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

Hi Vera, other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
I would say that is being selective in choosing whom I surround myself with.

I believe our attention/energy is very sacred so how we direct them is how we form our reality. Therefore, by being around with my small group of friends who genuinely love each other and share similar visions in life truly helps me feel inspired, grounded and supported throughout the process to reach my dreams.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What I am most proud of myself as a professional model is that I did not give up when others were telling me it was too late for me to chase after my own vision. I got scouted when I was about to graduate from USC with my M.A. in Electrical Engineering. Growing up, I was never that beautiful or popular kid in class, so being a model was never even a thought in my head. Plus, I am an introvert so the idea of performing in front of others was very intimidating to me. But three days after I was scouted, I booked my first job and that was how I started my career.

I thought everything was going to be smooth sailing from there; however, I was way too naive about the real world and all the challenges ahead of me. I definitely did not think that my age and my degree would become my obstacles while pursuing my goals as a model. It took me a while to realize I lost myself and my confidence along this process. The outside influence got so much louder than my own inner voice. That was when yoga came into my life and really brought me a new way to connect with myself so that I could rebuild my confidence from within. From there, I had more tools and motivation to keep going after my own vision again even if there were still negative noise.

When the wold is constantly telling you that you are not enough, it is really hard to get out of that negative loop. With yoga and mediation, they both have given me the time and space to silence the outside world so I can go deeper within and hear what I actually need at the moment. In order for us to have more motivation to go after our dreams, we first need to take care of our inner world. That is where everything is created.

Now I am also a yoga teacher and wellness content creator. I hope to use my wellness content to encourage more people to go after their dreams because it is never too late to live their best life. In addition, I hope that sharing my story can make people in the minority communities feel seen and heard so they have more fuel to push forward towards their dreams!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh, this is a fun one!

We definitely need to grab my fave iced vanilla latte from Community Goods then I will take her through the nice scenery route to get to Will Roger’s State Park for a relaxing hike. It is such a chill hike with beautiful ocean view of LA at the top of the trail. Being in nature makes everyone happy and grounded.

From there, we can go to Layla Bagel and Coffee for some tasty sweet or savory bagels as our lunch. They have nice outside seating for everyone to bathe in the sun while enjoying their bagels.

After she has some time to clean up and maybe take a nap, I have to take her to my all time favorite Italian restaurant Osteria La Buca in Larchmont. I have been going to this restaurant to celebrate a lot of my special events in the last 8 years. They maek their pasta in house and everything is just so fresh and tasty. Their staffs always make you feel so welcomed and well taken cared of throughout your whole dinner. Oh, they also have one of my favorite tiramisu!!

We probably should go for a hot yoga class the next day in the morning to make some room for more delicious food adventures together!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I will dedicate my shoutout to my tight-knit group of friends. They are my chosen family!

Every single one of them has inspired, supported and contributed to my success and where I am in life. I can’t thank them enough for always being there for me when I need some laughters or a shoulder to lean on.

Website: Movewithvera.com

Instagram: @jus_vera

Image Credits
Are you asking for the photographer’s names? 🙂

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