Changes with C.A. Sedore
Changes with C.A. Sedore
Episode 3: Moving to the US from Armenia with Yeva Manucharyan
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Graphic designer, Yeva Manucharyan, shares her family's move to the US, the power of consciously putting oneself into challenging situations to fast curve learning (in this case, she enrolled in English-speaking classes to learn English within a year), how she became a graphic designer, and Armenian cultural history.
https://anahitco.com
Follow Yeva on Instagram @yevuk77
Recorded November 2020
Welcome to Changes with CA Sador. Real people. Real lives. Real changes. Join Carissa as she sits down with guests to discover how they navigated through a significant change in their lives.
SPEAKER_02So thank you for joining us on another episode of Changes with C Sador, where we explore real people, real lives, and real changes. My name is Carissa, and in this episode, we're going to talk with graphic designer Yeva Manucharyan as she shares her transition from moving from Armenia to Los Angeles, California, where she adapted and adopted a new country, a new culture, and a new language. So, as her background, Yeva was born and raised in Yerevan, Armenia, a part of the former Soviet Union. Her family and herself immigrated to the United States when Yeva was a teenager. Immigrating to the US was a huge change where they had to adapt to a new way of living, a new culture, along with learning a new language in order to create a new life and future here in the United States. To Yeva's credit, she started attending school and within a year started speaking, reading, and writing in English, her third language after Armenian and Russian. Ambitious, she thrived in school and also started taking college courses while in high school. She graduated from the Pasadena City College with an associate's degree in psychology. While there, however, she had a change of heart and decided to pursue her passion with graphic design and graduated from the Art Center College of Design. After graduating from the Art Center, she started her career as a graphic designer at various firms, ranging from architecture to marketing to design, along with financial investment management sectors. A mother of two kids, Yeah, his biggest passions are her family, culture, music, art, traveling, and cooking. Recently, she launched her own business at www.anaheatco.com, which is focused on promoting Armenian heritage and culture through innovative and creatively designed merchandise. You can follow Yeva on Instagram under at Anaheat.co and Facebook at Anaheat Co. And that's spelled A-N-A-H-I-T. So just in case. So welcome, Yeva. Did I miss it?
SPEAKER_00No, no, that was that was a great introduction. Thank you. It's my pleasure to be here. Good morning.
SPEAKER_02Good morning. Good morning. So in this episode, we're actually going to talk about your immigrant experience, which I think is is pretty enlightening and pretty amazing. So when and how did you learn of your family moving to the United States? And what was that process like?
SPEAKER_00It was actually a lengthy process. It took a few years for our paperwork to be processed. The majority of my mom's side of the family was already in the United States. We were actually the only ones in Armenia. All of my mom's siblings and relatives were already in the United States. But at the time, uh the former Soviet Union was at the brinks of its collapse. And because of that, it was even harder to get to leave the country because the borders were closed. So actually, even after we had the approval to move and everything was approved, uh, and we had sold our house, um, we couldn't find any airline tickets to come. So we actually, for about six months, we were looking for airline tickets to come to United States because it was very difficult to find a way out because it was um a very um stressful time for the whole country because there was a lot of protests and it was just the whole country was on the verge of collapsing. So we for about six months we lived with my aunt's family because we had sold our house, and then somehow somebody helped us out and we found the tickets, and overnight we just, you know, flew out.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Wow. So that's pretty amazing as far as like the collapse. So it sounds like the bureaucracy or whatever the paperwork, the official paperwork, and how else it would smoothly flow just wasn't available to you because of that time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was difficult, but you know, it happened and our family was ready here. And uh six months after we moved, uh, the Soviet Union collapsed in September. So and Armenia became an independent, independent country.
SPEAKER_02Oh, congrats, it's huge. That's huge. Now you mentioned your mom's family was already here. When did they immigrate here previously?
SPEAKER_00So my mom's parents and an uncle and an aunt, they came in the 80s. So it's been, you know, it was a while back, and then most everybody else uh immigrated in '88. So that was we came in '91. So a lot of my close cousins that I grew up with came a few years before us. And yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Now, did you find that really helpful, especially when you were transitioning here because your cousins had already been here?
SPEAKER_00We definitely had a great, great support system when we came. We had a place to stay. I mean, I remember a day after I came, and I didn't speak a word of English. A day after I came, we went to school with my cousins. Like we left. Yeah, like we landed that uh we landed that day, we landed in the morning, we were with them all night. We went to sleep. Of course, nobody slept because we had so much catching up to do with our cousins. And the next morning we just we went to school. Everything was already prepared and taken care of for us. We just we went to school with our cousins.
SPEAKER_02So oh wow. And was that just a regular like high school in the States, or was it because I know there's some Armenian high schools as well?
SPEAKER_00It was it wasn't an Armenian, it was a public uh middle school. Um yeah, both me and my sisters. And it's so funny because I remember talking about differences and cultural clashes. There were a few things we were warned about that were that were unacceptable, you know, in in this in this country. One thing was like, don't hold my hand, they'll think we're lesbians.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's so so all of all of you folks here in the United States that are listening to this podcast, usually friends or family members in different countries, non-US countries, are affectionate and they will hold hands or hold each other's arms, and it's just a sign of affection. It has no sexual connotation, not at all. Unfortunately, here in the United States, there I maybe it's the Puritan culture, but yeah, it's completely different. It's not like that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So yeah, that thing because yeah, because we used to not really hold hands, but like just go arm in arm with our best friends when we're walking or going somewhere, and it was really a normal thing. I mean, when I look when I think about it now, I would be so self-conscious to do anything like that now, if maybe with my kids, but like anyone else, you know, just because I've already been culturally trained to kind of see the connotation behind it and the perception of other people behind it. But that was one thing. And another thing was like, do not stare at people for too long, especially if because you have to realize that we grew up getting exposure to mostly just our culture. I mean, 90% of the people living in Armenia are Armenians. There are some Russians, there are at the time when I was already coming, there were some Indians that were immigrating to the country, but the majority of the people you grew up with are Armenian. So when you are exposed to all these other beautiful cultures, whether it would be African American, Asian, you know, Hispanic, whatever culture it is, their physical features being so different are just so fascinating and so interesting. You just want to observe it and like take it in, just physically, how how different they are. Like it was just so interesting for me to look at Asian people and look at the skin color of African Americans because it was something so new and refreshing and just beautiful. But then, you know, imagine staring at somebody without an explanation for a long time. Right, exactly. What do you want? What is your problem? So that was another thing we were warned about not to stare at people for too long because they had already gone through that experience. And yeah, they were confronted in a negative way because people don't understand the meaning behind it.
SPEAKER_02Oh, wow, that that's fascinating. Now, I have a question for you as far as what was your perception of the United States before you came, before you moved here, and how has that changed now that you've been now when you moved here recently? Like, so within that first year, like, hey, this was what I thought of the US before I moved, and then within the first couple of years, how did that change?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so you know, a lot of what we know and how we perceive perceived United States was based on the commercials. We didn't have a lot of TV time or anything, but whenever we did, I mean, you you you actually imagine United States and the lifestyle of United States to be something that you see in a Coke commercial, in a Coca-Cola commercial, or you know.
SPEAKER_02And how is that? Like, how would you describe that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like this very dreamy, very like Disney, happy, everybody's happy, everything is all the colors are like warm colors, and you just want to hug someone, you know, right after you watch the commercial. So, and I and I am I, you know, I'm in marketing, so I know how that's done intentionally, and it's done to create a positive image and to create a positive perception of a lifestyle and with the core purpose of selling, right? The main purpose of it is for you to sell your product. So you're sold on this idea of an image that is not reality. So that's how you perceive it, that's how you imagine it when you come. It's this imaginary place where everybody's smiling. And there's a lot of truth to that, honestly. Like even as something uh as simple as when you see somebody, you just smile and say hello, that was not something normal in my culture. So it's a much more serious culture, it's a very sweet culture. Don't get me wrong, everybody cares very much for each other, but that outlook and that presentation of if you see somebody without a smile, give them one of yours wasn't there in Armenia. So over here, that was kind of strange at first, but then you kind of adapt to it and you see that there is a there is an actual physical change that happens with you when you when somebody does give you a smile, there is a positive vibe that you receive from that person. And even if you're having a bad day, that one smile could really change the way you feel. So there is like, you know, there's a lot of marketing involved in presenting uh the American culture, and that's how other countries perceive it, but there's a certain truth to it, you know, because people are, you know, my reality was people are very sweet here, people are very caring, you know, they there is a lot of like organization, like things are not just done randomly, there's an order to things, the law and the rules are respected by everyone. So these were things that were very real and the way they were presented in commercials or movies or you know, whatever media you want. There there was truth behind it. But the overly, you know, the overly warm happy Disney aspect of it, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Like everything's happy, happy, joy, joy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like money grows on trees. That's another perception people have, you know, when they see people with nice cars and nice houses, they think, oh, that's like they're set, whereas, you know, people don't realize you're actually living on a loan for the next 30 years or 15 years or five years, whatever the case might be, that it's something that you're working on every day to maintain that physical aspect of life that you have. It's not something that's like already yours.
SPEAKER_02So, like when, how did your perception change of the US change after the move, or what was one of the more glaring items as far as like dream myth versus reality of the US?
SPEAKER_00I think when my parents, both my parents started working, and this was within a week after we came, my mom was a teacher in in Armenia, and my dad uh was an engineer. So I they they always had a professional career and a professional job, and there was a certain how should I say it? There were intellects. Okay. So they were intellects. So I've always seen them in a professional environment. And and my mom had to start uh washing dishes at a restaurant, and my dad was working as like a contractor's assistant somewhere, so they were working day and night, and my mom had two jobs, and and they were both going to school to learn English. So they're very hardworking people, but just kind of seeing my mom and my dad take on jobs that I didn't I wouldn't kind of imagine that they would. And and you know, there's nothing wrong with that at all. It's just that there's a re that's where the reality comes in, where the thing is not all, you know, yellow highlights and warm, you know.
SPEAKER_02Right. All roses.
SPEAKER_00There's a there's a harsh reality that you have to work hard for you to pay your rent, for you to get a car, for you to do whatever you need in order for your kids to have a certain comfort. And and we were, you know, we were fine, we're not we're not materialistic at all, so we didn't really care about any of those things. But there are things like we had to walk to school and we had to walk back from school because both of our parents were working, and that was like a two-mile walk, you know. So things like that, but still that it doesn't faze you, you know. It you actually are become so much more driven. I don't have that drive anymore. That drive that I had as a young immigrant is like so powerful, I've have not experienced a feeling like that in my life. You are so driven to progress and to evolve and to become a better person, just so that one, you're helping your family out, and two, you make your parents proud because they have left everything behind and they are starting from scratch just for you, so that you will have a better future. So there's a lot of psychological pressure, but it's not anything negative, it's just something like this is the least I could do is like be my best and do my best.
SPEAKER_02Now, I think that's like huge. Did your sisters also handle it very similarly? Because as you pointed out, in even in the bio, you were very ambitious and very driven to help support the family as you moved here. Were your sisters also again similarly driven? Or like how did they adjust?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they were, but they're a little different with their personality. So for example, I was more nerdy, you know. So I focused more on progressing intellectually, like learning English fast, getting a job, doing good in school, and they were more uh they kind of find found other ways to be a part of sports, kind of uh play sports and being more in a team environment and go to different championships and you know things like that. So they and they did, they they did learn the language pretty fast. They both, I don't remember if they were, yeah, they they were working too. They're working when they were like 16, 17, they got jobs too, and we're all helping each other out. But academically, I think I was just more driven because that was just more my thing, you know? So that was the difference. They were driven, but they were driven in different ways.
SPEAKER_02Okay, okay, yeah. I mean, everyone has their own unique. Exactly. So how was like how was the adjustment, especially you know, within that year of you even learning English and adjusting to this new culture? I mean, describe like a typical routine day during that first year.
SPEAKER_00So it really wasn't easy. I they had put me in an ESL class that was like probably 70% Armenians, because there are a lot of people that the majority of the outpouring of the Armenian people from Armenia was in the 90s. So in 91 after the Soviet Union collapsed, thousands and thousands of people just because the borders opened. So thousands and thousands of people immigrated to especially United States and especially Los Angeles, because Los Angeles is the largest diaspora outside of Armenia in the world. So it's like 1.5 million Armenians in Los Angeles.
SPEAKER_02So for those who aren't familiar with diaspora, can you define what that means?
SPEAKER_00Diaspora is basically people from a specific culture or country living outside of that country.
SPEAKER_02So it's uh like a population?
SPEAKER_00It's a population of people. So for example, Jewish people living outside of Jerusalem are living in the diaspora. That's the Jewish diaspora, is all the people living outside of Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_02Oh, okay. Fascinating.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So the reason why I'm giving a background on this is because there are a lot of Armenians in our in the ESL classes. And ESL means English second language because you're not proficient in the language, so they put you in um English English as a second language where you learn the English language first. So, as you can imagine, a lot of these people are my friends, and anytime there's a homework, they're all copying from each other, you know, especially especially me, because I would do my homework. And I just realized right away that I'm not gonna learn anything because I am speaking in Armenian with all of my friends, and I don't have any exposure, clear exposure to just pure English, except television. So then I went and I talked to my counselor and I asked her to put me in a regular class. And she said, Well, I can't do that because you didn't pass the ESL test. I said, Well, what do I need to do? Like, tell me what I need to do in order for you to put me in a in a regular class and not in English as a second language. She said, Well, you just get it, if you get a signature from your parents and your parents say that they agree to it, and if you fail the class, then it's not our fault, then we could do it. And at this time, both my parents are working day and night, and they never really followed up with us because they knew that we were taking care of our business, we were very responsible. So honestly, I just signed my mom's name on the piece of paper. My mom didn't even know about it. And I went back to my counselor and she put me in a regular class, and that's when I really started learning because I used to sit there and translate my science chapters like every day, or my English book, whatever the assignment was. I would sit there and with a dictionary and I would translate everything and write it down. And that's how I picked up on the language really fast. Because it's different for you to like learn the language based on the lingo that you see on TV. When you're young, you're very fast at picking up languages, it's super easy. But it's different when you're because there was a lot of lingo that we would see on TV that wouldn't even understand what it meant, but we would just like gonna like what does gonna mean? We didn't know that gonna was like going to abbreviate it.
SPEAKER_02You know, can't like what? What's the can with a T? That's a good point. That's actually really great. Great point.
SPEAKER_00So that's when I started adapting to the reality of the language and the environment I put myself in was I was forced to be exposed to just English speaking people. There was no Armenians, there was no Armenians in my class. It was all like different other races, and they only spoke English. So I really grew really fast. I remember in that six months, I just picked up on things really fast and I progressed really fast. And my language skills improved because I had to work double hard on it because I was in an environment where I just had to, or else I couldn't communicate.
SPEAKER_02Wow, that that's great. I mean, and actually they do say that now. Um, for for polylinguists or those folks that know multiple languages, that's actually what they do. They put themselves like in the country where they're forced to speak only that language.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_02And not rely on English or their native language. And by doing that, then they're only by doing that can they do what you've done, which is like within six months be conversant and able to speak that language.
SPEAKER_00That's what the language immersion programs do here, too. There's like it's a new program. Probably in the last five years, a lot of school districts are adopting a language immersion program where you are put in a program where you only speak that language. And in the classrooms, you're not allowed to speak any. Like I went to an open house for one of my kids to one of the, I think it was Chinese immersion program in Pasadena. And like even during the open house, they didn't talk to like I'm a parent, I'm visiting, trying to find out about this program, and they're just talking to in Chinese to you. Oh like we're not allowed to talk, we're not allowed to talk in in English at all in this classroom. That's the rule.
SPEAKER_02So oh fascinating. That's so fascinating. I love that. Now, as an immigrant and and culture and identity, um, the question is like, how how did your culture and identity change when you moved from high school and then you became conver well versed with English? Like, how has that more metamorphosized throughout like your young adult years to even now?
SPEAKER_00You know, my culture obviously is very, very important to me. And it's um in specifically the Armenian culture, there is a huge emphasis on preservation and preserving the culture because of the Armenian genocide. There is a very, very strong emphasis on that from like the minute you're born. It's a part of the education system, it's a part of your upbringing, it's a part of uh environment, the culture. It's just a huge, huge emphasis. And there's this huge responsibility that you have to preserve your culture, no matter where you go, what you do.
SPEAKER_02Would you mind? So, apologies for interrupting, would you mind sharing with listeners what exactly the Armenian genocide is who are unfamiliar with with that term and with the event, historical events?
SPEAKER_00Sure. So in night from 1915 to 1988, there was uh an Armenian genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire of Turkey, where more than one and a half million Armenians were massacred and culturally cleansed. This was in this was in Turkey. So it was a pre-planned genocide where overnight, first and foremost, all of the men were taken away and massacred, and then after that, uh the women and the children were forced to go into the desert on their death walk, basically. And this was all done because of Turkey's Turkey's leaders wanting to culturally cleanse Turkey and just and it wasn't just Armenians, it was Greeks, it was Assyrians, the majority of them were Armenian. So as a result, as a result of that, the survivors of the Armenian genocide, whoever survived, they were you know picked up by humanitarian organizations, a lot of them ended up in orphanages, a lot of kids, because they mostly murdered a lot of the moms and the sisters. So there's some kids that were either converted to the Turkish religion, they were either forced to become Muslims or um they were massacred. The ones that survived ended up in orphanages and basically spread all over the world as a result. One of them was my grandfather, who was an orphan. You know, he his parents were massacred, and he ended up at the American orphanage in Greece, and then later on immigrated to Armenia, and then from Armenia they immigrated here. But basically, as a result of the Armenian genocide, there is this huge need for Armenians to first and foremost grow and prosper and not let the past dictate your future and kind of be productive and move forward and stand and live and um be resilient to whatever history and your past has kind of destined, you know, for you. Right, right. And the other um aspect is you do not survive and thrive pretty much. That's right. You do not let anybody destroy who you are at your core and you preserve that. So, for example, my grandfather he didn't know how to read or write English, um, sorry, Armenian, but he made sure he sent his kids to Armenian school so that they learned.
SPEAKER_02And so then that's so he read in so did he pretty much read and write Turkish or so.
SPEAKER_00Turkish and Greek lived in Turkey, Turkey. Turkish and Greek. He doesn't have family, he's an orphan, he just had one like a cousin who was his aunt's daughter who was in the United States. So they found each other through, so at the time, a lot of people would just write their names in newspapers in an attempt to find each other. So in newspapers at the time, in like from 1918 to 18 on, there a lot of people found each other's and their siblings or their loved ones all over the world. So my grandfather found his aunt's daughter in United States, and they kept in touch through letters. And um eventually that's who you know, that's how they came to United States in the 80s, is they came to to his cousin, yeah, to his cousin's house.
SPEAKER_02Wow, that's a powerful and moving story for sure. For sure.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so there's this like really heavy, I shouldn't say heavy, just a big responsibility for you to preserve your culture and for you to have a strong identity and pass that on to the next generations. So that was a definitely a big part of me, and it was very difficult at times because honestly, I think sometimes it just got in the way of progress for me. And like what makes you share say that? The reason why is because in a way, you're so focused on that aspect of your life that I found that I was isolating myself from other cultures, and this is a very delicate psychological thing. I felt like I was not, I I wouldn't open myself up to not really exposure, but more to explore other cultures. Explore other cultures because I was just so stuck on this huge responsibility that was put on my shoulders. And you could do both, honestly, you could do both. It just takes time. So, for example, let's say I'm at work, this is a very like primitive example, but I'm at work and I'm talking to somebody who's non-Armenian, I would just always evolve back to discussing things that were about Armenians, you know, and that's great for like a day or two, but then people kind of lose interest, you know, which is natural, you know, it's natural. So things like that I had to really adapt to and force myself to be conscious about it and to change and to evolve, evolve. So, and I I say that to my kids now. Like, yes, you're Armenian, and that's great, and you're always gonna have your self-identity, but I want you to have full exposure to other cultures and other people and other ways of living because it's so important for you to be well-rounded and for you to be able to understand and be able to communicate and relate to people from different backgrounds. And that's why like I just I I intentionally created time and resources for me to travel to different countries and do the same with my kids, is because I want constant exposure to all the other cultures in the world and countries and histories, because it just makes you such a rich person within.
SPEAKER_02So, what I'm hearing you say, and feel free to interrupt me if I'm incorrect, is like it's really in the differences, in our differences, where we find a richness of even our own selves. Because it it's pretty it's pretty fascinating, all the different perspectives that each culture has and each each country has um and each people have, and and being exposed to another way of life, another belief system really just it's almost like you can you can adopt and adapt the sweetness from that particular particular point of view and incorporate it into your life, even.
SPEAKER_00Definitely. It just it makes you a a a richer person with your mind, with your heart, with your soul, with with your essence. And uh, and it just helps you grow and just be more diverse in your thinking and in your knowledge and in in the in the things that you love. So yeah, I think it's very I think it's so important. I think it's so crucial.
SPEAKER_02You can't have you seen the changes with your children after the trips because I I know for me myself, the Philippines being a third world country, you know, it it's so important, I I feel for a lot of people to actually visit third world countries and to understand the rich resources that we have here in the United States that we take for granted.
SPEAKER_00Definitely, yeah. They want to travel more, they are actually studying other cultures. You know, Japan is on our list for next year. We were supposed to go this year, but because of the pandemic, but they're right now they're just fascinated with the Japanese culture, and they're studying that, they're they're into the Japanese comic books, anime, anime, and Japanese art, and that wasn't that was geared more towards Italy last year, I mean two years ago. So it's like it's it's a change, you know. They're just they kind of discover a new country and they start studying it, and they kind of discover the culture behind it, and then they're fascinated by it, and then they're like, Well, we we want to go here and we want to go to this store, and we want to go to this restaurant, and we want to go see this landmark, and so it it has really activated a in not interest, but uh what's the word I'm looking for? Come on, Carissa, you're so good with words.
SPEAKER_02It has a desire, and it sounds like they're also taking the initiative to plan the trips, which I believe is like really important, you know, for for self-directed, you know, self-directing their own interests.
SPEAKER_00Definitely. They would travel shows having to do with the energy. And yeah, because it's so it's so much more exciting for them. It's kind of like it's kind of like an achievement. Like you, they read about it, they study it, they know what they want to see, and then when they go and they're there, it's like a huge accomplishment. Like, imagine winning a championship, playing a specific sport.
SPEAKER_02There's just such a gratifying they've achieved it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, there is there is a gratification that that comes with it, so yeah, it's fun.
SPEAKER_02That's huge. I mean, and you recently took them back to your mother country, Armenia. And how was that for them?
SPEAKER_00That was amazing. They had such a good time.
SPEAKER_02Um was that their first time as well to visit?
SPEAKER_00It was their first time, they had never been there. It was their first time, so they reconnected with the motherland, they reconnected with the uh with cousins that they never that they had never met, family and cousins that they had never met. My daughter was crying when we're coming back. She said she wanted to live there. She didn't want to come back. But they definitely do have a greater understanding and appreciation for their heritage and the Armenian culture. And they just they kept telling me that they didn't imagine for it to be the way it was. So they it was much better than they had imagined. So it was great.
SPEAKER_02What do they imagine?
SPEAKER_00I don't know. I think I think it's maybe the same thing that, you know, like me coming here, I imagined for things to be different, and then there is, you know, the reality perception of things is so different because you have a perception of a place based on mostly marketing material that's out there for that specific place or country. So it's not an overly sugar-coated version of things, maybe, you know, and maybe for me it was the opposite, you know, maybe they imagined it was gonna be worse because honestly, I hadn't been there for 25 years. So for me, it was like a huge change for me too, because it was it was definitely not like the city that I left a lot, just a lot.
SPEAKER_02How had it, yeah, how had it changed? So, like apart from family, what how how how much had it changed and what was like the most most significant change that you noticed the kids' experience or like about Armenia too, to consider?
SPEAKER_00So for me, it was just more physical change. There were a lot of new buildings, a lot of new businesses, a lot of like it just had the whole country had progressed commercial-wise, like commercially, you know. So there was just a lot of construction that had been done, a lot of growth with the businesses and the environments and restaurants, and it's just become it's it's like Europe. It just be it was just like Europe. Where in the former Soviet Union, you were not allowed to have a business. So there was nothing, there were no commercial businesses. Everything was owned by the government, so it was very limited.
SPEAKER_02People were not allowed to so, like, actually that's like huge right now, especially with the COVID business COVID and how it's impacting our businesses. How did does that impact a culture to not be able to have like a commercial business, to not be able to express oneself through some commercial means? Because again, it goes back to the government or another another entity is has the business. And you know, how does that how does that impact the environment and the culture and personal development?
SPEAKER_00I think in a way, people are forced to be more modest with their living and they have less choices, so they kind of have to take a step back from being a consumer, being a I shouldn't say consumer, but being a an easy consumer. So it's the convenience of having whatever you want at any time you want, in the variety that you want. When you're limited to that, you kind of are limited with your choices, and as a result, you just become more modest in your lifestyle. And that kind of makes you evaluate things in your life and makes you evaluate what is important in your life because a lot of these things that you might have thought were crucial to your living in your everyday life, you realize you could really do without, you know, or you could substitute, you could have substitutions for it that you could just get by with it, then it's not that big of a deal. It's not that important, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02And it and does it impact self-expression in the culture at all?
SPEAKER_00Oh, like in Armenia at the time.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, creativity or self-expression, if you're in that state.
SPEAKER_00I think it's just directed in a different way. So it's directed more to the personal than the commercial. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02And right. And so, like, what does that mean as far as so?
SPEAKER_00For example, let's say we're talking about art, creating art. So there might not be commercial, not commercial, but museums where you take your art and you sell it publicly. But there is definitely artists that create their artwork and they might kind of sell it from home. And the subject matter might be more personal than public. You know what I mean? So that's just one example. Just because they're not there are no commercial outlets for self-expression does not mean that self-ex-expression stops, because that's impossible. We are not, we are not made, we are not those creatures. You know, that's what that's what differentiates us from animals is that we have self-expression and we exercise it regardless of whether we have the means for it or not. Self-expression is always a part of humanity. So whether you have a commercial space to expose people to your artwork or whether you're doing it from your home, it really doesn't matter because you're gonna you're gonna express yourself regardless. Yes, there's like a lot of limitation when it comes to the content. Definitely. There was a lot of limitation having to do with the content in the former Soviet Union because it was, you know, it was heavily controlled, even movies, even movies, even and there were no commercials, but even movies and music pieces, and everything had to be approved by the government. So if and the reason for that was that they did not want to have any anti-communist messages in anything.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, the messaging.
SPEAKER_00So, yeah, definitely. So, I mean, there were a lot of great films that were heavily edited because of that. Like you just couldn't do that. But honestly, in all honesty, in a way, it creates a more unified culture because you know the messaging is the messaging is filtered, but it wasn't really done in a negative way. So, for example, there was no sexual content in any of the movies, which is actually pretty freeing.
SPEAKER_02I would find that that to be pretty freeing because then you're not dealing with like base impulses or messaging.
SPEAKER_00There was not a lot of physical violence. There was not, you know, there it was just a lot of a lot of it was centered towards the younger generation and how they're going to be educated based on the whatever they're seeing. So there's a lot of really conscious choices being made to bring out bring up a culture that is that focuses on positive things, that focuses on education, that focuses on culture and growth. Yes, there were limitations to expressing your mind, but that was really done regardless. It just wasn't publicized.
SPEAKER_02Wow, that sounds actually pretty fascinating because just because of especially younger generations and the impulse control and just being aware of all the different messaging that's being tossed in front of pushed with the younger generations in the form of movies, TV, and media to remove the Violence and the sexual content is actually pretty helpful. Like, yes, you can have the discussion. I'm I'm not for not having that discussion, but at least it's not pushed or like highly highly publicized or continually pushed to children where on some point they're just like, Well, what does this mean after a while? Almost like numbed, exactly, and they think like that's normal. When in fact it's not normal to be violent to another human being unless you're a criminal. And so, you know, and then everyone has their moral ethical item, which is fine too. But again, it's uh it it reserves that conversation for an intimate conversation, a human conversation, then look what's happening on TV, and kind of like leaving it just showing it all out there and just keeping it there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, right. And like the more, you know, they're the more immune people become to you know, sexuality and violence and everything that's on TV, then the more extreme it needs to get to keep their attention, right? So I see this.
SPEAKER_02They're seeing that with the younger generations and their exposure to pornography.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02As you pointed out.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and it's it just becomes extremely unhealthy because it just becomes more and more and more extreme. So then when, you know, God forbid, but for example, like if you see somebody get shot in front of your eyes, you will not have the same response to it if you have been exposed to it so many times visually. Yeah, you know?
SPEAKER_02So it's subliminal subconscious messaging.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So wow, that's deep. Very how did we get here?
SPEAKER_00How do our conversations always end up here?
SPEAKER_02Wow. So what's fascinating is like I love how you brought up like each time you see it, you're actually being programmed. And uh also like each time we hear it. So anytime you see it, anytime you hear it, anytime you say it, it's it's a constant repetition and programming, which is like huge. Now, I find it fascinating that you graduate graduated with a psychology associate's degree, and then you said, nope, going to graphic design. Like it's awesome because you're an amazing graphic designer, but like what made you like do that 180 turn from like psychology to graphic design?
SPEAKER_00So the human psyche and the human psychology has always been fascinating to me. But when I started studying in college, it was even more fascinating. And uh, I'm a very intuitive person by nature. So just kind of understanding how people think, what is behind their actions psychologically and the reasoning behind it, and kind of the biggest thing for me is to understand it more than anything. I was just really fascinated with psychology, but I always did graphic design on the side, just loved doing it. It was just my passion. And I was in an art program in high school where they kept, you know, putting me in these projects to do different graphic design works, and I kept like winning stuff. I kept, I was just like a star student. So after I graduated and I was in college, my teacher from high school kept asking me to come back to the program and talk to the kids and show them my artwork, basically, of all these like competitions I had won and stuff like that. And so I did that a few times. And then I was since I was a really good student, I had full scholarship. I was gonna go to Cal State Long Beach. Uh, I had a full scholarship for psychology, get my PhD in psychology. And then I had one of these presentations at this at my former high school that my teacher asked me to do. So I went, his name was Mr. Williams. He's just a great, great teacher. He was my graphic design teacher. So after the presentation, after I gave the presentation to the kids, he asked me, So what are you gonna do? You're gonna finish, you know, PCC this year. And I said, Well, I'm I'm I decided I'm gonna go to Cal State Long Beach and pursue psychology. And he just shook his head and I was like, What's wrong, Mr. Williams? And he said, you know, you just you need to go into graphic design and you should apply to Art Center because Art Center was is one of the best design schools in the world. But honestly, I didn't think I would get in. I didn't think I had the skill set and the discipline that it takes because I know it was a, it's a very, it has a very strict regimen. So I started thinking about that, and then uh something happened in my personal life where I had broken up with in from a long-term relationship, and I was just extremely heartbroken and I was just devastated. And I locked myself up in a computer lab at PCC, and I just started creating artwork, like design stuff. That was my outlet. And within a month, I had created so much content, so much material that I had a full portfolio. So I just thought to myself, you know what? I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna apply. I'm just gonna apply. I know I'm not gonna get accepted, I know it's not gonna happen, but I'm just gonna apply. So I applied and I got accepted and I got a scholarship and I was just blown away. So awesome. Yeah. And I just thought to myself, if I'm if I've been accepted to the school and they think that I have the right skill set or the talent, then I'm gonna trust them and I'm gonna go with it. And that's when the torture started.
SPEAKER_02You mean your past? That's right.
SPEAKER_00It was it was a lot of hard work. You don't, you, you, you know, people probably don't think, oh, it's design, you know, it's not what's so hard about it.
SPEAKER_02It takes a long time.
SPEAKER_00But it was like going through law school. It was very hard, it was difficult, it was very demanding. It was very, very demanding. So uh a lot of old nighters, a lot of sleepless nights for you to be able to get through your work. So yeah, but I'm I'm glad I chose that path because I'm definitely happier in that profession. Yeah. I because I I love what I do, you know. I would probably love psychology too, but I think eventually I would probably be it would have an emotional, it would drain me emotionally, eventually. If you're a psychologist, yeah, because by nature I'm just I take people's pain and I make them mine, you know?
SPEAKER_02So trying to help them ease their burden.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02That that can happen. Which is which is huge. Like, what did your family think? Being a traditional immigrant family, what did they think when you shifted from psychology to to again graphic design?
SPEAKER_00Honestly, they they just wanted me to do whatever I was comfortable with. Um, they trusted me to make the right decision for my mom. It was more like, well, it's closer. You know, you don't you don't have to move out. So I'm happy about that. But they knew as a child, I was just, I just loved creating and being creative. So it was just in my nature. And you know, a lot of like uh immigrant parents, they there's this like switching of roles that happens because you as a child have a better, have better language skills, have a better understanding of the country and the way things work. So you kind of start guiding your parents, you know, through things. There's and it's it's hard for them because they cannot help you, and they cannot guide you because they don't know anything about the way the school system works, what majors there are, how to pick a creative uh uh career path, how to fill out your financial aid paperwork, you know, all of these like minor things. So there's this switch where your parents come to you for you to translate a letter that they've received, you know, or find a way to register themselves for school, you know. So there's the switch. So there's this flip where your parents start trusting you more than they trust themselves for you to do for you to do the right thing for yourself or for you to progress and improve yourself as a result of your knowledge, you know. So because we had to figure all this stuff out on our own, you know, how to put how to register for school, how to apply for financial aid, what classes to pick, how like, yeah, like all of that stuff. And yes, there's a lot of help out there. There's more help now than there was before because there was no internet, you know. This is true. There was no internet, like you had to go and uh read the fine print on an application for you to find out how you need to do things and translate it.
SPEAKER_02You're you're spot on. You're spot on. Remember college applications, yes, and like how to write essays, like right, right. Yeah, it's like what exactly are they asking on that essay? When is the deadline? Like you said, the fine print.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02Fill out all the forms correctly, so at least they'll they'll uh they'll accept your application for the first part.
SPEAKER_00There's a lot involved. There's a lot involved. So you kind of become a parent to your parents in a way, which is pretty fascinating.
SPEAKER_02Pretty fascinating. Yeah. So how has like the present environment and in this case like COVID-related lockdown impacted how you perceive life or deal with change, or has it even? Because especially moving from Armenia to here, that's a huge change. And now we're going through a current like change situation or scenario. Has it impacted or have have the tools that you used in your transition to life here in the US has has that eased whatever whatever experience you're going through with uh working from home or just not going out and whatnot?
SPEAKER_00So I think it has had both positive and negative influences in in my uh life. I've been working from home since March. Uh my kids have been, you know, going to school from home, so remote learning since March. And in the beginning, there was a panic that came with the whole thing, you know, with the whole situation. And the panic was for me was oh my gosh, the stores are gonna close, then I need to be fully stacked in order for me to be able to support my kids and just support the household. So, of course, the first thing I did, I overstacked on groceries, groceries. I didn't even care about toilet paper. I was like, there's a shower. But yeah, so that was like the first thing was like, okay, we're just gonna be living out of our house and stores might close. I honestly thought they were gonna close the stores. I thought everything was gonna get shut down. So that was like immediate, like, what do we need? The immediate needs, and then you realize what's like that's when you start filtering things and you become modest with your living, right? It's like what are the primary things that I need? Water, bread, a lot of grains, right? A lot of grains, right? Vegetables, you know, yeah. So that was the first thing, and then after that, kind of adjusting to being indoors and kind of finding creative ways for you to stay healthy physically indoors. That was a challenge. So I started exercising uh with YouTube videos and things like that. We would go on walks, but then it kind of started like dying down. Everybody started in the household, started getting lazier. I started getting lazier, like I would be home working eight hours a day in front of the computer, and then I was just on the couch, just wouldn't do anything. So we became very unproductive, this like lazy phase. And I think that has dragged on for a while. But at the same time, of course, you start thinking of like, well, I've been wanting to make my own curtains for like the last two years. Maybe I should hop on that project, or I've been wanting to grow flowers in my front yard. I should really start doing that. So all these like extra projects that have been on hold for a while, you start picking, picking up on those things. But the majority of my drive came to trying to develop my business even further. And right now there's a war going on in Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabach, which is Arzach region, which kind of slowly started in July, and then it has progressed to a full-blown war now, starting on September 27th. It it just all hell broke loose. So, because of that, there is a lot of the Armenians all over the world have stood up and are protesting for the war to end. Um, and the aggressors are Azerbaijan backed by Turkey.
SPEAKER_02So uh so again, it almost feels like Armenian genocide.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Exactly. Act two. Exactly, and because of that, everybody is just going through this huge heartbreak, and everybody in the Armenian diaspora is doing everything they can to help the homeland and the people fighting up front. And uh Turkey and Azerbaijan have five times the capacity in their warfare and in fighters. They're actually recruiting uh terrorists to come fight in this war. So there's like over 2,000 terrorists that were flown into Azerbaijan uh in the last month to fight against Armenians. So there is just a very, it's a very sensitive issue for Armenians, and because of that, there is this huge movement, pro-Armenian movement for all of the people in the diaspora and in Armenia. So because of that, and I've started developing my business more, and I'm donating every all the proceeds from the business to go to Armenia Fund, which is a fund that helps the victims of Artah, because more than like 70,000 people have fled the war area. So they need a lot.
SPEAKER_02So people who for people to understand like how many people and how many dollars or how much how much statistics between Armenia and Artak, you know, versus Turkey and Azerbaijan.
SPEAKER_00So so that way people can get an idea of so Artah, which is a independent nation that is governed by Armenia, you was gifted to Azerbaijan by Stalin back in I think 1923. And you know, they didn't get along, things were not working out, there was a lot of uh cultural clashes. So in 1988, Atach had an anonymous vote to become an independent country, and 90% of the people, more than I think 98% of the people, uh voted to become an independent country, but Azerbaijan does not recognize that. So they're saying it's our lands and they want it back, but these are lands that Armenians have been living in for centuries. I mean, there's you know, churches from the 8th and 15th century, you know, in that land. There's like over, yeah, it's it's native to Armenians. So in Arzak, 150,000 people. That's that's the population of Arzag, 150,000 people. Armenia is 3 million people, two and a half. I'm sorry, two and a half. That's the ladies' count, two and a half million. The population of Aderbidjan, I think, is like 23 million people. The population of Turkey is like 80 something million people. So there's a comparison for you. Three million people compared to over a hundred million people. Okay, that's one. And then the military budget, Armenia's military budget is 500, about 500 million dollars compared to, I don't remember the specific number, so I don't want to quote it, but I know it's like it's in like just Turkey's military budget is over 80 billion dollars. And I think Aderbijan's is like 25 billion dollars. And the reason for that is because they have oil, so they have oil money and they're well equipped, and they have very contemporary drones that they're that they're launching, that they're flying, basically non-man flying machines that they're using to bomb. They're using cluster bombs and other, you know, other uh military equipment that is actually not allowed. It's again, it's a war crime for you to use those those military bombs. And they are targeting civilian areas, which is again a war crime. Like they just two weeks ago, they bombed a maternity hospital in Artah so while babies are being born. So it's it's really it's really horrible. And there's been attempts by like big countries. I'm talking about the president of the United States, the president of Russia. There's been attempts for ceasefire, but they don't stop. Azerbaijan keeps breaking the ceasefire. It's just a very, very tough situation. But our soldiers are very brave, they're fighting for their homeland, they're fighting for their families, they're fighting for their peace. They're not the aggressors. So the drive behind their fight is very different from the drive of the other side. So that's it. I think that's I talked too much about that's happening right now. It's happening today, it's happening like every day. It's yeah.
SPEAKER_02Since July. Yeah. So on Anaheat Co., as as you shared, that's your website where the proceeds will support. Will support the the forces, our talk forces.
SPEAKER_00What what do you offer or what's on the site that you've been working so hard to so it's a lot of uh design design works that are printed on different materials. So we have t-shirts, we have hoodies, we have mugs, we have household items like pillowcases and towels, we have stickers, we have hats, we have just a variety of different merchandise that uh promotes the Armenian culture, that promotes the heritage. Uh there is like the core, the core message of my company is to promote the Armenian culture in a positive way. So that's I'm very, very conscious about that. And I try very hard not to get political about things and not to focus on negative propaganda or just propaganda overall. So just at the core of it, the message has to be positive. And it's really hard these days because you just want to point the finger and say focus on on the on the on the evil or focus on the bad, but you kind of have to bring a positive light to everything that you're doing. For me, that's very, very important.
SPEAKER_02And and that's that's awesome. So um I just have a couple of conc concluding questions. Now, what did you learn about yourself in the process of immigrating?
SPEAKER_00That's a good question. I learned that above everything, I'm a human being first. So there are certain categories or the way you prioritize yourself as a person, you know? So to some people, they're, for example, they're first Christian and then there's something else, the roles that they have in their lives. For some people, it's that they're a mother first, then they are everything else that they are. For me, I kind of had to rise above all of the different roles that I have or I am, to just simply I'm human before I'm anything else. So no labeling, you know, of who I am before I'm human. I'm a human being before I'm anything else. So kind of focusing on that, I had to really develop my spirituality, my identity as a human being, who I am by nature, and what makes me happy and what is my purpose in this life. What is my light, basically? So I think that was the biggest transition for me. Because kind of growing up, the emphasis of who you are as an individual is jaded in a way. I felt that I was, uh, for example, I was Armenian before I was anything else. I was a good civilian before I was anything else. I was a good daughter before I was anything else. So I kind of had to elevate myself from those things and look at the core of who I am, which is I'm just a human being before I'm anything else.
SPEAKER_02That's huge. That's huge.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Another question: what takeaways do you hope or you do you intend listeners to take away from your story and your experience today, your experiences today?
SPEAKER_00I think the biggest thing is that there comes a point in your life where you realize that your mind and your mindset is an ever expanding venture. So don't limit yourself in your thoughts. Don't limit yourself in your creativity. Don't ever limit yourself in understanding and exploring who you are. Because the more you limit yourself, the more difficult it is going to be for you to do it at any other stage in your life. It's going to happen. No matter what, no matter who you are, it's going to happen, even if like it's the last hour of your life, you're going to come to a realization of who you are at your core. But the sooner you do it, the better. And the way you could do it sooner than later is by an open mind to it and not limiting yourself, not limiting yourself based on the conditioning that you've had or based on what other people have told you who you need to be or who you are, or who you must be? Yeah, that's pretty much it.
SPEAKER_02That's huge. Now, what skills have you gained in the process of of again moving here to the US that help you today? That will help you today as we move into the future. Because of course, the future is unknown, right? But are there specific skills that you gained that will help you that you feel will help you adjust to changes? Should they arise in the future?
SPEAKER_00Definitely. Definitely. I've definitely become much more independent, much more proactive. So I don't let other people take care of things that I know that I can. And I don't just sit around wondering about things or how to do things. I've become self-taught in a lot of you know aspects in my life. Just the other day, I was like watching YouTube videos on how to do something on my website, you know. So just self-sufficient, I guess, would be the best word to describe it. I've definitely become more self-sufficient and less dependent on other people to do things and expect other people to do things for me. So I think that's very, very, if you want to be successful in life, you definitely have to be a go-getter. But that doesn't mean that you just have to like go after things. That means you could be sitting down in front of your computer developing specific skills for yourself by teaching yourself and not expecting for somebody else to do it for you and for you to learn it from somebody else. You could do it yourself. It just takes a lot of work. It's meticulous, takes a lot of patience, especially now, because there's so many different ways to get something done. And there's so many different channels that you could go to for you to learn to get things done, you know. Like YouTube, there's like so many people telling you how to change your filter in your your water filter on your fridge, you know. It's like you could watch 10 different videos, you know, to do it, or you could just sit there and read the instructions yourself and do it, or you know, or you know, find somebody that's really good at explaining things on on YouTube that you know you just watch a video. So there's a lot of resources for you to really improve yourself and to be self-sufficient.
SPEAKER_02That's huge, that's huge. And then the final question is what's next for you? What's on the horizon?
SPEAKER_00Oh my gosh, I can't wait to go traveling. I'm dying. That has definitely been something I'm kind of choked up about. I just love exploring new things and going to new places and just growing based on new experiences. And that's definitely been something that has I'm kind of tied down with that because of the because of the COVID and travel restrictions and things like that. So definitely travel. Travel more. And I really miss museums. There's just there's just something so magical about to some people it might be really boring, but for you know, for me to just go to a spend a whole day at a museum and just kind of expi expand my mind in how other people express themselves and what that means to them, what that means to me visually. Just there's a whole that experience, I really miss that experience. So definitely a lot more exploring. And I definitely want to grow my business more, and I want to find, I want to do more collaborative projects with my business. And I have some ideas, you know, with that that I'm hopefully I'll execute once COVID is over because it takes actually sitting down and talking to people face to face and kind of discussing things. You could always do it on Zoom, yes, of course.
SPEAKER_02But yeah, so those are that's fair. Well, thanks so much, Eva, for joining us today on this podcast. I know it was pretty far-reaching. We're so lucky to have you on the series and look forwarding to seeing what the future holds for you and what's next for Anaheat Co. So until our next podcast, kind listeners, thank you for listening. And remember that you are the change that you seek in the world.
SPEAKER_00Have a great day. Sorry, I just I just want I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt, but I just wanted to thank you. You're such a big light in the world, and you have been so influential in me finding my way in my purpose in life, and uh you're amazing, and what you're doing is great and so commendable. And I just recommend everybody to please follow Carissa and just follow her light because it's gonna bring nothing but positivity, reality, and um a really true, true light into your life.
SPEAKER_02So oh, thank you. Thank you. All right, listeners, go out there and make the changes. Our world needs you. Goodbye. Take care.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for listening to this episode of Changes with CA Sador. Please feel free to rate, subscribe, or leave a review on your favorite podcast listening platform. We hope to connect with you soon.