Alongside Valeria Mendez, her project partner and co-founder, Julia has been on her own journey towards self-acceptance and has brought many other members of the IE University community along with her.
With video interviews and graphics, Julia and Val have been starting conversations and embracing their differences, all while letting their creativity thrive. Julia has taken on board everything she’s learned so far during her Communications and Digital Media program and, in the true spirit of IE University, she’s striving to make a positive impact.
Julia tells us more about being unapologetic about her true self and how her project has had an effect on her wider community, as well as in her personal life.
What is Unapologetic, and what inspired you to come up with the idea?
Unapologetic tries to bring taboo topics into everyday conversations—empowering people, starting conversations and encouraging others to join us on this journey toward self-acceptance. Unapologetic began as an abstract concept after a long conversation in Tuma, a restaurant in Segovia, with my project partner, Val, at the end of our first year at IE University. We both felt that several important conversations were missing from our daily lives, and that they were often one-sided. We felt that people didn’t have the opportunity to safely share their experiences and opinions without judgement.
Our aim is to create a judgement-free space to share different thoughts, values, and ideas as well as open ourselves up to new ways of thinking and being, letting go of pre-existing biases in the process.
What is the project´s mission?
Our aim is to create a judgement-free space to share different thoughts, values, and ideas as well as open ourselves up to new ways of thinking and being, letting go of pre-existing biases in the process.
What does it mean to be Unapologetic?
The word literally means to “not acknowledge or express regret.” In the context of the project, however, we use the word to emphasize the importance of being unapologetic about being your true self.
As important as the word “unapologetic” is to us, we acknowledge the importance of recognizing when you’re wrong or offending someone. With that said, we highlight the importance of unapologetically being ourselves to encourage others to be true to who they are and where they come from.
Personally, growing up in a country other than my own, I sometimes felt I had to hide aspects of my personality that were linked to my home country and that I had to apologize for being different. Eventually, I realized that I should embrace who I am, where I come from, and how my culture is a part of me. I grew to love it, and I wish the same could be true for everyone.
How has the project impacted you?
This project has encouraged me to follow what I truly believe in and am passionate about. It also taught me that I’m capable of more than I thought. I now take more risks and voice my opinion more than I used to!
I enjoyed the project a lot. I learned so much during my time with Unapologetic that, for my thesis, I plan to present my research in the same way as Unapologetic: with video interviews and graphics.
What does the future hold for Unapologetic?
After recording the first set of interviews nearly two years ago, we were thrilled to see how the project was welcomed by the IE University community. We kept it going for as long as we had the time and resources.
As internships, moving to separate countries, and more university work came along, we’ve unfortunately had to set the project aside—but that isn’t to say similar work can’t be done in the future! I really hope I can participate in a related project in the future, most likely as part of my thesis.
To find out more about the project, check out Unapologetic on Instagram, or tune in to the ieThink x Unapologetic podcast on Spotify.