Today we’d like to introduce you to Liliana Maldonado.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
There have definitely been many things that have made me who I am today, however, it all started in Borinquen, better known today as Puerto Rico. I was born to my two parents in “La Isla del Encanto,” where I was connected with my people, culture and surrounded by beautiful beaches and flamboyanes. A place I call home, where I danced salsa, paraded with la bomba, and could see El Viejo San Juan. It is where the Taino still lives, and their stories are embedded within the caves and valleys they took place in.
Regardless of its many beauties, however, Puerto Rico is also a place with a corrupted government, poverty, and failed education systems. It is where the government cares more for the traveler than its people and where single mothers can barely afford to provide a good education for her children. It is where the streets are often seen with the homeless, and a child has to worry if they’ll be without power or water. Puerto Rico is beautiful but also rugged for the native Puerto Rican.
Although I was born to my two parents, they often argued, and my father was rarely home. I remember nights when I had to beg them to stop. At the early age of eight, I witnessed their divorce, leaving my mom to raise us all alone. Growing up my life was a constant worry on whether my mom would be okay, if we had enough to get by if we’d have light or power if my education would be okay, and for the uncertainty.
Fast forward to September 16, 2017, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. Although hurricanes have always been a common occurrence throughout the Caribbean, no one was prepared and if anything underestimated the catastrophe that came. That night, the winds howled, and the environment clashed. I stayed up wondering if I’d make it out alive.
The island went without power, water, or resources for months. In order to obtain food or groceries, one had to stay in long lines outside in the scorching heat. There was no certainty if she would even get your fair share and tensions were so high you had to watch your every move.
From hunger and desperation, neighbors would turn on neighbors.
The only ones who could afford to live semi-comfortably during these times were the extremely wealthy or government officials.
Within a week, we had no food and had realized we wouldn’t be getting our education back anytime soon. My mother was concerned for us and warned us we could not even tell our family. With no certainty of what would come, we packed only our necessities and hid our appearances as best as we could at the airport. We waited, hot and humid, not even sure if we would get on. Yet, as soon as they called our names, we ran. The plane then soon departed, without even realizing, a single tear rolled down my face. My family and home were now left behind.
We’d have to start from zero; that was the new reality. To be honest, I was not always the brightest kid. I had to live apart from my mom for months as she had to go back to Puerto Rico for work until she found a job and if anything, I was that kid that slept through her 3 alarms on her first of school in the States. I was behind academically and faced many struggles since English isn’t my first language. On top of that, Puerto Rico isn’t really a land that is well known so many times I was asked some pretty ridiculous questions, but I now am mature enough to know there is just a difference in upbringing.
I thought I wanted to be a doctor and for the longest time, I would push myself into these roles to make my mother or family happy per the standard of what is considered successful. I pushed myself despite the obstacles I faced and at an early age even went ahead into more advanced classes. Although I had no idea of anything previously, I challenged myself in multiple advanced placement and honors classes. Over time I was able to catch up and I’ll admit I learned a lot; however, despite being in honor societies and following the path in the medical field that I thought was meant for me, I wasn’t happy.
I wanted to make my mother proud and help others, but I didn’t feel fulfilled or happy at all. I was rather empty.
I knew one thing, however, and it was that I didn’t wanna end up where I started again. I wanted to provide a better life for myself and future generation if I were to have one.
As a side note, I started working at a very young age as well. I still want to go to college; however, because of the debt my mother had, how much she had to provide on her own, and my father’s absence in my life, I never had a college savings. In the past few years, I worked multiple jobs and hours a week to have saved up just enough for a year of college so far.
It’s quite silly though because I did also realize I struggle to enjoy working for other people. Over time I realized working these part-time jobs only without knowing any life skills would get me nowhere. I realized I wanted more and could do more while not necessarily working so hard. While I do believe it is important to work hard and I still do, I had to also work smart.
I didn’t have anyone to teach me these things and if anything, when I asked for the answered, no one would give them to me. On my own, at just 16 years old, I took the initiative to be better and educate myself. Over time, I picked up multiple passion projects and connected with what I guess you could say a more creative and entrepreneurial side. I started to learn about the stock market, affiliate marketing, blogging, business, side hustles, and the importance of multiple streams of income. I started an official Instagram account for fashion and daily life as well as for inspiration. I also started a YouTube Channel I hopes of growing and being an inspiration to other women, notably Hispanic/Latina or Puerto Rican women. Overall, I realized I really loved fashion, blogging, sharing my life with others, and seeming to help others as well. Now, there has also been a lot of healing and gym content as I wanted others to know that even the strongest people face their struggles and that it hasn’t been easy whatsoever. Personal life can definitely try and get in the way at times and the people you considered closest to you may not support you as well.
Often, I think many people tend to doubt you and perhaps mean to guide you; however, I want people to know it’s really not impossible and it’s okay to start with nothing. I don’t have the fanciest equipment whatsoever; I do everything from my phone and have sort of just made the best I can from my house in this little town. I have most definitely been called many things and told I would never succeed, regardless, I continued to push.
Believe it or not, if you can provide something unique or valuable to someone, there will be people who enjoy that and find a voice through that too. Growing up I wished I had seen more Puerto Rican representation, so I’m really trying to be that for my younger self and others as well.
Moving forward, I plan to start a separate fitness and dance account. I also hope to keep growing my account as well in addition to becoming more consistent with my YouTube. I plan to collaborate with a small business by the name of marenmade and some of my favorite brands as well. Although my Instagram account sits at around 323 followers right now, I have received many beautiful messages and I do believe consistent growth is the key to success. I hope to send a more meaningful message to all my current and future supporters as well and I like to thank all my friends that have been with me on this journey as well, notably those who have seen me from rock bottom to now.
Academically wise, I have and continue to push myself in business-oriented classes such as Principles of Business, Marketing, & Finance, Entrepreneurship, Advertising, Virtual Business, and plan to take an Investments course soon. I am also currently involved in DECA and will be competent in the Start-Up Business Plan for the entrepreneurship section. I have dedicated a lot of blood, sweat, and tears in all I do and hope to win in this competition as well. Furthermore, on my recent Shark Tank project I exceeded expectations with a score of 102/100 and managed to meet investors as well. I was grateful and wholeheartedly full of life when I had heard I set the bar high and exceeded expectations. I have also exceeded expectations in many of my other business classes and constantly aim to do better today than I did yesterday.
I plan to attend college at UNT’s G. Bryant College of Business. Currently, I am dedicating a lot of my time into scholarships while still continuing to pursue my multiple passion projects. To me, life is too short to live unhappily and empty, so I plan to continue living fearlessly and passionately.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Most definitely not; if anything, I have and continue to face many obstacles. From financial struggles to family issues, self-doubt, and bullying. From people not believing in you, burnout, and assault, I’ve faced it all.
I went into some detail throughout my story, but I don’t mind expanding on it.
Due to the island’s corruption and my parents’ early divorce, finances were a constant issue. Utilities, basic necessities, and housing are often expensive for the native Puerto Rican, with education probably being the biggest expense. Although there is public education available, the public education system in Puerto Rico is often dangerous and of low quality. The education system as a whole is also built sort of like a factory, with students being placed in kind of these “production lines” in which the majority take the same classes, needing to meet a set of standards. At a glance, this may seem like an efficient process. However, it is far from inefficient and limits freedom in their choice of education since students are all different with a variety of interests and also require different needs.
Students have to be put in private schools to obtain a good-quality education with some freedom in their choices. Robinson, for example, is very popular, but tuition is $16,760 for the highest grade offered. This isn’t even taking into account fees or special programs. This is simply K-12 education, so despite my mother making a good salary as a lawyer, all the money would go down the drain on our basic education.
Puerto Rico is also a pretty homogenous and conservative country, thus at times having sexist tendencies. Due to this, when my mother was in her struggle, there was nearly any sympathy.
I also vividly remember the family fights and how at such a young age, I found myself standing between my parents, simply begging them to stop. I don’t think anyone should or would want to go through that, as I can definitely say it indirectly affected me at times to this day. I easily got angry or even jealous of other kids and their parents. “Why can’t my parents be happy?” I would question myself. “Why are my mom and dad fighting?” or “Why can’t I be happy like that?”. These were the many thoughts that raced through my head.
I often got told all sorts of cruel things too. Fat, four-eyes, ugly, and annoying were some of the few. Many times, I vividly remember being told I’d be better off dead. I would never wish this bullying upon anyone. Unfortunately, that was my reality.
My own teachers would tell me I would never make it as well. As a kid, I struggled to understand concepts and did need more time than others. I remember a teacher telling me I was a failure in front of the whole class. It was painful to hear, but it motivated me to improve.
At times I still doubt myself. I want to constantly be better. Transitioning to the U.S. posed me with a lot of challenges at an early age, and I definitely tend to overwork myself as well. Due to this, I often burn out easily and struggle to allow myself to rest. I don’t like feeling as if I’m lazy, so I go through these cycles of burnout and recovery constantly.
The world isn’t always full of good people either, so at a very young age, I did suffer assault and did get sexualized as well.
All these things have been part of the rocky road. However, it’s motivated me to become who I am today.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am still a student in high school and plan to graduate in May of 2023.
I do all sorts of things and a little bit of everything.
In my school, I have dedicated a lot of time into my business classes and while to others it may just be another course, to me it is an opportunity to grow. In my senior year, I’ve made sure to keep my class grades at the highest possible (All have been A’s. Lowest has been a 94, and highest 99.). In addition, I have been increasing my GPA, involved in National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Toastmasters, and this year chose to be involved in DECA.
Currently, I will be competing in DECA, Start-Up Business Plan, with hopes of winning. Many hours of sleep were lost as I have dedicated a lot of blood, sweat, and tears onto this event. In fact, in my entrepreneurship class for our final project we had to present as if we were in Shark Tank. Furthermore, we had to present in front of real investors from the area. I am actually quite an anxious person, so I get shaky and even forgot a line at one point. In the moment I just quickly picked up where I left off and subtly apologized. I was asked the most questions of all groups and told by the investors they were impressed that I had set the bar high and exceeded expectations.
For the DECA competition, I made sure to go in and completely fix it to even higher standards with more research done as well as more effort put in. With my marketing experience from my advertising and marketing classes, as well as an internship I had done for Stonebridge Chiropractic, I am able to market many things aesthetically and efficiently. This helps give me an advantage towards my competition as I was able to create designs to cater to the eye.
Outside of school, I do my Instagram & YouTube. On Instagram I share my daily life as well as my fashion, with reels I engage with my audience and share different outfits I would wear on different occasions. Furthermore, I do and plan on doing more mini vlogs in which people can go ahead and see my daily life and how I take care of myself. On YouTube, I will post vlogs and try to make them cinematic as it is a documentation of my life.
I also constantly take on personal projects. In my school I am currently trying to bring accessible period care through partnering up with my teachers, know three languages (Spanish, English, Korean) with the plan to learn Japanese, and have tutored in both Spanish and algebra 2.
I aspire to be a change and an inspiration for younger women before me.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Mentors can be all around you, and every interaction is an opportunity.
I’m actually quite introverted and struggled a lot to go out when I was younger. Even now, as much as I love going out, my social battery is much smaller than my wanting to go out. However, I realize that every interaction we make can have a lot of potential.
Your teachers will probably be some of your biggest mentors and connections during school. I have been able to get a lot of things done as well as the ability to push forward thanks to my teachers. Currently, if I had to thank any notable teachers, I would have too many. Many of them have played a significant role in my life and are the reason I have met up with some people and gotten to where I am today.
Take advantage of events, grab business cards, interact with people and be sure to have good energy.
Social media is a good tool as well. I often interact with people I look up to or want to potentially collaborate with. I have been able to make some pretty amazing friends there as well.
Put yourself out there. Nothing will happen on its own, rather, you need to put in the work.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liliana.nicoleee
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6KuFDJS2snPzH7XC0nISxQ
