Can you tell us your name, age and dream?
My name is Marianeth Crockett and I just turned 22. The dream that I am living currently is going to college and I’m accomplishing it step by step. I’m also breaking family barriers as far as education goes. If I graduate from college and get my Masters and possibly my PhD, I’d be the first on both sides of my family to do that.
I’m taking it little by little to get all my dreams lined up for my big dream: helping design packaging for my inventions and researching with companies. Contacting different people for future accomplishments, getting my poetry and my writing in order so one day I can publish my books and my novels, and writing my movie ideas so maybe there can be a movie one day; just a few things really. (laughs)
What are you studying?
Advertising
What kind of research do you want to do with companies?
I’ve been looking for investors and venture capitalists. One of my ideas is an amusement park and the other idea is a travel resort. I’m trying to get the programs so that I can build what I see in my head. If I could put a USB cable from my head to the screen I could show everyone what I was thinking, but it’s hard to show them when I see it in a different way than what most people see. I want to have something to show people so that they know I am serious about it and that I am working on it.
You have had dreams and ideas your whole life, what is your inspiration to think much bigger than most people?
I want to help people mostly: to be able to tell my mom and dad I just called your job and you never have to go in again, to be able to take care of my aging grandparents that have arthritis and sore muscles from all the things they have been doing their whole life; that is my biggest inspiration. My mom has been working the fields since she could work. She is a perfect child labor case; she’s been working forever. She has to wrap her hands at night. Every time I think of my family it makes me tear up because they work so hard to get me and my sister comfortable so that we don’t have to go through the things they went through. My grandpa has fingers cut off from chopping sugarcane. I don’t want them to struggle anymore. It kills me right now to be a college student, having to spend more and not be able to give something to my parents. It bothers me to ask them for anything because I want to be the one giving it to them. Helping people is my biggest drive, especially my family and taking care of them. I want to show others that no matter what other people say, you can overcome it. It doesn’t matter where you are from; it’s what you want to do in the future.
Taking you back to your youth and your teenage years, what is it that set you apart from the other kids in school?
I’ve always been a little quirky and weird. I like that. I don’t really like normal, boring people. I like crazy, weird people that think differently; I admire that. I’ve always been a cool dork if that even makes sense. I’ve always been friends with the people that sit alone. I find the person that is a loner and I go and talk to them because I admire different qualities. While everyone is out trying to be followers and do what the crowd does, I’m out being my own leader to try and find those people that are alone. They are not so much alone, they have their own mind and way of thinking and they don’t care if they are not part of the group. I was always taken in by the people that were different from other people. I also tried to stand out in my own way.
My friends always change because I guess I think differently. I have a lot of things I want to do and people look at it like it is a joke. I’m surrounding myself with people that I want to be like; that is what matters. I was always in my room writing; I made home movies gathering all the neighborhood kids to make my own films. I had a cooking show and I would make my own commercials for that. I was a quirky 12-year old kid, a tomboy who didn’t want to take showers or hang out with girls. When they asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up I used to say a Mission Specialist at NASA. I would sleep under the stars and camp out and have rock collections and grow rock formations in my home and build homemade rockets. I was really different. While everyone else was playing on the playground I was trying to make an imaginary castle and build a pretend town.
When I was little my dad used to ask me where I came up with this stuff. I never had any idea. A lot of the ideas come from my dreams. I wake up and I write them down. I have a lot of crazy dreams and I think one day they would be an awesome book or story.
Who has been encouraging you and who has been discouraging you throughout the years and how do you handle that?
My dad has been my biggest supporter; we are very close. We used to go on road trips together and we would have the chance to talk about all kinds of stuff. He would always tell me to slow down and take it one by one. My mom is supportive but it takes her awhile; she is a stubborn little Asian lady. She gives me the reality of it and backs me up, but in a different way than my dad.
My peers and other people around me have usually been discouraging me. They always ask me how I am going to do that and tell me they hope I have another plan to follow if it doesn’t work out. I always say if it doesn’t work out it is because I didn’t make it work out. I have control of my future and I can make it whatever I want it to be. Just because you put limits on yourself doesn’t mean I have to put limits on myself. Those are the people who I have had to let go because they have been discouraging. I like to keep myself around people who are positive and around people who I want to be like when I get older. I try to find their motivation and see how they did it. I look up to people who are salready there and sit down and talk to them about how they did it. That is how I deal with it; I keep myself with positive people.
I’m really close to my family because family is always going to be there. The other people who you think will be there often turn out to not be there, especially if you do make it to the top. Your family is going to be the people who are most important to you because other people will most likely be there for the wrong reasons.
Can you give some constructive advice to the people who are limiting themselves?
I see a lot of people who hate their job who don’t want to be doing what they are doing. I always tell them they can change that, you don’t have to work for this place if you don’t want to. There is always a way to do something even if it takes awhile. A lot of people are lazy and lack motivation. I admit I get lazy sometimes and get discouraged as well, but you have to push back.
I’m religious and I believe that God never gives you more than you can handle. If you can’t handle it just know that it will get better because there is no way that it will not work out if you are doing something about it. If it means changing your environment, changing the people around you to make you feel like you need to feel, than so be it. Many times those who surround you will bring you down if you are not strong enough to push past all that. I would say change your environment. You have to take steps or you are never going to go anywhere.
Talking a little bit about you internally and externally, what kind of mental and physical barriers have confronted you?
My mental barriers have been people who have pushed their jealously onto me. I think people see the things I am doing and have done. I have accomplished a lot for my age: I’ve done pageants, the newspaper back home used to write about me, I used to run school organizations, I had my own promotions company when I was 20. I worked with record labels, artists and would also host events. I would often invite people to come with me and see how it is done. They would tell me they love what I am doing and feel inspired. I would call them up and invite them and they would have an excuse as to why they couldn’t come. I would tell them that it can’t be that important to them if they are turning down an offer to learn and grow. They would stop talking to me and become jealous of what I was doing despite the fact that I would try and help them.
I often set my standards way to high on short notice and then get discouraged when I feel like things are never going to happen and it’s going too slow. I have to work on patience. That is another barrier.
A physical barrier is money. Money is a big thing. I’m trying to save money but it’s hard. Everything gets expensive including paying back loans.
How do you perceive society in terms of being able to live out your passions?
It’s sad but I sometimes feel society is cruel; the world is getting a little bit more cruel and close-minded and not very accepting. It depends upon where you go obviously. Society is very materialistic, especially with all the junk that is on TV. There is not a lot of wholesome, thought provoking, mentally stimulating things out there. There is a lot of junk: people’s random lives, reality shows that mean nothing. We are starting to become lazy. Your parents worked hard but with all the advances of technology people start to become lazy because not a lot of man power is required behind it.
It depends upon where you are at. So far here in Chicago I’ve found a lot of good people and a lot of greedy people. It depends upon which aspect of society. Nightlife society is very shallow and materialistic. Inspirational society is open-minded, they will help you. I think in general it is a little harder now for things to happen. There are a lot of rules and regulations.
What is most important in your life?
My family, God, school, getting my ideas into the world, and obviously my success and my future. I look to that everyday. My biggest fear is that the things that I want to accomplish will not happen. I don’t want to be 40 or 50 years old and living far from where I wanted to be.
What are you most proud of in your life?
I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished so far. I feel there is a lot more to do but in my time I’ve accomplished a lot: I’ve had my own company, met people that most people won’t have the chance to meet, and I’ve had the opportunity to look into their lives and have the chance to ask what it is like. I’ve done pageants. I’ve been involved in school projects, traveled a little bit and met many different people. I’ve had different points of view on life: military points of view, cultural points of view, ethical points of view. All of these events have shaped me.
