About Me — Elena Zevallos
Environmental Writer. Social Activist. Van Traveler. Chasing The Unconventional. Prioritizing The Human Experience.
Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, I grew up with three major life aspirations: to become a writer, to defend nature, and to live out West.
Today, at twenty-three years old, I’ve so far completed the latter and embarked on a journey with the formers.
Who Am I?
I’m a writer seeking to shine light on unconscious environmental and social issues. I’m a traveler — on wheels, by foot, or in the air. I’m a van-lifer. I’m a dog-mom to a lovable Aussie. I’m a professional barista (making coffee is an actual joy of mine.) I’m a sustainability-junkie. I’m Peruvian-American. I’m a former ballet dancer and a classical pianist. I’m a hustler who can’t stop being active. I’m a rebel with a drive to change things that are no longer viable (or never were). I’m an activist for humans, animals, and the planet. I’m a corporate-hater and human-lover. I’m an aspiring social entrepreneur. I’m a natural psychoanalyst. I’m someone who enjoys helping people with their problems. I’m a health freak. I’m both a dreamer and a realist. I’m spiritual — nature is my religion. I’m a natural-born philospher. I’m a nomad, a wanderer — both physically and metaphorically. I’m a young individual who is still getting to know herself. Yes, I’m currently en route to finding out who I am and therefore, I can’t give you a real answer to the question. But I’ll give you a little overview of my life so far.
I sometimes call myself an unconventionalist (I realize that’s not a real word) because the things I’ve chosen to do in life don’t follow the status quo. I was actually raised by parents I would describe as unconventional. They spent the first eighteen years of my life homeschooling my sister and I and prioritizing our artistry. After eighteen, I started college, which ended swiftly after realizing I could do more with my valuable time by gaining experience and creating bigger things. Then, after 6 months of being in my first real relationship, my partner (Alex) and I moved cross-country to Southern California. I worked at a local coffee shop, started a blog, and published sustainability articles. Following this transition, Alex and I purchased a van and built it out to live in. And halfway into this topsy-turvy year, we, along with our pup, hit the road in our newly converted mobile, and started traveling the great big west.
Shit went down, and now I’ve dedicated myself to becoming an (almost) full-time writer.
Life happened, things changed yet again, old relationships, beliefs, habits, and scenarios fell apart. Now writing has become my central focus. It’s not only a creative outlet, but an energy that catapults me to the far edges of the psyche. One could call it an escape from reality, only I feel even more inspired to create once back in the real world. Writing, like any art, is something so deep, personal, and metaphysical that I can’t define what it means to me. But I do believe it can reshape the way people view the world. And I know it can re-enhance perspective, rewire thoughts, and reinvent the current model of society. And that’s what I look forward to doing: expanding awareness in one individual or an entire community — it doesn’t matter to me. I’m ambitious about creating a sustainable world to live in, not just for the health of our planet, but for our species’ as well. Modern innovations with good intentions inspire me. Watching people grow and transform elicits my creativity. That being said, I have so much to write about.
What Do I Believe In?
That the status quo needs to change. That we should be focusing on making progress by listening to our intuition, i.e. the heart. That most of the media is bogus. That today’s politics is not constructive; true change lies in people. That each person is self-sustainable, and we can create whatever the hell we want if we choose to. That we’re creators, not consumers. That if we choose to focus on building community and creating our own things rather than relying on big corporations, we’d be following our truth. That ancient indigenous principles are more in alignment with our human nature than any current Westernized belief system. That the mind-blowing moments of self-discovery is more epically beautiful than any UNESCO world heritage site or Beyonce concert. That life is about living each moment to the fullest and constructing a world of wonder, vision, and possibilities in our imaginative minds, ready to become a reality — not struggling to survive day-by-day. That we inherently possess sovereignty over ourselves and the freedom to make our own decisions and become who we feel we must be. And that being human is about following, processing, and listening to our emotions, not beating them up.
What Do I Do?
I make craft coffee drinks as a day job and write articles on not just sustainability, but ALL the different methods I believe can cultivate a healing society. I’m also a digital marketer for companies that are positively impacting the world. I love promoting businesses and organizations I feel passionate about, and doing my part to help grow brand identities to catapult them towards greater success. As for my coffee job — it’s not only a means to support myself. It’s also a little passion of mine. I love people, and being immersed in the coffee culture opens me up to communities of folks of all different ages, backgrounds, and characters.
I’m also a self-development fanatic. When it comes to my own development, learning about myself and growing from little daily self-discoveries is so vitalizing it’s practically like eating and breathing. Hell, writing this introduction for y’all is helping me get to know myself a little better, too.
Like all of us, I struggled (and still struggle) with self-concept and self-love. Once, I believed shunning any kind of self-work was a realistic decision. I’ve come to realize it’s totally not, and it’s unhealthy too. So I’ve been on a whirlwind ride of restoring this relationship with myself so that I can develop a better relationship with others and life itself. Speaking from experience, this is the ultimate way to feeling successful.
Sustainability advocate, self-development freak, coffeemaker, van traveler— I’m all over the place!
I am, but I’m learning to embrace my multifaceted self. I’m on a journey to expand awareness in our society. Call me an overzealous hippie or a starry-eyed naïveté (I really don’t think I’m either) — I’m just following what my intuition’s calling me to do.
If you’d like to collaborate (or simply want to say hi) don’t hesitate to reach out via Instagram at @elenamzev or my email at elenazev1@gmail.com.
Did you get an idea of who I am? I believe so.
Thank you for reading!
With love,
Elena
