Today we’d like to introduce you to Bianca Estrada.
Bianca, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Just like any kid, I bounced around a lot of what I wanted to be when I grew up. Paleontologist, astronaut, detective, anything I saw on TV or read about in books, I wanted to do, and I wanted to be the best at. When I reached high school, I realized I had a huge love of the arts- theatre specifically. I joined my high school drama department and thought to myself that I didn’t want to do anything else with my life. However, my senior year I took a government class, and I found it extremely interesting. I thought to myself that I could double major in theatre and political science. I dreamt of being a director, but then I also kind of wanted to be a senator. The thing with community college, and life in general, is you can’t really do that. I picked theatre because I thought that’s what I loved the most. The next step was to get a job.
I didn’t want to work in retail or wait tables. For whatever reason, I thought being a street canvasser and yelling at people who blatantly ignored me on street corners asking them to donate to nonprofits was better. Surprisingly, it was. I fundraised for amazing organizations like the ACLU, SPLC, Doctors Without Borders, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF), and many many more. The job itself was at times emotionally draining, dangerous, fun, but most of all important. I was able to see my work come to life even if I was only a small part of it. You see these landmark Supreme Court cases come out in your favor. Some of these campaigns included the LGBT workplace discrimination case or Gavin Grimm’s four years case that discriminated against transgender students using the bathroom they chose based on their gender identity. We helped raise money for doctors in Syria. We helped strike down laws that would shut down the few abortion clinics in Texas. I realized this work was very much needed.
This also opened doors for me. During the 2016 election, I was offered the opportunity to move across the country and be an assistant director for a door to door grassroots organization that would elect democrats in Florida. I worked seven days a week, 100 hours a week for three months straight. To this day, I’m not sure how I survived. Unfortunately, we know how that election turned out, but it made me realize the fight wasn’t over. I came back to LA and finished up my Associate’s Degree in Theatre Arts, with a Certificate of Achievement in Technical Theatre, but I wasn’t satisfied. I decided I wanted to use my activist skills and pursue that as a career.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Not having any obstacles along the way is a privilege. I’m a first-generation American. My father died at a very young age, so my mother raised me as a single parent whom I’m very grateful for. She went through her own struggles that she’s now overcome, but because of this I had to take care of myself a lot of the time. Eventually, I moved in with my sister and transferred schools. My new high school was predominately wealthy and white. There were some classes where I was the only brown person in the class. We didn’t have very much money. I was diagnosed with myoclonic epilepsy when I was 17. Then I was diagnosed with type II bipolar disorder when I was 19. None of this made my life easy.
I graduated from high school in 2015 with hopes of being the first person in my immediate family to receive a Bachelor’s Degree. I got accepted into a few universities; I finally settled on Suffolk University for my first semester and planned to move over to Emerson College in Boston to study broadcast journalism the next semester. About a month before I was supposed to leave (plane tickets bought, roommates and dorm assigned, deposit down), I got my first tuition bill. There was no chance my family was going to be able to afford it. We tried to apply for loans, but we were still barely below the income line that we didn’t even qualify. The only loans we did qualify for had incredibly high-interest rates that would have put me in debt for the rest of my life. With a plan of graduating with a theatre arts and journalism degree, it just wasn’t worth it. Having to call my school to tell them I had to drop out was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. I probably cried everyday for a month as I saw my friends go to school all over the country starting their lives. That’s when I first realized the importance of politics and how much it affected my everyday life. In this particular case, it was college affordability. Thankfully, that’s when I applied for community college, where I received financial aid and was literally getting paid to go to school. The rest is history.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Like I said, I was going to be a director. Perhaps, even a lighting designer. I wanted to use my knowledge of politics and raise awareness through the arts. That was the dream. Then the Black Lives Matter movement came along. Trump came into office. Families were getting ripped apart. Most recently, we’ve been having to deal with a worldwide pandemic that hit the United States hard, all while having to fight for our civil rights. I went from investing all my time studying and working in a broadway touring theatre to going to protests every other day. Spending money, I don’t have to bailout funds and political organizations. Ask anyone that even slightly knows me, and they’ll tell you I’m not afraid to say what’s on my mind without hesitation. I love to get myself into good trouble. I spend most of my time writing, emailing, calling our elected officials. I have a voice, and I’m not afraid to use it if it means helping others in need. When I’m able to, I’ll use my time to get involved in community-based projects. I went from being that person working in a theatre to the person people go to when they need advice.
I had to take a basic speech class in college, and I decided to give a speech on living with epilepsy and telling my class about those struggles. After the class, one of my classmates came up to me and thanked me for just talking about it. She was also epileptic and was grateful that I chose that as my speech topic. What I thought was just a homework assignment turned into something else. When I started to be more vocal about the activist work I was doing, I had so many of my friends or even people that I barely talked to say that I inspired them to get more involved. I’m very open about my mental health issues, and just by talking about it, I have people open up to me about their experiences. Here I am, a girl with an associate’s degree in theatre, not that many followers on social media, somehow inspiring people. I used to be surprised when people would thank me for doing things I didn’t give a second thought about. I still am, but it made me realize the importance of awareness and how it helps others. I plan on doing this for the rest of my life. Run for office. Continue fighting for civil rights. Everyday, we’re uncertain of where this country is going to take us, but hopefully with the help of local organizers and activists, we can be steered in the right direction.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Everything happens for a reason. I wish the road could have been smoother definitely; and sure I wish I hadn’t experienced certain traumas, or seen things that I would rather not have, but I wouldn’t be the person I am today had all those things not happened. I think a lot about what would have happened if I went to school in Boston. I’m not sure I would have gotten involved in activism- at least not to the extent that I am now. I wouldn’t have met the people I’m closest to. The road led me here for a reason, and I make sure not to look back. I still have big dreams, and who knows if I’ll achieve them, but if my past has taught me anything, it’s that I can make the best out of whatever is handed to me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @biancasestrada
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