Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Boudreaux.
Hi Christina, 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 backstory with our readers?
Growing up, I always loved telling stories. I began journaling when I was five years old. I think I always knew that I wanted to continue writing when I grew up, but I had no idea what this would look like. I was in my early twenties, taking classes at community college and working retail, when a coworker told me about her experience at a nearby university. I had never really considered going to a four-year university in the past. My parents encouraged me to follow my dreams and were not against me going to college, but it also wasn’t something that my family ever really discussed. I decided to go for it and applied on a whim. This whim would open up an array of opportunities and change the entire trajectory of my life.
In 2013, I became the first female in my family to graduate from college. The year I graduated college was also the year I would begin event blogging. This was the beginning of my love affair with adventuring around my city. I went flyboarding (think a jet pack propelling you out of lake into the air), ziplining, and hot air ballooning. I met Willie Nelson at a movie premiere and enjoyed gorgeous views of my city during a private helicopter ride across downtown Austin. I ate and drank my way across my favorite city and wrote about all of my escapades along the way.
That summer, I was noticed by a name-brand company. They asked to follow me around on my adventures with a camera crew for a few days, and I happily obliged. A few months later, this same company asked if they could fly me first class to Detroit to film a second commercial. Again, I very happily obliged. All of this felt like a dream. For the first time, I was taking my own big slice of the world. And I was loving every single bite. Soon I would be watching my Detroit commercial on a ginormous screen at a Bruno Mar’s concert. I remember a girl behind me at the concert asked in awe: “Is that you?” I nodded my head, also awestruck. By the way, the company I was representing was Kotex. The thousands of people at that concert could see me loudly and proudly representing feminine products. It wouldn’t be a me-experience if it wasn’t at least a little awkward.
Life settled down for a bit after this. I started working as the social media director for a local Ford dealership, and my husband and I welcomed our daughter to the world. When my daughter was still an infant, I felt a familiar pull and knew that I wasn’t quite done with my education yet. After undergrad and years in the social media field, I was experienced in marketing but knew that there was something lacking. I went back to my Alma mater to receive my Master’s in Business. At the start of this program, I had never even taken a remedial statistics class and near the end, I was training CEO’s on how to better their businesses. By the end of this program, I had found the confidence and the knowledge to go after goals that had once seemed like something I’d only ever admire from afar. This meant creating a blog focused on food and travel and pursuing a marketing career in the food and beverage industry.
Today, I am a marketing manager in Austin. I spend my free time exploring my city and traveling every chance I get. I am also a new mentor for the Path to Employment program hosted by Dress for Success, a program which helps women work towards their goals and job aspirations. It’s been such a full-circle moment for me to now be in a place where I am able to help other women follow their dreams. I know that it took learning to go after my own dreams to be in this place.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth isn’t the first word that comes to mind. Grad school was especially challenging, as I was working full-time and raising a toddler at home. My husband has always been so supportive of me and my goals, but I’d be lying if I said those two years weren’t hard for us both. There were times that it all felt like a juggling act, and I was just waiting for all of the balls to drop. Still, I’ll never forget the moment that my husband held a bouquet of flowers in one hand and our toddler in the other. In my own hands, I held my graduate degree. It was a moment that made me thankful not just for my education, but for the family who had been there for me every step of the way.
Being a woman and a mom with a platform has also allowed plenty of room for criticism. I don’t wear enough clothes, I am too loud about my accomplishments, I travel too much for someone who has a child at home. My husband and I have always shared parenting responsibilities equally, but he would often be applauded for “babysitting” his own child, whereas I would be told that “it must be nice” to have him as a husband. Witnessing these outrageous double standards paired with the impossible expectations of women was actually a valuable life lesson. It taught me that, no matter what I did or didn’t do, that somebody would inevitably always find fault with my decisions. This knowledge felt a lot like freedom. I am going to piss people off no matter what I do, so I might as well do whatever I want.
Last but definitely not least (and this one probably goes without saying), the pandemic brought on its own unique set of challenges. My husband and I both lost our jobs in 2020. Surprisingly, this ended up being the least stressful of said challenges. Before Covid, I was always going. I never took a minute to stop, to think, to breathe. Part of me now understands that this was a means of self-preservation. Suddenly having all of the time in the world to reflect was like a sucker punch to the soul. But it was one that I so desperately needed. A few months back, I started going to (virtual) counseling. For the first time in my life, I’ve learned to create boundaries both personally and professionally. I’ve started standing my ground in uncomfortable situations and have given myself permission to distance myself from unhealthy ones. I’ve learned to revel in the quieter moments. I’ve recently accepted a position as the Brand Marketing Manager at Meridian Hive. It feels like a job that I’ve dreamed up, one that combines my passion for community with my love for adventures, local events and delicious craft beverages.
Recently, I’ll catch myself randomly smiling at this healthy and happy season of life that I’m in. It’s incredible to me the amount of opportunities that have come my way since learning to slow down, be present and truly listen to myself. All of this to say that I’ve created a sometimes messy but beautiful path for myself. It has not always smooth, but it has at least always been one hell of a ride.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love the feeling of community that being a marketing manager in Austin’s food and (alcoholic) beverage world provides. When I was eighteen, I worked as a waitress at a small, family-owned Italian cafe. I think that this was where I first realized that food has the potential to be sustenance for the soul just as much as it is for the body. At the time, I was taking a couple of classes at my local community college. I wrote an essay about the restaurant that I was working at, and when I showed the owner what I’d written, she had tears in her eyes by the time she finished reading. I’d love to say that I discovered my calling right then and there, but it took many years and life lessons to get to that point.
Eventually, I did learn how to garner my skills as a storyteller into my career. I’ve found that, more often than not, there is a beautiful story behind a delicious meal. I believe that marketing, at its core, is all about telling that story. When that story is told well, magic happens.
It took me years of trial and error to realize that I had no desire to ever work for a big corporation. I want to know that a company truly values the same things that I do – things like equality, respect, kindness and giving back. It is the mom-and-pop shops, the hidden treasures and the small businesses with a big heart that inspire me. These are the stories that I want to tell. I love working for local businesses, being a part of a team that feels like family and having the opportunity to see the tangible changes that I am making in my community. I also don’t hate getting paid to eat and drink all of the things. I just feel so fortunate to have the chance to live my dream while helping others build theirs. It’s fulfilling, it’s fun and it just feels (and tastes) really dang good.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Reading, traveling and adventuring (See also: eating + drinking, and sometimes running. Because balance.) my way around my city. I love learning about the world and about the people I get to share this world with. It brings me so much joy to experience it all by either exploring firsthand or by getting lost in a really good book.
My husband, my daughter and my dog Tuna also make me incredibly happy. They are just the best humans (and pup), and they make me laugh every single day.
Oh, and one more thing. Last week, I went out to happy hour with my best friend. The hostess came up to me. “You look really familiar. Are you a blogger?” I waited until she walked away to shriek at my friend. “That’s the first time I was recognized!” The hostess had noted that being a food blogger want her dream job. As we were walking to my car, my friend said something along the lines of, “She could do it. It was your dream job once too.” That also made me really happy.
Contact Info:
- Email: christinagoingplaces@gmail.com
- Website: christinagoingplaces.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/christinagoingplaces
Image Credits
April Seekins
