Meet Rosanna, a Confident Woman campaign participant
“The CONFIDENT WOMAN campaign” is a photography project aimed to boost confidence through self-acceptance and self-love, to create a platform to inspire and support women in achieving the life they want. It is limited to 25 participants. Reserve your spot now:
I would like to introduce Rosanna Saladin Subero.
Rosanna is originally from Dominican Republic. She studied in Japan for four years and then moved to Clemson, SC to do her PhD. Now she is based in Rock Hill, SC.
Rosanna shares her story about how she started from scratch four times in her life; how she left abusive relationship and what helped her going though all the challenges to become the Confident and successful woman she is today!
Hello, Rosanna. It's great to have you here. Can you please introduce yourself?
Thank you, Oxana. It's been great to be here with you as well. I am Rosanna Saladin Subero. I am originally from the Dominican Republic and I work for an international nonprofit as an associate director for business development, which means that I get to build relationships, manage relationships, and diversify funding. This nonprofit is doing amazing work in the world through human development and global impact.
Why did you choose to participate in a Confident Woman campaign?
Well, I was looking at some of the ladies that I know, who have been part of this campaign as well. And I started looking into it and I said: “well, this is me”. I am a confident woman and I would like to be a part of this project as well because of everything that I've lived through to take me to who I am today. And I wanted to be an example for somebody else.
What is a Confident Woman for you?
It's someone who knows who they are, who don't forget where they're coming from, who leave and love unconditionally, and who can laugh about their own mistakes, knowing that these are lessons in life that could take them to the next stage. This has been my story.
You mentioned that it took you some time to become a confident woman you are today. Can you share a bit about your life journey or maybe some situations in life that helped you find this inner confidence?
I come from a long line of matriarchs in my family, all of them women who have defied the social norms and have raised very strong families.
So I go all the way back to my great grandmother and I can see how strong she was. And for me, that is an example that I would like to continue to put forward for my daughter and generations to come. That no matter where you're coming from in terms of your socioeconomic status or whatever situation life puts you through we have everything we need to overcome all of those and pursue the life that we want to pursue and the life that we deserve. That's what I've seen in my family, and it's been a journey.
I've made strong mistakes, none of which I will change because they made me who I am now.
I was very naive ten years ago, twelve years ago, when I arrived in the United States and made choices that were really the wrong choices to make at that time.
Would you mind to share an example of the situation that was a major source of learning for you? The situation that was very difficult in the moment, but now when you look back at it, you feel like that was a major learning. And what did help you in that difficult moment to keep going?
Um, that's very difficult to put it that way… because I've made wrong choices, which didn't feel that it was the wrong choice at the moment. Now that I look back, it feels like it was wrong choice. I married someone who was my first husband, and that person ended up being someone who abused substances. And I ended up being a survivor of domestic violence at that time. And I didn't see it. I didn't notice it until I had to leave my house. So if you ask me, that will probably be the only thing.
However, because of that experience, I am now a lot more sharp in how I build relationships and who I engage with and how I help others. So it did help me through my journey, but it took four or five years of my life that were prime time of my life. And that will be probably the only decision that I’ve made that made me kind of pause and say “what would happen if I hadn't made that particular decision?” But again, it made me who I am today.
This is so important that you found this inner strength to change your life, to actually leave and start everything all over again. What was the source of strength in this situation?
My faith, definitely. And I've always had a very strong support system. I have a very strong family who's always been there for everything, good and bad decision that I’ve made. My friends, my support system and my faith - that’s what has gotten me through.
What would be one piece of advice or life wisdom that you would share with women?
I will say that you are beautifully made and perfectly made with everything you need to be successful, happy and loved. We don't need to be looking for anything outside of ourselves to succeed in what we want to succeed. We have everything we need in us.
And also that your present situation does not determine your future. That has been one of the things that have motivated me to look for more and look beyond and continue to search. I have started from scratch four times in my life, from zero. Different places, different countries, different languages, no one, no family. However, that has not determined the success rate that I've had so far . It has contributed, actually. So I will say just believe that you have everything you need to succeed in life, look within you, and that your present situation does not determine your future state.
You mentioned you lived in four different places. What were these places?
Well, I started over in the Dominican Republic.That's where I was born and I grew up.Then I decided to study in Japan.I left when I was 20 years old.I lived in Japan for four years, then I went back to the Dominican Republic, and from there I came to Clemson, South Carolina, to study again.Single mom with a two year old came to pursue my PhD at Clemson. So I started over then, and then we moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. We started over then, and when I separated from my first husband, I had to start all over again from scratch because I left a very abusive situation.
So I had to start over several times, literally from scratch, from maybe $100, if that much.
This kind of experience definitely helps to build confidence if you don't give up, right. You always need to keep going and always strive for your best. In my country, grandmas always say, doesn't matter if you are cleaning the floor, do it with love! So for us is whatever you're doing, make sure that you are putting love in it, that you're giving your best, that that is for sure the best that you can do. Everything you do, just do it with love. That has been my story. Everything I do- I just pour out my love.
Courage is important because you need to be able to leave all the fears behind, to be able to make the step into the unknown, to change anything. Courage and a little bit of guts in it too, because it's gut wrenching when you see yourself starting over with no one around, no family, no one who speaks your language, nowhere to even grab a helping hand. Which I have to say that in all of my journeys and all of my starting over, there has always been someone there for me: people who I have known for a longtime, people who have never even met in my life. But there's always been that little angel there, and it's amazing. I don't know why that is, but even when I was in my lowest, I never felt completely alone. I knew I had someone who I could call.
I think once you make the decision help comes from where you don't even expect it. I want to encourage women to not wait for too long, to not get stuck in a difficult situation. Understand their worth and make a step towards new.
Right, so now I can say that I've been able to understand my worth as a person, as a woman of God, as a professional. I am able to decide what I don't want in my life, which is a very important step. I might not have it all together with what I do want, but I know for a fact what I don't want in my life and I'm able to put boundaries there. So that's very important . That confidence that a lot of people see in me right now comes from all of the times that I had to walk barefoot on rocks and just keep walking and believing that there's something more and better for me. I am now a happily married woman. I have my family, I have my daughter and I have a very strong support system which I cherish. And I do believe in the power of friendship and relationship.
That's amazing. Thank you for sharing this and being so open!
My final question: I launched the Confident Woman campaign because I feel that photography is one of the tools that helps women to find this confidence. It’s an opportunity to put themselves first, to feel like a movie star for a day and see themselves with loving eyes. It is an important step to self-acceptance too. Could you share what this experience was like for you?
It's been amazing. I feel like a supermodel. The whole day when I was here with you, I was treated like a supermodel. So it's been really good for me. I've never done anything like this. So feeling confident enough to come and say, yes, I'm beautiful, and yes, I'm going to show everyone that I'm beautiful through these pictures and yes, I’m going to feel beautiful because it's okay to feel beautiful! It’s been really good and amazing and it has boosted my confidence level. And after I saw all of the pictures you took, there were so many that I wanted. It just makes me happy. It makes me confident.
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