Episode Transcript
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 podcast 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 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 a sisterhood of rare girls who encourage their success and support their dreams. That's what this podcast is all about. My guest today is Isra Aarzi. Isra is from Iran, but born and raised in the UAE. Growing up in the UAE has been a significant part of her life and identity. She recently graduated from Zayed University which was a major milestone for her. Currently, she finds herself on a journey of self-discovery, both in terms of her personal style and her career path. Isra is passionate about self-expression, particularly through fashion, and she believes that everyone should have the freedom to dress in a way that makes them feel comfortable and confident without the fear of judgment from others. Additionally, she is deeply into alternative style and wants to express it more without fears. Isra, how are you today? Hi Aziz, I'm good and happy. How are you? I feel blessed. I feel very positive, full of life's energy and force, and very curious to know much more about you. So I'll begin with this nice first question, which is, Isra, if your friends could describe your personality, what would they say about you? I would say I'm creative. My friends have often told me that I'm a creative, and I truly appreciate it for me. being called creative is a compliment and I find it more meaningful than being told and beautiful because I see myself creative and it's like an aspect of my personality. Like I would rather have someone to say "wow you're creative" than like "wow you're beautiful" because it represents a uniqueness and enduring quality and I always want to be creative forever. I like that very, very much. So you prefer that people see into the depth of your soul and notice your creative side or your creative trait and your ability to do that because it's something that you can keep forever while looks or whatever it is can be temporary. And so you want to be appreciated beyond the surface. Did I understand correctly? Yeah, sure, it is. And to you, what is the meaning of creativity? For some people, creativity just means a way for them to totally leave their mark on the world. For other people, it's to be seen as an individual that is irreplaceable and somebody that nobody else is similar to. And for some, it's just their energy. They have so much emotions, they're emotional, and so they need to let that out and clean the slate by expressing their creativity. or what is it for you? What is the meaning of creativity? So creativity has so many meanings. And for me, it's being creative that you have a lot of ideas that you could create and do your own different than other people. Not only this, you being creative is throughout everything from like art, your own work, your education, like how you present something to be creative on your own, like turning something from a beauty into a different aesthetic and other things. Thank you. So if I understood you correctly, it's like the underlying energy of everything that you do is to do it in a way that expresses something or adds an aspect that is different and unique to what anybody else would do. And therefore, it allows you to feel that you are very, very creative. So creativity is about taking what exists or taking what is expected and then making it your own. Is this correct? - Yeah. And plus like having ideas, like when you help other people, you give them an idea, it's way different. Like, you know, a creative is like an art mindset mostly and also through like life knowledge also, like you mix them together and you create something or a personality that people would call you, "Oh, this person is creative, is different and unique," not like the rest of other people. Thank you. You filter everything through your own ideas and your lived experience, or maybe since you're also learning from other people, things that have inspired you from books, from novels, from anime, I don't know. And then you create through that a mix that makes everything that is normal, taken to a level that is creative. Is this correct? Yeah, it is. So when you meet people, how do you recognize their creativity? Or are you not looking at them in that way? You're just looking at them as inspiration, that human beings are so rich with stories, with personal experiences with ways they do things with ideas, that when you meet someone, it inspires you to be creative. Or are you more looking for that creative energy and to be surprised that the person is someone who is always doing things their own way in a unique way? Or how does that work when you meet the right people that you feel are non-judgmental and should be in your life? So first thing when I'm looking for friends, I don't look like specific characters, like art traits. Mostly I like them to be themselves. So and I can be myself too. And together we could like create something new because you know, each person is different. They have their own story, their own like talent. So I want to tell everyone and advise don't limit your choices to find a friend saying like, "Oh, I want a friend so I can like go shopping with them." Or, "I want a friend to go party with them because it doesn't matter what matters that you have a friend that would do everything with you and have your back no matter what and try to avoid that unhappy people and especially the people who doesn't have goals because it's scary." Thank you. Why is it scary when people don't have goals? I understand that very, very well, because most of humanity seems to me, unfortunately, and I'm trying to change that, live in a life of zombies in the sense that they're just following orders, going to sell their time for a payment, and then they're too exhausted to do anything much. And therefore, the ambition within them died unfortunately. But that's for me because I believe that human life is so precious, it shouldn't be wasted. People should live to their potential. But to you, why is that scary when you meet people and you think they don't have goals? Because there are many people who are like fake, they just want to be your friends. So like they want to waste their time. And they don't want you to be success or happy because themselves, they don't even have a goal to do. Because having a friend could shape who you are in the long term. They either makes you a shitty depressive person or a happy successful person. So choosing a friend who you're being friends with, it should be important and you should be careful who you're being friends with. I agree 100% because as human beings are absolutely influenced and impacted by the the spirit, the souls and the attitudes of people around them. So we should create our own space that is only full of positive good people. I agree 100%. And one of your goals is to help people express themselves without fear of judgment. Can you tell me your own thought? How common is judgment by other people? Why do you think they would do it? Is it because when you are living your truth, they look at themselves and realize they're not doing it and so they want to stop you so they don't feel bad about themselves. Or is it more like some spiritual people will say they're full of dark energy and that energy wants to stop the light inside you or whatever it is. Tell me more about this aspect, the judgment and your fight against it. People should know that people would judge you no matter what, even if you try to be perfect even if you try to do like the trends and every beauty category is they will sell all the time jagyo and I feel like women have this fear because they just want to be accepted and they don't want to go through like you know the anxiety and they just want to be in their own comfort zone and this is very important. I agree 100% is for all thank you for that And then you spoke about how many women want to be liked, they want to be accepted, they might even have people please their tendencies, they find it hard to say no or think that they will disappoint their family or vex their friends or do something that will be dangerous because they think, "Oh, if everybody dislikes me, maybe I'm alone and therefore the world is more scary, what can they do so that they build their self-confidence, so that they express themselves fully? Is it that they should first just wear whatever crazy outfits they want that expresses their truth and then deal with that judgment and learn how to grow through it? Or is it they should go build a new group of friends who are open-minded and that will help them evolve slowly into that person? Or is it something else? What do you recommend? - So what did you, you just said, I agree with all of them. So I sometimes struggle with dealing with anxiety and getting out of my comfort zone. And women should know it's okay to feel anxious sometimes. It's part of growth in life. And for example, I slowly expand myself to new challenges, like taking small steps, allow me to adapt this comfort and build my own confidence over time. And I start from small, for example, like going in public and say to someone, "Oh, have a nice day." Then another day I try to make small conversation. Then other day I make longer conversation. So I slowly building myself and getting out of comfort zone and not feeling like, you know, the anxiety. Also a big tip is to wear your favorite outfit because when you wear your favorite outfit, you look good and you feel good and then you will feel confident to do anything you want. Also people should also remember that we will never be young again. We only live once and do what makes you happy. And other people, like what they think of you, it doesn't matter. Also having a good friends as we talked about before could be a huge part of your life that you could be confident with yourselves and be outgoing and talk to everyone and be yourself also. - I love that very, very much. That's absolutely perfect. And it ties in with my next question because if you dress in a way that is very unique, if you do your makeup and your whole look in a way that expresses your uniqueness, then maybe, maybe that's the solution women comparing themselves to other women because you become a one unique woman that nobody looks like you. So you cannot say, "Oh, I wish I looked like her because nobody looks like you." Maybe. But you growing up in the age of social media where there are many women who are photoshopped, many women who are living life in a way that makes some other women feel bad or feel inferior, and who compare themselves to those women and think, "Oh, I'm not beautiful. They're not in touch with their unique beauty." Did you experience this? What's your perspective on it? Any advice to women related to this? This is what I do. I don't follow supermodels or influencers on social media. Example, I don't follow Kylie Jenner or Kim Kardashian. Why should that I follow them, their style and their interests don't align with mine. And I don't feel like I will gain anything credible by following them. So I follow women who are artists, who are unique talents, especially those who have like similar style to mine. By engaging with their work, I find inspiration and learn more valuable things that aligns with my interest and preference. So I advise others to do the same. If you don't, you will start constantly look at other women's life and compare yourself and start wondering if you're ever enough. And I swear it's not worth it because you're going to destroy your mental health since you're getting attached to a false reality of beauty. I don't often compare myself to other women, but when I do, I always remind myself that of the achievements I have made in my life because life is not all about beauty. also about what you're offering, your skills, your achievement, because your tea wouldn't last forever by your talents and your accomplished and your life knowledge when you get super old will last forever with you when you get old. So women always forget about that. SL. Thank you. I noticed from our discussion so far and conversation that you are very much interested in things that last forever, in things that don't fade away, whether it's beauty or anything like that. Can you tell me a bit more about that? Why do you feel this way? Why is that important to you? Just your perspective that could be different from the standard today? Okay, so there isn't the way I am. Because of my mom, she always tells me that beauty doesn't last forever, but what's inside you, like your achievement, your goals, your accomplishment will last forever until like you get older. So also my mom also taught me like, "Oh if you want to feel pretty just dress up." It's like you're a doll. So I see myself as a doll, like styling my hair, dressing up in anything beautiful, joyful experience. So she says not just beauty about the face but also like you can represent yourself throughout your outfits. And it's like choosing your own character, making a choice in life. Like life is like an art, you should make first impression throughout your aesthetic could be from your style or work, and how you present yourself to others. So you choose how you express yourself from your own soul, like presenting from inside to out. Thank you. And you are on a journey of self-discovery. How is this related to it? How do you go about self-discovery? Because you said that you are just like a doll who's dressing yourself and making yourself be in any way you want. Can you relate that to self-discovery? And how can women, more women, go through that journey? Because my own belief is people in general don't have goals or they feel depressed and stay in their comfort zone because they don't know themselves. They haven't gone through that journey of self-discovery. So it's important. So to simplify the question, how are you going through the journey of self-discovery? What does it mean? And what's your advice for other women in order to succeed in that journey and know how important it is? Yeah. First, find your passion, what you really love and like. I'm still discovering almost every day what I like and what I can do and the talents are. And I'm still learning. And like, for example, I want to learn a new language or just more better so I can like reflect myself from my personality to outside. So I advise women to embrace your passion as a powerful form of self-expression because your interest in creativity is like are unique to you. So don't be afraid to showcase them, whether it's through like fashion, art or any other way. Let your passion to be a reflection of who you are truly. The more authentically you express yourself, the more empowered others do the same. And it's okay to make mistakes. It's part of growing and learning as long as you don't Don't waste your time thinking about others, and you should trust yourself, and don't stop chasing your dreams. - That's very empowering. Thank you for that. And related to this, I would like to know then, what are you currently discovering related to your dreams, to your goals? What are you working on? And whether you see it as something that each part of your life, you set goals that help you create projects let you discover more about yourself? Or do you mean it in a way where you will find your big purpose as soon as possible and that is the thing where you already have one goal for life and it's eternal? Or how does it work so that I understand the way that you perceive the goal setting part of your personality? So I'm starting slow. I'm not rushing things of like, "Oh, I want to know who I am like now because I still have a long time to learn and discover myself like how I can see it. So starting like multiple businesses in the future and actually I'm gonna start a new business soon as like related to my like passion and personality. Also hopefully I find like a good job while also building like a fashion platform on the side also to grow and to grow myself to learn new things and to be talented and to be confident enough to express myself through my style and through also my work. And how I will do all this is to be optimistic because I focus on solutions more than problems. And the key is to be patient and surround yourself with positivity so you can achieve all your goals. Thank you. I love everything you said. an old soul and therefore have wisdom from old reincarnations. But to finish this, maybe there are women who are feeling stuck in life or they're feeling too full of anxiety and they cannot summon the optimism or in any situation that they need a good word that might push them to the next step and it will be in the right time arriving. So what is something that you think more women should remember or something that you need to remind yourself of or a new lesson that you learned recently that if more women knew they will live happier and they will embrace life in a way that is more empowering? So I always tell to others and everyone don't forget life. We only live life once and the life is too short and we always gonna regret and look at the past like, oh I wish I did this, I wish I did that. For example, I wasted like two years in my life thinking like, oh I'm so fat and I wasn't like dressing up as I wanted because I was afraid of people like making fun of me and I wasn't afraid like, oh I'm like I'm fat but in reality when I bit like grow up. I saw I wasted so much time. Like I could wear so many outfits that I love to, but I wasted my health and my energy and time. So now I'm like, I always see every day there's no way back. So live your life every day like it's once. And also remember that your body, what you're having now, is the most healthy state. Because in two years, or maybe 10 years, you gotta regret. You're like, "Oh, my body now is wrinkly, I'm old." But you should think that your body is functioning. This is the most important. You could breathe, you could walk. People forget about this. It's not about like, "My body should be so perfect, like super models." No, you could like dress up as you want and thank for your body and thank for everything you have and be grateful because once like after years, you will regret not thinking the same mindset right now and not enjoying life because something's stopping you and you're just afraid of yourself or of other people and being judged. Thank you so much, Isra. It was my privilege and my honor to have you here to share your thoughts, your voice, and your perspective. I wish you to start your fashion platform to keep expressing yourself, to discover more and more exciting things on your journey, and to truly connect with yourself and with those things that will last with you forever. Thank you again for participating. Now, before we end our podcast, Aziz, I just want to tell you something. I want to say a big thank you for this opportunity. And you've boosted my confidence and I truly appreciate what you're doing with this amazing project. You made every woman a voice to be heard and share their stories. and your support means a lot and I could see you in higher places, like reaching in higher places in the future. So I wish you the best and thank you again. You're very very kind and thank you too so much. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)
