Life & Work with Sarah Wang

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Wang.

Hi Sarah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My journey has always been and will always be about finding a way back to myself. It’s one full of deep questioning, healing, and creativity.

I was born and raised in Nashville, TN, and growing up Chinese American in the American South was both a confusing and wondrous experience. I found that I always had my feet planted in both cultures at all times while navigating the complex and nuanced experiences of life that come with being a child of immigrants.

Sometimes, I found myself struggling with the loss and isolation of not being able to relate to mainstream white American cultural references or traditions (I still do). Other times, however, I found it empowering to share my global perspective from my blended identity. Perhaps the most challenging of all, I’ve had to navigate being my authentic and whole self with my queer identity while coming from both Chinese immigrant and southern Christian worlds. But as cliché as it sounds, the more I embraced what made me unique—and sometimes painfully different—from everyone else, the more I cultivated and grew the person I wanted to become and who I am today.

Maybe it was because I’m an only child which pushed me to create my own world, but I’ve always been drawn to creative activities. Craft time, knitting, drawing, sewing my own clothes — you name it. But it wasn’t until I did a work-study program under the mentorship of Heather Hogg, the Director of the theater costume shop at the University of Richmond, that my affinity for fashion and design blossomed. I didn’t have the confidence to explore fashion growing up, but as I’ve focused on healing and growing my belief in myself, I’ve really found enjoyed being more creative in my style and lifestyle.

So as my interest in fashion and self-esteem grew, I realized that I wanted to be seen. Last year while I was unemployed during the beginning of the pandemic, I taught myself how to video edit and started a YouTube channel and personal brand Instagram. I decided that I loved showing people what I could create with my cooking, my style, and my creative vision through social media. And I’m grateful to be able to say that I am also the social media manager at ABLE, a fashion company headquartered here in Nashville.

Even though my journey is a continual progression forward, I also find that it circles back to exploring myself within to move forward. I’m always hopeful for the future and the questions and adventures it’ll hold, and I can’t wait to create more content to share with the world. Stay tuned.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ironically enough, as much as I am my greatest motivator, I can also be my largest obstacle. My doubt can at times, hold me back from my greatness.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Currently, I’m a social media manager with ABLE, a Nashville-based fashion company. It’s a great opportunity for me to use what I learn and practice at my job towards my own personal branding and creative projects.

I think I have a unique perspective and it shows through my work because I love videography and my favorite forms of media are videos and reels. When I create a video or reel, I think both very logically and creatively. For instance, I take into consideration what’s trending and what is the purpose of my creation, what value does it give others — is it entertaining, informative, or inspiring? Once I’ve decided, then I plan out how the story I want to tell and how I want the viewer to experience the journey with me. Then I film and edit to make sure the story makes sense and release it to share with everyone else. It’s very satisfying when people get to go on the journey with me and are affected positively by my content.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I matter, so do my beloved chosen family, my dog, continual learning, dismantling biases, finding empathy for others, good food, peace, sleep, and great clothes. So many things matter, but those are top of my world right now!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_issarahh/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sarahissarahissarah
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=tgagvmySVW6IyCC4GS8mvg&utm_source=ishare

Image Credits
Kintsugi Creative Co. (for the ones where it’s showing me full-body walking as well as me sitting in the leaves) Kevin and King (for the one of me with the blue background that reads @milckmusic in the background)