Today we’d like to introduce you to Daisy Xochitl.
Hi Daisy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
How I got started with my creative journey was by witnessing my family’s resilience and ability to work towards making life for us better growing up. Their hard work and dedication is what has always kept me going to pursue my goals since my grandparents came to this country with nothing and made something out of it with their efforts. My mother had me when she was young, so I was fortunate enough to be raised by my grandparents, uncle, and even family in Mexico due to our frequent visits. Being raised by multiple generations in two different countries has influenced my personal style and interests in several ways. It really does take a village to raise a child and I would not have had it any other way. I will forever cherish my trips to Mexico since I was able to get to know my great-grandparents and further connect with my culture, which is a major part of who I am today and can be seen throughout my brand. I began to consciously try to learn how to draw when my grandmother handed me an old unused copy of an “Imagine You’re an Animator” book from Disney that was from my mother’s childhood. The pages were filled with vibrant pictures of familiar characters and had step-by-step tutorials on how to draw each one of them. I immediately started to follow the tutorials in the book despite not knowing how to fully write yet. With this book, I learned early on that I draw better by just looking at the object in front of me rather than following tutorials. I continued to use them over the years since this was before we had Wi-Fi in my house. When I started elementary school, I discovered there was a whole genre of these books in our library, so naturally, I had to check all of them out. Once I read all the books in my school library, I moved on to my public library and spent my days after school in the Arts aisle. I further explored my love for art through watching shows on PBS such as “Joy of Painting with Bob Ross” and “The Beauty of Oil Painting.” I even watched shows involving art when I would stay in Mexico. I mention my love for drawing since it is how I got into my love for designing clothing.
My grandmother and mother initially started my adoration for fashion since they constantly dressed me in coordinating outfits and never let me leave the house with a hair out of place. Bratz dolls were also my main inspiration for getting into fashion along with reality shows such as “The Simple Life” and “America’s Next Top Model.” I was probably too young to watch these shows along with “Flavor of Love,” but I was so immersed in their flashy lifestyles and vibrant clothing of the 2000s. After drawing cartoon characters for a while, I got bored and decided to start drawing my own dolls. My after-school routine then consisted of me drawing a new character in a different outfit and hairstyle inspired by my mood of the day. Each one of these dolls would then get taped onto my wall right after completion. I remember at one point nearly half of my wall was covered in my doll drawings. In around 2009, was when we had Wi-Fi installed in my house and I began to scour the internet for more inspiration. I began to use social media sites such as Tumblr, Instagram, and Polyvore to further express myself online and eventually found my community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road to get to where I am, but I am thankful for it since it has shaped me into the woman I am today. I am my own worst enemy and I have always struggled with my mental health ever since I can remember. My emotions have always been way bigger than me and have confused those around me, which has driven me to find comfort in isolation. My tendency to keep to myself and quietness has led to me being misjudged by others all throughout my life. I was bullied throughout my childhood until I reached middle school, which is when I decided to close myself off to others to avoid it happening again. The first people to bully me were some of my family friends who I thought I could trust. I will never understand why grown women thought it was okay to speak to a child the way that they did, but all I can do now is make sure to lift those around me and help young girls. Sadly, their remarks were ingrained in my brain at an early age and fueled my insecurities throughout my childhood, teen years, and even now sometimes. I started to develop an eating disorder at a young age because of their remarks and began to obsess over my appearance to not receive any more of their out-of-pocket remarks. The worst bullying I encountered was in the third grade I believe. It makes me laugh now because of how grown my bullies were acting at such a young age. I felt like I was living through a Tex-Mex mini version of Mean Girls at the time with their threats to jump me, push me down the stairs, put my mother in jail, and they somehow turned the whole grade against me to make me feel invisible… yeah it was THAT bad. One day I’ll go more into detail about that era since their reasoning to attack me was pure projection about our incarcerated fathers and it hits a little too close to home for me still. I remember coming home every day and just crying until I could not take it anymore, which led to my struggle with self-harm. These are just some of the experiences that have built my thick skin (no pun intended) and even though I would not want to go through them again, I am grateful for them and try to find humor in them now. They have led me to the path of learning how to become more confident and express myself unapologetically. Without the confidence I gained from my childhood, I do not think I would even have the courage to pursue my dreams and live unapologetically. Don’t get me wrong, I still struggle with self-doubt and immense imposter syndrome to the point I paralyze myself, but again, I am still learning how to navigate through my insecurities and mind in order to finally live for myself and not the approval of others.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am currently known for just being myself online, sharing my art, and giving voice to those who need it since I have the platform to do so. I believe there is a great responsibility when one has a platform and it needs to be used for the greater good of others, if not what’s the point of having it. I have been fortunate enough to work with brands so far and I am still trying to navigate the balance between being a content creator and business owner. My focus as of lately has been on re-launching my brand and making more art. I am most proud of the community I have grown over the years since they have seen me grow up and know most of my deepest struggles. I love when people feel comfortable enough to confide in me and talk about what is bothering them because of the experiences I share. I believe what sets me apart from others is my willingness to be myself and integrate my culture into everything I do. I will always find a way to represent my people and make them not be afraid to embrace who they are.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
One of my favorite childhood memories has to be when my aunt would take me on her trips to Monterrey with her during my visits to Mexico. The car ride to the city takes around two hours and I remember being obsessed with the song, “Antes Muerta Que Sencilla” by Los Horóscopos de Durango. The song title roughly translates to “I rather be dead than basic” or “rather dead than simple.” My aunt took note of my obsession and asked me if I wanted to hear the song again, so of course, my little five-year-old self said yes. As I watched her hit the replay button on the stereo, we both got ready to sing out hearts out for the second time to the iconic song. We had so much fun singing along to it, so she then played the song on repeat for a good twenty minutes for me while she drove into the city, and we sang our hearts our every time. The song is about women empowerment and how looking good makes one feel good and is probably why I am the way that I am today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://allmylinks.com/daisyxochitl
