Today we’d like to introduce you to Mara Daniele.
Hi Mara, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee by a father from Italy and a mom from Ohio. We lived back and forth from Memphis to Los Angeles as a child, and when I was 18, I moved by myself to London, UK to study songwriting. I fell absolutely in love with that city. Its energy, its people. I’d come back and visit, but London felt like my home. That was until 2020. The pandemic hit and I stayed in the UK. After what was going to be our third lockdown, I booked a surprise trip to Memphis to visit my family. They were shocked when I walked through the front door. It was the longest period of time I’d stayed in Memphis since moving away 5 years prior. It felt different. The city felt alive and I realized it wasn’t just homesickness that I was feeling, but a longing to be back. I went back to London 1 month later and felt such a pain in my chest for not being in Memphis. I was so confused because I’d loved London so much, but now Memphis was all I could think about. Flash forward to 6 months later and one of my best friends called and said he was opening up a restaurant in Italy and asked if I wanted to work it. One thing led to another and I ended up staying in Italy for 3 years. The man I was dating at the time said it was always his dream to move to America, so we ended up moving to Memphis in 2024, and everything about that decision felt so right. I love this city with my whole heart and sometimes wonder if one of the main reasons I dated that man was for the push to move back. haha!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been a smooth road in the least. Living abroad on your own, you encounter a lot of self-discovery and hardships. 18 is still so young to be going at life alone, let alone for the first time being on your own ever and in a different country and culture. Luckily, I was blessed with some of the best experiences in the whole world. I couldn’t ask for a better life than the life I’ve lived.
But sometimes, saying yes to everything (within reason) doesn’t always lead to the fairytale you’d daydreamed up when agreeing to a certain situation. As I said, I moved to America with an Italian man whom I was deeply in love with and committed to. We’d been together for 4 years at that point and the only was for him to be able to come here was for us to get married and get him his green card. After only 8 months here and 6 months of marriage, he decided that he was too homesick and the culture and lifestyle change was all too much for him. He left to move back to his home in Italy and I made the very difficult decision to stay behind and remain in Memphis. It was the heartbreak of my life and something that will stay with me forever. I think that separation came about and happened only in a way that people whose heart lives in multiple locations can ever truly understand. It was unconventional and destroyed me for a while, but it truly allowed me to dive head first into my work, my business endeavors and really explore Memphis in the way I wanted to as a now single woman who hadn’t ever lived in the United States as an adult. It was a new adventure in and of itself.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a songwriter by passion and a Social Media/Marketing expert by trade. I love to tell stories and create a world for the people who are creating businesses or nonprofits driven by passion. I’m a very hard worker and will always show up for my clients. I went freelance in 2021 after working for a UK based charity post college, and it’s been the journey of a lifetime. One of the things I’m truly most proud of is my current Mara in Memphis project. It started out as a way to try to describe that longing and stars in my eyes I had for Memphis back in 2020. I knew when I moved back one day that I would create something like this and the way it’s bloomed, created such a community, and given me such unforgettable memories after just a year is something I never could have possibly imagined. I’ve met friends I’ll keep with me through life because of this job and I wake up feeling like I could pinch myself every day.
What matters most to you? Why?
Living authentically matters most. We’re nothing without our community. And being able to show up as your true, genuine self is such a gift. We can’t stand behind the things we care about, meet the people we’re meant for, and allow life to guide us where we’re destined to be if we’re not 100% true to ourselves and incredibly kind to others along the way.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marainmemphis/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marainmemphis
