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Rising Stars: Meet Marie Serrado of Ocala

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marie Serrado.

New Version: Hi Marie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Well, first and foremost I’d like to say Hi, my name is Marie Serrado but on all my social pages I go by Marie Mercedes, and I am 24 years old. How I got started was, the day I graduated from FIU in Miami for my undergrad, the pandemic was still at large, and it was hard to find a job in my field which is Broadcast Media. So, one day I decided to post a Tik Tok on my account and It blew up immediately, after that I kept posting more and more until other videos of mine started gaining attention and it created a following for me. I always knew I wanted to do Entertainment Media because it allowed me to be creative with my craft. And so, after seeing that some of my posts started gaining attention and engagements I knew I wanted to become an influencer. Then after that day, I decided why not take Instagram seriously too, I could use it as a portal into my life. So, a couple of months had passed and I wanted to learn more and grow more in order for it to reflect on my pages, but also to better understand what I am doing. So, I decided to pursue my Master’s Degree in Mass Communication at the University of Florida. And fast forward to today, Ive learned a lot about different aspects behind social media and have been implementing those onto my pages and craft. I’m starting to fully understand more and more what it is to create content, how to engage with an audience, etc.
New Version: Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road, there was a lot of trial and error and even the whole fear of am I doing enough, am I creating an authentic engagement, what will people think of me. It was always a constant back and forth. Sometimes I’d be so burnt out, that I couldn’t create.  Another would be that when I first started to take this seriously, we were at the height of a Global Pandemic, Miami was still under curfew, and everywhere you went to was that constant fear of “If I stepped outside, or do my regular activities, will I get sick, or will I give it to my family.” so, not much could be done creatively.
New Version: Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What I do is that I love to piece together different fashion outfits, and post about lifestyle while doing my master’s degree. That’s my Instagram. My Instagram is almost like I can be creative but only show a few things what I do. Now, my Tik Tok is a different story. My Tik Tok is more of open space to talk about entertainment, fashion, What I do in my life, and so forth and so on. I use Tik Tok to connect with others as well. I use Tik Tok almost like a diary in a way, Im letting others see what I do and maybe they’d want to do the same things I do. The things I am most proud of are the content I post, its authentic, and it’s me. When people go on my pages, I want them to see authenticity and I want them to be inspired to get creative, and most important to have fun.
New Version: Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory would be when my mom and I would draw and write on our journals. Another was when my mom would take me to different art museum or have me see different paintings and tell her what I saw. I didn’t know then, what I know now, and what my mom was doing was, that she was allowing me to explore creatively but also to understand and see the beauty behind every art work and every drawing. She also had me write down everything, and looking back now it has given me the creative freedom needed to share my story and to share what I see with the world. My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader, and something that she has always told me and its embedded in me is that “Whatever I set my mind to, do it, but do it 110%”.

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