Meet Sol Thomas: Mother, a Wife, Latinas Rising Founder, Executive Director, PhD Student

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sol Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sol, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Through this journey I have found having a work life balance is imperative. It is the most important aspect of running your own business or working through projects. If you are not well mentally, physically, or emotionally it will reflect in your work. This is a lesson I learned the hard way this past year. I realized I was not giving myself the time and care I needed to thrive. Today, I am more conscientious of the time spent working on projects and the time for self-care and self-love. I am mindful about time and I constantly remind myself to slow down. I have incorporated mediation and prayer to my daily life, and this has made all the difference. Having a work-life balance is important for the quality of work you produce and for longevity. As women we are socialized to multi-task and put others before ourselves. We have to break that mold and focus on our own wellness first. We have to learn how to be vulnerable and have empathy for ourselves if we are to thrive. When we thrive our projects thrive. 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Latinas Rising is a civic group creating social justice based projects affecting Latinas. Our projects touch on the areas of education, civic engagement, violence against women, and many other topics. Some of our past projects are “Latina Mental Health Matters,” “Latina PhD”, “Queer Latina”, “Phenomenal Latinas Rising,” “Latinas in Law,” and, our most recent, “Latinas for Justice.” In 2019 we had our first conference dedicated to Latina issues, “LatinCon.” LatinCon 2019 brought Latinas speaking on a variety of topics affecting Latinas such as, Afro-Latina issues and Latina Mental Health. When creating these projects it was important for our team to be focused on bringing authentic voices to the table. We valued every-day women voices all women could connect to. We chose topics that where relevant to the times and made sure the hard questions where answered. Our team created an agenda that was forward-thinking and brave. We did not shy away from the hard topics. We were determined to bring forward issues that have been buried for too long. It has not been easy. Founding a civic group and creating the infrastructure for it has been incredibly difficult. There have been many times I have wanted to quit because the challenges are incredibly personal and difficult. Nevertheless, the need in the community for our projects always brings me back. I have had to realize that nothing will be perfect. People are not perfect. I have had to embrace the idea that challenges, conflict, and change are part of the growth process. I have had to learn, in the end, there will never be a perfect product or project, and things will always be imperfect or need improvement. Once you accept imperfection, you can move forward and continue to do what you love. Latinas Rising has been that for me. Latinas Rising creates projects I have personally needed in my life and they represent what I love and want to share with the world. My advice to anyone that is starting with an idea or a project is: Be brave, accept imperfection, don’t give so much weight to certain critics, and create what you love. You got this!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Breakfast would have to be at a historic and very well known Mexican Cafe, Teotihuacan located at 1511 Airline Drive, Houston, Texas. Followed by a stroll at Discovery Green to burn off the amazing home made flower tortillas from Teotihuacan. Lunch would be at the trendy, but casual Tatsu-ya Ramen restaurant located at 7122 California Street, Houston, Texas. While in the neighborhood we would have to take a walk down to a very retro and historic Soundwaves in Montrose, 3509 Montrose Blvd. We would then jump in the car and check out some of the great mural artwork Houston has to offer!! Frida Kahlo Mural-Alex Roman Jr (aka DonkeeBoy)111. N. Enis St., Houston, Texas Rebirth of our Nationality Mural-Mario Enrique Figueroa, Jr. (aka GONZO247)300 N. York St. Houston, TX, Para Mi Gente Mural- Ignacio E. Sanchez (aka Nacho) Yale & 13th St. Houston, TX 77008 Florals on Red and Pink mural-Josue Ramirez 2112 Leeland St, Houston, TX 77003. Spring Scene Mural-Michael Rodriguez 2207 Winter St. Houston, TX 77007

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am grateful to Brene Brown’s influential book, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. Her research on shame and vulnerability has opened up my eyes to the importance of self-love and self-acceptance. Her book and research has helped me understand the importance of being brave every day and living a life not being afraid of the critics (haters). She taught me that not all critics carry the same weight and to continue to live bravely.

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