Badass Women (015): Chelsea Carney

I think inspiration runs in a circular motion so here’s to hoping I can inspire all the incredible gals as much as they all inspire me. Badass Women is a series about capturing that positive energy and spreading it. Wanna help? Read about these cool girls and share their features with the women that inspire you!!

​The following interview is about Chelsea Carney, a writer, activist, and woman in technology from Arizona.
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Where are you from?

I’m originally from Phoenix, Arizona, moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, and I now live in Brooklyn, New York. ​

Where do you go to school and what are you studying?

I currently attend The New School in Manhattan and I’m studying Liberal Arts, focusing on two things: writing--my first passion (at The New School, I am in the Riggio Honors writing program)--and diversity and inclusion practices, which I hope to bring into my current career working in technology.

What do you hope to achieve with your degree?

I’ve worked in technology for years and it can be a very male dominated institution overall. It is rare to see female leaders, and even more rare to see female leaders of color. I want to help change that from the inside by becoming a leader in Diversity and Inclusion practices within technology companies, with the goal to tie a more diverse workforce to increased revenue. Additionally, I have always been a writer and a dream of mine is to publish a novel. I’ve actually just sent a manuscript out to literary agents, so now I’m in those exciting and debilitating query trenches!

​What, or who, inspires you?

People who are authentically themselves and use that as a superpower to change society’s “normalized” dialogue. I am a feminist first and foremost, so women like Gloria Steinem, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Kamala Harris, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are incredible powerhouses. They are brilliant and unapologetically outspoken in their defense of women and people of color. But I don’t think it stops there. Tess Holiday and Jameela Jamil are also hugely influential because of their belief that all bodies are worthy of respect. Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, and Mindy Kaling are weird and wonderful, using their comedy to create a more inclusive society. JK Rowling, who is fiercely loyal to so many underrepresented people, has such a strong voice - if you don’t follow her on Twitter, do it now! Other people that inspire me are Marlene Dietrich for flipping gender roles in fashion, Mae West for owning her sexuality at a time when sexuality was meant to be silenced, Ru Paul for being spectacularly beautiful inside and out and for giving the gift of acceptance to so many people, and all allies (like my husband) that are so supportive but also not afraid to change if necessary. My mother is also pretty spectacular because at almost 70, she is a gay woman that spent her life fighting to marry the woman she loves, currently works to provide refugees safe transportation to homes, stands up against gun violence with Moms Demand Action, and has fought through her own hard battles coming out victorious on the other side. ​

​What is your relationship with beauty?

I love beauty. I wear makeup and I’m obsessed with fashion, but it’s a difficult line. I grew up in the 80s and 90s which was the era of eroticizing extremely thin body types. My grandmother and mother did not have good relationships with their bodies, so I grew up believing physical self criticism was a part of life. However I have always found so many different things beautiful, and as I grew up, that became a much larger focus for me. Our varying body sizes and skin color and freckles and scars and disabilities make us spectacularly ourselves, and since I believed that to my core when it came to other people, I had to begin changing the negative dialogue I had with myself. I deleted anyone I followed on Instagram that made me feel bad about my face or my body and instead began following anyone who believed in body positivity. I don’t wear makeup everyday anymore, and when I look in the mirror and catch myself thinking negative thoughts, I try to re-route the conversation to something more positive. It’s a difficult and long road, but I am starting to see changes in how I view myself which is in and of itself, empowering as hell. ​
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​What quote do you relate to the most, how does it influence your life?

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” -Samuel Beckett 

I love this quote, especially the words “Fail Better” because it is such a part of my nature. The only reason we exist (in my opinion) is to grow and evolve, using the lessons we learn to help the next generation grow and evolve themselves. I am a very goal oriented person, and if I don’t hit a goal I’m working toward, it can be devastating. However when I recite the words fail better, it reminds me to keep going because failure is part of our evolution as people. It’s what gives us strength.

If you could give advice to your younger self, what would you say?

Boys aren’t that important. Neither is having a thin body or being validated for your looks. Say the word “no” more. Focus on your own dreams and passions. Travel often. Live abroad. Move to New York sooner. Write every day and publish those things as often as possible. Love yourself and be easier on yourself, but don’t give yourself a pass either. Apologize. Don’t drink as much and do exercise more - not to be thinner, but to feel at peace. None of what you are worried about today will matter in the end because you’ll get it all, so just remember to love yourself above the boyfriends that don’t deserve you and the bosses who treat you like a decoration and instead, just have the best, most beautiful time. You and your journey are what matter the most. Oh, and call your parents more often because they love you so freaking much!

​What’s one lesson you’d love to pass down to the youngest generation?

There is this brilliance within the generation below mine that I’m in awe of, but there is also a weird feeling of entitlement. Don’t get me wrong, I hope they get everything they want. But if they don’t, that’s okay too. Just remember that deserving something comes with hard work and growth and time. So ask for forgiveness more often than permission. Educate yourself. Travel as often as possible. Put down your laptops and cell phones and go walk outside in the woods. Just keep changing and eventually, you’ll get everything you need to be happy. It just might not happen overnight or even next year. But it will happen. Believe that it will.

What books have empowered or motivated you the most?

Hrm, this is a tough one. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg is a good one for women in tech to start with, though I will say I don’t agree with all of it. Belonging by Nora Krug is a beautiful adult graphic novel about finding your place in the world, even when it’s difficult. Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellion by Gloria Steinem. Orange is the New Black (the book) was pretty great and really talks about the dysfunction of our prison systems. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay. Any of Mindy Kaling’s books. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway is what I read when I want to be inspired to write or travel. I’m a big F. Scott Fitzgerald and Oscar Wilde fan because of the way they incorporate metaphor. Pablo Neruda’s poetry speaks to my heart - if you haven’t read the poem Your Feet, do yourself a favor and do it now. And of course, JK Rowling lights a fire under me when I feel like my writing isn’t strong enough, because hers is so interesting and powerful.
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​What inspired you to pursue writing and activism?

I have an activist soul, and since I love writing, this seemed to be a perfect combination. I also think that writing and reading can be so empowering for people - it helps them find their place in the world - and if I can help someone else through writing, that feels like a huge win. ​

What message do you hope to convey through your activist writing?

I’m not sure if there is a unifying message in my writing, except that I hope my stories bring peace to someone else. I hope someone is able to read my words and realize they are not alone. Because when we’re not alone, we’re together. And together can be pretty fucking strong. ​

How does your passion for activism translate into your YA projects?

I honestly didn’t think it did for a long time, but now I’m beginning to realize that’s not the case. As much as I loved reading as a teenager, the characters always felt the same to me. Thin, pale, stunningly beautiful, but never knew it, with perfect men that came along and saved them. I wish I had read more books with women that were flawed so I didn’t feel so alone in the world. So I grew up thinking my flaws weren’t flaws, but the thing that made me unique. Young girls are inundated with images of the unattainable, and so instead, I hope they see themselves in my words. I’ve always written strong women, but now I’ve found that I want to write them as strong women who are okay being alone. Or as strong women who save their own lives. Or as strong women who are messy and complicated. I hope my characters can be a voice for young feminists or for women who don’t like their bodies or for young girls that are afraid of making mistakes. I want to write characters that are powerful in their own complex, authentic ways so that someone out there (hopefully) reads my words and feels validated for being exactly who they are.

What genres excite you the most?

I love YA and fantasy. I’m a teenager at my core that still hopes witches and vampires are real (Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my jam; also Harry Potter of course). I love thrillers and mysteries - Liane Moriarty and Paula Hawkins will have me for life. I’ll always be a sucker for an angsty, emotional love story (Emily Giffin and JoJo Moyes represent!), but I really adore weird and quirky characters like 500 Days of Summer or Freaks and Geeks. Give me an awkward love story any day. ...Now I kind of want to write a YA vampire novel that’s 500 Days of Summer meets Twilight. :)

How do your ideas come to you? How do you gather inspiration?

They come very randomly. And my writing is all over the place, so I switch between fantasy YA and contemporary or historical adult pretty regularly. My current novel, TO THE MOON (title pending), is about a grief-stricken young girl that ends up on a planet where everyone dead on earth is alive, so she is suddenly able to gain closure from the death of her first  love. This one came to me during a difficult relationship in my twenties where I was thinking about breaking up with a boyfriend and trying to figure out all of the ways I could “go back” if the breakup wasn’t really what I wanted (Reader: I broke up with him and it was exactly what I wanted). I’m also almost done with a manuscript about three messy, complicated, stubborn women who live in different time periods, only to overlap at the end. These women are based on  my grandmother, mother, and myself. In terms of ideas, it really just depends, but sometimes I’ll get a flash of an idea and write it down (like that 500 Days of Summer meets Twilight) or I’ll re-watch a movie from my childhood that I loved and think of some sort of weird re-telling. My cell phone and laptop are full of notes about “books I want to write” - some totally reasonable and kickass, and others that are completely illegible, much less writeable. ​
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​What lesser known organization do you wish everyone knew about?

There are these amazing websites that allow you to create a registry for giving. If you’re someone who has a lot and is creating a wedding or birthday registry, there are so many sites that allow you to tailor that registry toward helping someone else. It doesn’t even have to be the whole registry, but a small part of it. For example, for my wedding, we did a gift registry to children with heart problems and we provided money, clothing, and food to families where expense was an issue. I had a heart attack at 29 due to a rare condition, so this was really important for me. Also I love the hashtag #effyourbeatystandards. It can be incredibly empowering in a sea of Instagram hashtags meant to make you feel bad about yourself. 

​Is there a small way someone reading this can make a positive impact on the world today? What would you suggest?

Yes, absolutely! Share quotes or pieces of this that are interesting to you. If something resonates, tweet it, write it, read it to a friend. Use the good stuff and run with it because you never know who needs to hear something. And if something doesn’t resonate, that’s okay too. Argue about it. Just be informed and make up your own mind, with the ability to share your thoughts with other people and a willingness to listen to them too. Also, throw away your garbage and recycle. And if you’re one of those insane people that leave the cupboards open, for everyone’s sanity in your life, please close them.  ​

What issues ((locally or globally)) do you feel are under-discussed and/or lacking a platform?

Representation in books and movies is so important! Write those characters that you wanted to see as a kid. My novel’s love interest is Jewish because my high school boyfriend is Jewish and my husband is Jewish and I’ve rarely read a YA with a jewish protagonist. Also I have to plug Diversity and Inclusion in business practices. If you’re running a company without these practices in place, you’re probably missing out on some badass employees and you’re definitely not representing your clients the way they deserve to be represented. Having a diverse workforce is the open door to those million dollar ideas you’ve never even thought to have. ​

Anything else you’d like to share:

Thank you to anyone that reads this, and thank you Annie for letting me be a part of your Badass Women series. In the spirit of authenticity, I’m struggling right now when it comes to writing. I’m sending my novel out to literary agents and it’s a very personal and difficult process, especially when rejection is a huge part of it. This reminded me to stop, breathe, and fall back in love with the journey. I am a badass woman and sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of that.  ​
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Where you can find Chelsea:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cmcarney_asada
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carney_asada31/?hl=en

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