Meet Ana Acevedo | Aupair, content creator, former english teacher and psychologist.

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

Hi Ana, how do you think about risk?
After three years working as a teacher, and basically having my whole life set and organized back in my home country, I decided I needed to get out of my comfort zone at least once in my life before I settle in. That’s why I left everything behind and came to the United States to work as an aupair (basically, a live in nanny, taking care of kids). My 20 year old self would’ve NEVER thought I’d be here at 25, but let me tell you… It was all worth it. Going from working from 8 to 8 everyday (even on saturdays) and not being able to prioritize my physical and mental health to having a completely flexible schedule and having the time to focus on activities that I love has been a real game changer in my life!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I began studying psychology. Partly for my own pleasure, but mainly because of my mother, who is also a psychologist, and wanted to see me follow in her footsteps. Although I really like psychology, met some amazing people during my time at university and definitely learned a lot of things, it’s something I never saw myself working on in the future for the rest of my life. Soon after I discovered that my true passion was teaching, and I started teaching English at a private academy in Colombia. I could really bring out my full potential there. My ideas were listened to, I had a lot of freedom in choosing my teaching strategies and the fun activities I presented to my students.

At the same time, I started working on a personal project: opening a YouTube channel. I always saw these youtubers growing up, sharing their thoughts and ideas with an audience, being able to just be… themselves. And getting money doing it! I thought I wanted to do the same. So I’ve been posting YouTube videos since 2016. It hasn’t been easy, of course, since you’re exposed to a lot of criticism and everything you say or do is gonna be online forever. But for me, it was worth the risk.

That’s how we get to my current life: quit my full time english teacher job, came to the US to work as an aupair while still uploading content, and now I feel that I’m being myself at a 100%.

Stress, being overworked and barely having time to spare with my loved ones was consuming me at some point I didn’t recognize myself anymore. I couldn’t focus on my family or my boyfriend, let alone spend time in my hobbies. So, even though it hasn’t been easy, I think it has been the best decision in my life.

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?
I’m pretty new to the city so I don’t know a lot of places yet. However, as a tourist, I would definitely take her to the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, the Zoo, and the SkyView of course. I’d also take her to a picnic or bruch in The Grant Park, drink a coffee at Cafe Lucia in Smyrna (best coffee in the world, thank you) and visit the Farmer’s market on Sunday either in Smyrna or Marietta.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This journey wouldn’t have been possible without my family and boyfriend, who support my decisions everytime, and encourage me to be the best version of myself everytime. Also, my host family here (the Stewart family), who has been the best family I could’ve possibly find and makes me feel like one more member of the family.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inside.mei?igsh=d2J1ZDR3eWk4ajU5&utm_source=qr

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrtr9x6Wc2XTZjuYgiVu7Pg