Last month I had the privilege of meeting one of the inspirational woman I follow on Instagram, Ciara Burke (@ciararoseburke). I am so honoured I had the opportunity to not only photograph her, but get to hear more of her story. It was so fun chatting with her and capturing her beauty both inside & out. She is definitely such a natural in front of the camera (even though I know she would beg to differ). We talked about some of her experiences with fitness & health, some of her many talents & her current aspirations. We even shared our advocacy of women empowerment together. So, it only made sense that Ciara had to be featured as the first Woman of the Month.
Ciara Rose Burke grew up in Dublin, where she currently lives and works in accountancy. However, her original goal with the job wasn’t to become an accountant – her heart has always been set on performing. She hopes to be able to fully pursue a career in acting, film making, singing, or making art in general, as soon as she can. Until then she has been singing as a side job to keep her foot in the performance business.
At 24, Ciara decided to focus on writing and producing short films. Her focus definitely paid off as she had one of her first screenplays featured in various film festivals. From this, she was discovered by more people and asked to help produce an Irish horror film, “Invoked”. The movie premiered at a film festival in Los Angeles. It was a huge success considering her young age at the time. The movie was screened all over: from America to the Philippines and Netflix worldwide!
Soon Ciara grew to enjoy another passion: fitness. Her journey started when she joined a powerlifting team in Dublin. This training empowered her via the strength she gained, and also by the strong woman around her. Unfortunately, she stopped powerlifting after seeing herself lose an unhealthy amount of weight, realizing her focus became too much on being “skinny” or the way she looked rather than strong and fit. This didn’t only happen to her, though. She said there were so many other women who were in and out of fitness taking whatever measures they could just to “look good” or “look better”. Despite these measures, the women were only left unhappy. Ciara commented, “You really need to concentrate on having a good relationship with food but at the time I didn’t. I was emotionally eating while going through bad times. There’s no point in compromising 95% of your life if you only feel good or happy about 5% of the time.” I couldn’t agree more.
This was only a part of Ciara’s health journey. About six years ago, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. For the first few years after this diagnosis, she had constant flare ups and needed to get infusions every couple months. Fortunately, this consistent treatment was extremely helpful and now Ciara’s been flare up free for two years! She no longer needs to take her medications and has found the balance with the food she can and can’t eat. But as with any type of balance, this hasn’t stopped her from enjoying her favorite foods. She calls herself a chocolate addict, and when going out to eat and picking a restaurant, if there’s no chocolate dessert she won’t go! So though her body doesn’t react well to chocolate, she still treats herself to it every so often because everyone needs to live a little! Most recently, she has become addicted to acai bowls.
Though this journey has been a long road of ups and downs for Ciara, it has led her to appreciate and love who she is today. “To be honest I’ve never been happier with my current shape. I’m nowhere near in the best shape or ripped, but I have a good relationship with food at the moment and I feel confident in my body. I have suffered for years being too skinny or overweight due to ill health and I am currently healthy which is so amazing. Don’t get me wrong, we all have bad days but in comparison to the younger me I am confident in my body.” While she continues to maintain her health, Ciara aims to stay unapologetically herself. She says that the most important thing to her at the moment is to keep being strong and happy alone. “To be able to depend on myself, as I’ve learned the hard way so many times. People take advantage of my kindness, but no matter what I’ve been through I’ll always give my heart. My goal is to not let the world make me hard or bitter and twisted.”
Along with these goals, she also desires to start a women’s empowerment group. This is such a fit for her as all her experiences have molded her into the strong, confident, driven and authentic woman she is today. The world needs more role models like her for young women everywhere! Ciara absolutely adores her nieces and especially wants to be an example for them. One thing she hopes her nieces, and all woman out there would know & embrace is to dare to be real and different. “There are too many people out there trying to be like everyone else.” She says if you like singing, art, acting, etc. go and do that. Pursue your own interests. You don’t need to make yourself interested in something you are not passionate about. Stay true to yourself. “Never settle or follow the crowd, and never change for anyone.”
Ciara’s story truly illustrates that she is the embodiment of a fierce woman. If more people, especially woman, had similar goals to her I do believe we’d live in a more loving world. A world where people love and embrace who they are, all the while empowering others along the way. So, if you don’t already, definitely go follow @ciararoseburke on Instagram now!
