Today we’d like to introduce you to Veronica Sarria.
Hi Veronica, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I grew up in a small town in New Jersey where I found my love for music through a theatre background courtesy of my older brother. I remember watching the first season of American Idol and setting up an entire show for my family in the living room stating that it was a dream.
I had to have been no older than 6 years old when I signed myself up for the school talent show and came rushing home to tell my mom that I needed an outfit and a karaoke track. I quickly became the entertainment for all my own birthdays, made sure I was singing anywhere I could, letting people know this is what I was going to do.
Fast forward to growing up, I went to college at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York to pursue singing, acting, and dancing. I have always had a passion for all 3 and took on theatre to have them all in my life. Pop music has always been my first love though.
After some time in NYC, I took on Nashville and haven’t looked back since. I have since released 3 singles since living here. Numb, God Complex, and Habit. I’ve had the incredible honor of working with some great producers such as Sean Rogers & Cole Phillips. Both of them have taught me and molded such an incredible work ethic into me.
I’ve taken on TikTok as one of my main sources of income which I’m incredibly thankful for. This town is filled with opportunity and I’m so excited to continue and learn from it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not always been smooth. In fact, it’s been far from it. Though many could say, I was so fortunate to study in “the city that never sleeps”, I had to fight my way to stay there. I actually attended AMDA 2 separate times.
The first time, I had a family falling out where I had to pay my own way through school and had to swallow my pride, come back home, and work 4 jobs at the age of 18. I babysat, catered, waited tables, and did some social media work on the side. After almost 2 years, I was able to go back, only to find out.
Three months after that my mom was diagnosed with cancer. Finding that out, led me to drop out and go home to take care of her. That was something I chose to do and take on and I don’t regret it one bit. She since went through remission but is now diagnosed again in somewhat of a worse state.
I hope to spend as much time with her as I can.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
There’s a lot that comes with being an entertainer but the biggest one is being consistent and finding new ways to keep your audience interested.
As I said before, TikTok has become a big platform/priority for me. I went through a pretty rough 7-year relationship breakup almost 2 years ago and came across a TikTok by a content creator Morgan Cohen, where she documented her day during a breakup. It broke me and only a couple of days later did I find myself in the same position.
So I documented everything from day 1. From the crying, the coping, the laughs, and more. I’m basically “sad girl TikTok”. That’s the side you’ll find me on. I’m so proud that I turned “pain into profit”. I got something out of that pain and turned it into something beautiful.
I have been flooded with messages of how I helped others feel less alone, that I made them feel “less crazy” for being sad and dealing with things that quite literally everyone does but is too scared to show/talk about it.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I think when people think of a mentor, they think it’s one person in particular, but if you think back on all the lessons you’ve learned from influential people in your life, you’ve had several mentors.
If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. You need to grow, learn, and feel pain/struggle in order to grow out of that comfort zone that everyone is so honed in on. Networking is such an important thing.
Especially in Nashville, there is an endless realm of opportunities. Everyone knows everyone or knows somebody who can help you in some way. You need to be able to talk to others and keep an open mind.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veronicasarriaa/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3pw0R7JyUhcwWjdplS12fG?si=B5yffAB_S8SyG6zpIEdF3w
Image Credits
Kenzie Maroney and Beth Rogers
