Hello Wunz World!
I want to introduce myself to you all and put a face and name to the blog posts I will be writing in the future. My name is Karen Maldonado, I’m 19 years old and currently a Merchandise Product Development major at FIDM. I’m from Tucson, Arizona meaning I love the desert including the heat and cactus it comes with. I have a few passions which are fashion, music, sustainability, and social justice. As a kid I volunteered at a few places thanks to my mom, she is the reason I’m so passionate about social justice and helping others. My mom is my biggest inspiration as watching her care for others and being so hard working gave me a look into how people should be. She always told me “if someone needs something more than you do it’s okay to give it up for them” that and many other things my mom said to me growing up are things I use and think about in my daily life.
Besides for my mom I also have an amazing and supportive dad who always warned me of the dangers I would have to face as a woman, especially moving out to Los Angeles at 18. My dad may not be as inspiring as my mom but he definitely influenced me on many levels and showed me a side of men that I had only really seen in him. When other fathers told their daughters they couldn’t do sports or debate because it seemed “manly” my dad encouraged the activities I wanted to partake in and would cheer me on in those moments. He has always encouraged my sister and I to do the best we can and fights for women's rights with his friends not only because he has two daughters but because he was raised by strong women in a country where strong women aren’t appreciated but frowned upon.
Both of my parents come from a country where women are not expected to be leaders or highly educated at all because of that my parents decided that their children would be better off in the US. With parents like mine it was impossible to not develop an interest in helping those around me, joining student council, becoming a debater, etc. I owe all of my values and morals to my wonderful parents and I know this was supposed to be a self introduction but I feel like you cannot truly know me without knowing my parents first because they are what makes up who I am including everything from my personality to my features on the surface. Even my interest in fashion comes from my parents, they both deny being fashionistas but growing up I saw how they would get dressed up for every occasion and we would have frequent shopping trips. Their interest in fashion was passed onto me and that made it easy for me to find what career path I’d like to go on which is fashion specifically product development. In the end my dream is to help people through clothing and fashion, all I hope for is to accomplish making a difference while doing what I love.
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