Meet Amanda Michelle Brown | Author & Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Michelle Brown and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda Michelle, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I’m 90% like my mother, but the 10% that is like my dad is very very strong. Namely, the tendency to be a workaholic. This served me well in school, with small seasons of burnout, but once I graduated college and became a full-time graphic designer I found that I could no longer sustain the go-go-go lifestyle I had once found exhilarating. Evenings usually filled up with my other side hustles (a podcast, magazine, blog, and even small store gobbled up my time at one point) evolved into more focused time working on my debut novel (“The Memory Jumper”) or other chunks of projects.

I think it’s very important to listen to what you can handle in each season of life. There may be times you feel super creative and energetic: those are the times to launch new projects and grow roots that can sustain your pursuits into the winters that are sure to be ahead of you. And in those winters, it’s okay to take some evenings for the all-too-familiar self care that the internet has popularized . . . or even set some projects aside.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My life is a mosaic of all the crazy hobbies and pursuits I’ve dabbled in since I was a child. In my 23 years of life, I’ve run a magazine, started a blog, hosted a podcast, written and designed a couple nonfiction books, published my first fiction novel, started a YouTube channel, worked with large companies like LipSmackers and Little MissMatched, run a small online shop, and who knows what else. A motto that I adopted as a tween was “If you never try, you’ll never know.” Each pursuit taught me a different lesson and skillset, and I brought each one into the workforce when I began applying for graphic design jobs as a college graduate in 2020. None of it has been easy—people talk about “starting” projects all the time, right? YouTube channels, blogs, podcasts…but to actually run these things takes self-control, creativity, and passion. One of the barriers to actually starting is personality. I’ve found that there are two types of people in life: the planners and the jumpers. I’ve made it my life goal to use my “jumper” personality—where I have an idea and just GO for it with minimal planning, using my drive as a compass—to encourage planners to get started. You’ll never be 100% ready to publish a book, work with that dream company, or put a website together. Life is too short to wait!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Whenever I visit a new city (and ESPECIALLY if I live there), two things are IMPERATIVE before I can call it home: I must find the best local coffee shop and secure a library card. As far as coffee goes, I love Tortoni Cafe; they have the BEST drinks (most places are way too heavy-handed with the flavors—looking at you, Starbucks—but Tortoni hits every time) and empanadas. My favorite meal is one of their empanadas and an Aztec mocha (I know, very well-rounded meal…). I’m also a sucker for a good Acai bowl at Ubatuba Acai, and the 25% of me that’s South American is a sucker for their cheese bread.

For books, I visited The Lost Bookstore a couple months ago and fell in love with the jungle vibes. I love wandering around and writing down titles I can later rent for free from the library. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!

I’m also an avid thrifter; the majority of my closet at this point is made up of my thrifted treasures. I really do see it as a treasure hunt! One of my favorite thrift stores is Buffalo Exchange. They have such a great selection, and the prices are very fair.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The first person who always comes to mind when the word “inspiration” is kicked around is my mother, Rebecca. There’s something powerful about having an adult who believes in you from such a young age—who hears you dreaming big and sees your silly scrawls and says, “Yes, keep writing. It’s good! And one day you’ll publish a book!” Mom, you were right.

Website: https://amandamichellebrown.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/amanda.michelle.brown

Image Credits
Abby Marasigan, Miguel Perales