for participating in this podcast. Thank you, Aziz. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. It was amazing.