Today we’d like to introduce you to Santiago Mejia
Hi Santiago, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born in Miami Florida, where my parents met, my mom being from Spain and my dad being from Colombia. Family and culture has always been a big part of my life. I have four siblings, three brothers and one sister. We were always a close family, going to church every Sunday together and having family dinners as close families do. But one day on our way back from church the unexpected happened. On June 20, 2009 A family that was whole lost a big piece of itself. Javier, my eldest brother, fifteen at the time and My grandmother, who we called abuelita, lost their lives to a tragic accident in which our whole family was involved in. All eight of us were on the highway singing along to the music on the radio. My sister and father in the front, mother, Javier, and grandmother in the middle and my two other brothers and I in the back. when all of the sudden a car cut us off, and our vehicle flipped over three times across the road. Everybody was rushed to the hospital sustaining different injuries, from me not even having a scratch to an almost broken neck my mother endured. I was only eight years old at the time, how could a kid begin to grasp the reality he had ahead of him?
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing in my life since that day has been easy, but I have learned the value of hard work and perseverance. I had to grow up at a very early age, fearful for the future, knowing that life could change in a blink of an eye. School and relationships were hard to navigate through with the post-traumatic stress I had gained from all the things that came from that tragedy. It was hard to relate to people my age, who often worried about things that meant so little in life, and did not know the pain I was experiencing. For a long time, it felt like this would be my only story. I would be surrounded by death and despair.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Do what you love and you never work a day in your life, that phase holds true to my job. I have been going to the same veterinarian, suburban veterinary clinic, for most of my life, Taking my dogs in for checkups and surgeries. At an early age I knew I wanted to work as a veterinarian or around animals so I asked the doctor if I could help around the clinic and she said once I got older, I could ask again. When I turned 16, I asked again and she let me clean the kennels on the weekends. I was so grateful for the opportunity, and worked so hard that a couple months later she offered me a job working under her wing as a learning veterinary technician. I love the practice because it is a very challenging field, your patients cannot speak to you, so you have to be able to figure out what is wrong with them, kind of like a puzzle or scavenger hunt. I have learned from the most amazing doctor and animals. When I was around 18, I started making tik toks at the vet with some of the clinic’s pets in my free time. It was when tik tok had just started becoming a thing. I gained nearly 40k followers. One of my videos with the doctors chihuahua got over half a million views and 100k likes. I got the best comments that would always put a smile on my face and people were always so nice! It was an exciting time in my life, as I got a taste of what it was like to have some type of fame and it was a lot of fun including the animals in my videos.
How do you think about happiness?
Art, animals, and the people I have in my life make me happy. From an early age and more so after the accident I expressed my sadness, anger and grief in art. It was the only thing I felt I had control of. I have explored my feelings in many different mediums of art. My favorites include; photography, painting, and writing. I found purpose through my art. Being able to show someone a glimpse of the world through my eyes gives me happiness. Although I love art, I would not be where I am today without my family and friends, the people who push me to be a better version of myself and show me I am not alone in this crazy, beautiful and confusing world. They are the ones that make the world worth sharing.
Contact Info:
- Email: Santiago.mejia1221@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/santimejia25/?hl=en
Image Credits
Santiago Mejia
Models: Tori McClinton and Kya Williams. and the writing was written by Santiago Mejia
