Simone Hufana grew up in a household from both Mexican and Filipino backgrounds. However, being at school around primarily white kids and seeing how different she looked from her blonde hair and blue eyed Barbie’s, she began to feel the need to hide her differences and try to fit in among everyone else. She didn’t want to be different and it caused her a lot of insecurity at such a young age. As she grew older, she realized that there were women out there who looked just like her and they were doing extraordinary things to change the world around them. Simone was inspired and wanted to find a way to encourage young girls to embrace their differences, like she wished she had been. Her real inspiration for her coloring book company that promotes women of color were her younger sisters. She wanted them to grow up feeling confident about who they are. At age seventeen she started the business and entered Marshawn Lynch and Shopify’s Beastmode a Business competition and won which provided her with resources to improve her business even more. Even though she is enrolled in college, she is taking a semester off to focus on her business and grow it to an even bigger level. Simone believes she is creating real change in the world through her coloring books, which has always been her main goal. Hearing stories about people’s reaction to the books and how they make them feel better about themselves is always something that inspires her to keep going with it. Simone seems like such a genuine person and it inspires me that she thinks so big. She doesn’t see any limitations and simply thinks, “If they can do it, so can I.” I love seeing how people so young can do such great things if they simply believe they can.
I really enjoyed reading this post! Simone’s story was inspiring and interesting because she saw how she wasn’t like other girls and that there was a need in the market for differences. It’s amazing how she wanted to make other girls feel included in a world where everyone tries to be someone they’re not. Having coloring books is an interesting twist on how to promote more self-love and awareness that we don’t have to hide who we are just to fit in. I also liked the quote that you included because we can do anything we set our minds to.