From a young age, it was ingrained in Nana Meriwether that both resilience and grit would get her far in life. Her father, a doctor who was the first African American to attend Duke, and her mother, a lawyer, instilled in her the value of hard work.

In the 1980s, her parents moved to a rural village in South Africa along the Kruger National Park, where her father worked in a run-down hospital for less than $200 a month and her mother worked to empower the local women to start small businesses. Over eight years, her parents helped over a half a million people. She credits their “adaptability and aspirations of achieving things that are bigger than themselves” for inspiring her to follow each of her own dreams.

At thirty-four, Meriwether has lived many different yet equally fulfilling lives, each of which has brought her new experiences, lessons, and a greater understanding of herself .

Who were you at twenty?

In my twenties I was a dreamer and a doer (and I still am), aspiring to things bigger than myself. My dream of playing volleyball took me to UCLA, which at the time was the most accomplished athletic institution in the nation- I went All-American twice. After graduating with a degree in political science, I went on to train for the Olympics in Colorado Springs and play professionally in Puerto Rico.

On becoming Miss USA

Following my volleyball career I looked to see what else was in the world to figure out what it was that I really wanted to do. I attended USC's two year pre-med post graduate program and while I was studying decided to try out for Miss Malibu at a friend's insistence. I didn’t wear makeup back then… I don’t think I even knew what mascara did, but I tried anyway and ended up winning. I then went on to try for Miss California. Making it as high as second place for six years I tried for the California title, but never won - but I was hooked because whenever someone says no to me I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, watch me.’

And in 2012 I won Miss USA, which totally changed my life. I moved to New York and for that period of time, Donald Trump owned the system and was my “boss”. Being Miss USA is a tenure which entails flying all over the world, going to the super bowl, charity events, giving speeches, it really is like a Cinderella story.

How have you evolved since?

I worked hard in my twenties to achieve great things, and by my thirties I ran out of fuel and past trauma, repression and exhaustion caught up to me. Although I am still super ambitious and hard working, I have developed my state of mind and physical well being to a point where I make sure to maintain grounding, mindfulness and great health. It's as if I learned to put on glasses - I am the same person but I see my path more clearly because I take better care of my mind and body.

On being a thirty year old fashion intern

I always need to be aspiring to something so after Miss USA I wondered ‘Who are the most powerful women on earth’ and I realized there are women in fashion publishing with so much power. And so I applied to jobs at magazines, sending hundreds of emails and never heard back, but I kept going because I really wanted it. And because I couldn’t find a job, I looked to internships and at thirty, I landed an internship at Harper’s Bazaar. It really was starting over for me and quite humbling. I went from taking private jets, being in black cars, sitting with celebrities, CEOs, and world leaders, to sitting at a desk with freshmen and sophomores in college and they would ask, ‘So what year are you?’ and I’d be like ‘Don’t worry about it!’. 

I eventually became the Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar and for three years I lived the real life ‘Devil Wears Prada’, which was really intense, but also quite fun.

On leaving fashion for tech

While I at Harper’s Bazaar I heard my womanhood knocking at the door which was ‘What is it that I really want to do and who am I’. I had been living this life which was very external going from sports to Miss USA, and then working in fashion, and I didn’t feel like I knew who I was inside. 

In November 2017 I had a health scare which led me to ask really existential questions for the first time in my life, so for a year I wrote on wellness and the science behind different topics. In that same year I left fashion and began a career in blockchain, which again was another big leap. I now help raise startups in the field and it’s been really inspiring to work with so many founders and great leaders. I came in knowing nothing about Venture Capital or blockchain, it’s really been like a business school here for me. Being adaptable and having the spirit to start over has really humbled me.

On reinvention

The key to living many lives is having an adaptable and open mindset - it is having the ability to let go of your identity and literally start over a stranger in a new industry. To become all of these things I had to start at the bottom in each - I had to adopt a great sense of humility and learn from my surroundings and from those above me and before me as I went along.

What advice would you give to yourself at twenty?

To love myself more and develop a practice to go inward through meditation - I have and am everything I will need to succeed.

What would you say to a twenty-something year old about finding her place in the world?

Instead of partying and wasting days, fill your free time with meaningful things and learnings. Your free time and weekends are a petri dish to figure out if, when and how to take a leap to something new. Read tons of books and find joy in exposing yourself to new ideas - what you don’t know shouldn’t scare you; it should fuel you to learn.

Editor’s Note: If you take anything from this interview with Nana Meriwether, let it be this: you may not know who you want to be today, or tomorrow, or even in five years, but just start today. Email that CEO you really admire, teach yourself to code, design your own clothing line; you are not bound to what you choose today, but if you choose to do nothing out of fear, you will never find who you are.

Learn more about Nana Meriwether here