Artist and entrepreneur Ruben Rojas may have always loved art, but he didn’t always know it would be his profession. He went to school to be a doctor, then switched to finance, and all the while, he painted. Some parents might have been nervous with all that mind changing. Perhaps they’d be worried that their child didn’t have a clear direction. But Rojas’s mother believed he would find his passion and be successful at it.
“My mom was a big contributor in me exploring different things,” he says. “She put us in everything, from photography to sports… She never said I had to be anything in particular, just that I always had to be a professional.”
Rojas is co-founder of successful non-profit, Beautify Earth, which paints murals all over the country in neglected neighborhoods. And he credits his mother with teaching him to love what he does.
“The main word is love, we either operate out of love or we operate out of fear,” he says in the above video. Rather than be worried about financial stability or what people would think, he became an artist, following passion rather than fear. “She’s thrilled with where I’m at and is still as supportive as ever.”
As an artist, whether Rojas is helping to unify and brighten an underserved community by infusing neglected walls with color or putting beauty onto one of his own canvases, he brings love into every piece. And in turn, this brings love to the people around him. This is just one of the gifts his mother has given him, teaching Rojas to live a life filled with love. And on Mother’s day, he wants to give her a gift that will reflect the love she’s taught him, showering her with appreciation. She never spoils herself, and after all she’s done to inspire his journey, he owes her so much.
“I’ve had a lot of love in my life. My mother, she’s shown me love,” he says. “It’s led me to be the successful man that I am today.”
