We had the good fortune of connecting with Niya Rasberry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Niya, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
My personal and work life balance has changed tremendously. I’m a full-time mother, I work full-time Mon-Fri, part-time student and also engaged! My day-to-day schedule is hectic! Learning to juggle these responsibilities has been a challenge, however, I’m constantly thinking about my end goal and how I want to achieve it.

To be very transparent, the way I’m balancing all these responsibilities is having late nights and early mornings. Sometimes when you have a bigger goal, you definitely have to rest, but you have to make sure you’re staying focused of what’s needing to be done. I prioritize my rest days, but the days that I have to work, I make sure I’m fully being present.

What pays off for the work overload is seeing the progress being made, the high scores I get from my school grades, the big smile on my son’s face and the love I’m being showered with from my fiancé. It makes everything worth while!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Recently starting back school is one of the biggest highlights of my life right now. If you know me personally, then you know I’ve always been a creative. I’ve always had a special eye for visual arts. The ideas I have literally flows easily through my mind. The passion I have for creative directing is something I’ve always been well aware of.

I decided to go back to school for something that was second nature for me. Not just thinking about the money, but what I was good at. Society is so different in this time and digital technology is one of the greatest investments right now. Going to school for Graphic Design & Advertising will allow me to learn the designing and marketing aspect of a business and what attracts the consumers. Without a strategic marketing plan, your business simply doesn’t get in-front of your audience. You can put thousands in a business, having a great product and message but if you don’t attract the consumers, then you simply don’t hit sales goals.

Furthering my education will make everything I’ve been doing for years creditable. Obtaining a degree will open doors to endless opportunities and to other businesses/brands to view my extensive portfolio I will polish before graduation and put me in rooms with other likeminded individuals.

Becoming a creditable Creative Director through my schooling will offer high profile creative services to my customers from photography, film, branding services, and/or printing services.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my bestfriend was coming in town for a long week’s trip the first thing we would do is visit the Food Hall downtown Raleigh, NC to grab a bite to eat which offers variety of food. I also love North Hills for dinner, drinks and nice scenery where we could hang out!

The following day we would visit Hand & Stone for massages, then head back to North Hills for some girl shopping 🙂

For the night, we would probably head downtown Raleigh to soak up the night life!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost I give ALL thanks and recognition to God. I’ve always been presented with opportunities in my life and I didn’t always handle them properly. But God always guided me back on the path of redemption. Time and time again, I was able to redeem myself and choose if this time was the time I would stick with it. “As long as you have breath, you have options” – HoodHealer. This is a quote I really live by. We tend to think we have exhausted all options, but that simply isn’t the case. Our mind is a playground of ideas, dreams and innovations. It takes YOU to be able to curate them!

I also want to give a shout-out to my mother for always keeping my mind open to the possibilities of life. She saw my potential at a very young age. Sometimes I didn’t understand why she use to be so hard on me, but it was simply because she saw the light in me when I didn’t even know how bright I was. She always showed me the better side of things. She always strived to have luxurious experiences in life because she felt she simply deserved them. It took me a while to feel like I was deserving because sometimes as an African American that’s a natural reaction. Now that I am here, I refuse to believe a lesser opinion about myself. I deserve everything good I am receiving and I WILL receive in my future!

Last but not least, I want to thank my precious son and my fiancé. They’ve given me room for change and growth. Loving me through the challenges and watering my being to feel my best and be my best! They’ve celebrated all my accomplishments, big or small. We’ve supported one another and they are the ultimate reason why I feel full.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/niyarasberry

Image Credits
@pinterest

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