BELLSPIRATION CLUB - Joana Freitas, Portugal: Success is about being true to yourself! (Part 1/4)

1) Dear Joana, would you be kind and tell us who Joana really is, what she dreams about, what she likes, and what does she do? For the readers of the Bellspiration blog, introduce yourself, so we can all get to know you :)

Hi everyone! I am 25 years old; born and raised in Portugal, currently living in Porto. I am curious by nature so I often am doing more things than I have the time to do because I enjoy a lot of different things. Most of them have interculturality or youth work in common, some are just chocolate.  I dream about a world with less inequalities, one where people feel empowered to take space and own their ambitions, but also fears. I am currently leaving my current job where I teach English, and manage Erasmus+ and other international projects to teenagers and from June I will be working in an intercontinental university network as a Project Manager. Did I mention I do too much? I am also an active volunteer of two NGOs, I'm in the final year of my master’s degree in Social Intervention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, working on thesis research about social inclusion and Erasmus. 

2) What is "Success" by your definition and how to achieve it?

For me, success is about being true to yourself and getting wherever that honesty takes you without losing your identity on the way. Which often requires that you have people to share your path with, that you have an inspiration to keep you moving, and time to invest in your goals. In Portugal, there is a sentence saying "The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary" and though I tend to avoid clichés, I think this sums it up pretty well in the sense that you will only feel truly successful if you pour work, your love, your energy into what you are doing. 

3) Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a member of the Bellspiration Club and for sharing your experiences with us in the coming weeks and inspiring us! What are your expectations from the Bellspiration Club?

I believe this will be an interesting way of exploring my own self-perceptions and challenge myself to reflect in a new way and share it publicly, something I am working on being more confident about so thank you for the invitation.

CONTACT:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/joanaafreitas/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/joana.freitas.ts LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/joanarfreitas