As children, we all dream of what we’d like to do and the person we’d like to be when we’re older, but all too often, life has a habit of tripping those dreams up at the first hurdle, leaving them unfulfilled and unrealized.
Kiara Moon knew from an early age that if she were to chase, capture, and live her dreams, it would take a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice on her behalf. Reality proved the 24-year-old from Anaheim, California, right. As she explained, “Nothing worth having comes easy, and I’ve had to work hard to get where I am in life, but do you know what? It’s been a long road, but I can honestly say every step has been a rewarding one.”
Moon is something of an enigma. She’s a model, but she also has a Masters Degree in Business. She’s been an auditor and an analyst, and a tireless volunteer for 12-Step programs such as AA and EDA. She has participated in countless charity walks and mentored at-risk youth on behalf of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America program. Yet she is not averse to taking significant risks herself. She once skydived from 18,000 feet in Santa Barbara and can often be found riding around her native California on fast motorbikes.
“Life to me is there for the living,” explains Moon. “It’s about having a dream and going for it no matter what anyone else thinks or says. I don’t like people who try to categorize you and put you in a box. When you’re a model, many small-minded people assume you can’t be intelligent, creative, or socially responsible. I say you can be it all.”
As a free spirit who always marched to the beat of her own drum, Moon is keen to encourage other people to find the inner strength and conviction to follow their dreams and find personal empowerment.
Moon says, “I’ve always embraced my creative side and found outlets for it to flourish, and I’ve always had a healthy willingness to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself in both my personal and professional life. I think standing still and settling for things in life is a recipe for disaster. You’ve got to keep pushing and facing down your fears if you want to chase your dreams. They don’t come cheap, and they don’t come easy, but they do come, and when they do, all the hard work will be worth it. As Walt Disney once said, ‘If you can dream it, you can do it.'”