Meet Celeste Gomez | Author, Poet, and Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Celeste Gomez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Celeste, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I think risks are a good way to help someone grow and reflect. Risks can be scary, but the world isn’t meant to be easy, so taking risks has shaped my confidence, outlook on life, and goals on what I want to achieve. Risks can stir people away, and that was one of the fears I held when working on my poetry collection. When you’re writing poetry or any form of art everyone might not understand or agree with what you write. Vulnerability is a powerful and beautiful thing when it comes to your work, and for those who don’t understand it’s not your job to make them agree. It’s your job to be yourself.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m proud of myself for sticking to my goal of creating a book. I’m excited to create more versions of my book and get it into bookstores as well as other vendors and ultimately perform/tour the world. When I graduated from college it was 2020, and like many of us, I was unsure of where I was gonna go or do with my degree. It wasn’t easy writing, promoting, and networking with people, and I started out posting poetry on Instagram and hosting lives during COVID-19. More poets found me and encouraged me to make my poems into a full collection. During the process, I learned about patience and kindness to myself. I have a bad habit of getting bored of things quickly, and I was afraid I was going to feel like this during the process because I don’t like feeling stagnant. It allows me to deep dive into insecure thoughts I hide away, but going through this process I was constantly reminding myself to trust what I was doing and I knew this book was going to be something special. I want the world to know it’s normal to feel burned out, it makes you human. My book, Besos is about transforming into the best version of yourself and to keep following that journey – that’s something I build with my brand and want others to feel when reading my book. I want people to resonate with my poetry and see the importance of Latinx culture and community.

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.
This is a great question! I would love to take them to dinner at Roof at Edition, it’s a beautiful view of the city. Especially at night, you see the lights of the entire city. I’d also love to bring them to this place called Mr. Charlies, it’s a Vegan McDonald’s and brings back a lot of the nostalgia we had as a kid. I’d also say we have to hit some museums like The Getty, Griffith Observatory (great hike to it), and LACMA. Of course, we’d have to hit Disneyland and anything with rock climbing. I love to do a lot of active things. But I think anywhere in the city can be fun and memorable with the people you’re hanging with.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shout out my close circle of loved ones and friends, the University of California, Riverside, and readers who continue to support me through my journey of poetry and the growth of my business.

Website: https://celestealyssagomez.wixsite.com/lapoetapublications

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/celestealyssagomez/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celeste-alyssa-gomez-891872142/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Celeste-Gomez

Other: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Celeste-Alyssa-Gomez/author/B0BCZQTL4T?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Image Credits
Photographers Rielle Oase and Richard Gonzales