It’s wonderful that the world is discovering strong, successful women who overcame adversity to make their mark and prove their presence every day. We are pleased and honored that our magazine proudly chronicles the lives of these remarkable women and their contributions to society.
Esraa Mansour is a woman of many talents and interests. In the morning she is an ambitious fulltime Auditor and Tax Preparer in New York, and studying for her CPA certification. In the evening she has a passion and “talent” towards blogging in fashion, travel, and lifestyle.
Influencers Today: How did you become interested in blogging? What effect do you believe your content will have on people?
Esraa Mansour: At first, I had a few followers, but not many, and I wanted to increase my followers, but I was not very interested because I see that I am not a serious influencer, I just do what I love and take pictures that I like to share with everyone in my spare time, but it began seriously when my friend and I decided to enter the field of fashion, so I was in a hurry to increase my followers, so I resorted to funded ads and groups for this field, and this he I was pleased that my followers were moved and interacted positively with me.
Influencers Today: You are an Egyptian, but you live in New York. How has travel influenced your personality and how has it influenced your field of work?
Esraa Mansour: Traveling had a big impact on me because I work with people from all over the world. I had to be more flexible with everyone and respect and accept their ideas and culture, which taught me to be more loyal to my principles and identity, even though it was extremely difficult, but God helped me.
Traveling in general had a positive impact on me because I became more responsible, dependent on myself, and powerful than I was.
Influencers Today: You were born in Alexandria; what is it that connects you to the city and makes you nostalgic for it whenever you travel far away from it?
Esraa Mansour: I travelled only 6 years ago, but my best friend -Dalia Nasim- always makes me miss my hometown of Alexandria. I frequently return to Egypt for her sake, and of course, I love Egypt in general, and I enjoy strolling through it, as well as the spirit of its beautiful people and popular dishes such as “foul” and “falafel” that will always taste different in Egypt than any other place on the planet!
Influencers Today : You attended the Egyptian American Film Festival in New York; how did you find it and how would you rate it
Esraa Mansour: I attended the festival as an organizer and had a great time. The festival was fantastic because it shines a light on truly talented people and allows them to showcase their abilities, and the most important thing was that all of the films shown were about Arab identity, which was very useful for foreigners to learn about the true and beautiful Arab identity. It was, indeed, their reaction is positive, and they enjoyed the festival.
Influencers Today: Your family is your backbone; these are your words about your lovely family; can you tell us how they assisted you on your journey?
Esraa Mansour: My family is the most important thing in my life; they my backbone, they all support me, and each of them plays a unique role in my life.
My father was the driving force behind my trip to America, as he had lived there for many years. He was waiting for me to finish my studies in Egypt so that I could travel to him and clearly define my goals and principles without being influenced by my surroundings.
My mother is a powerful woman who has a significant impact on my life. I’ve learned a lot from her and consider her to be my best friend.
Influencers Today: Winter is your favorite season; what are your plans for this winter?
Esraa Mansour: Indeed, winter is my favorite season because the weather
in New York is wonderful, you can do various activities such as skating or
travel to another state where you can spend a beautiful time, in addition to
the joyful Christmas celebrations, but it appears that I will be working this
winter, unfortunately.
Influencers Today: What advice do you wish someone had given you if you could go back in time?
Esraa Mansour: The most important piece of advice I can give is to not take things too seriously; everything will be fine in the end; all you have to do is set a specific time for the steps you will take, and if time passes and you do not achieve anything, do not tell yourself that you are a failure and will never achieve anything in your life. Completely incorrect; perhaps this road has closed so that another, better route can open up. You still have a lot of possibilities ahead of you.
Second, do not be harsh on yourself; treat everyone with love and respect; and do not waste your time in sadness; instead, get over your sadness quickly and use your time to learn something new every day.
Influencers Today: What would you say if the entire world paused to hear your words?
Esraa Mansour: I will think carefully before speaking, and I will say words that will have a positive impact on them.
Influencers Today: You have Egyptian and American followers, and there will undoubtedly be some differences between them due to cultural differences. What differences do you notice between them? How can you strike a balance between them in order to deliver your content to them?
Esraa Mansour: There must be freedom in order for a balance to exist between anyone, which means that you allow anyone to talk about themselves in front of you comfortably and express their ideas and culture without judging them, so they will be comfortable and love you no matter how different you are from them.
Influencers Today: You are very interested in fashion and have sophisticated taste, and you have succeeded despite being a beautiful veiled woman in a foreign society that is unfamiliar with the veil. So, how did you manage to pursue your passion for fashion?
Esraa Mansour: The matter is difficult because it always makes me want to have a beautiful appearance with the hijab while also wearing it properly, but what distinguishes the matter is that there are not many Muslims or veiled women, so this makes me a distinguished person among them, and there are people who stop me in the street to tell me that they did not expect that veiled women exist. They look stunning, and they are pleased with me, which makes me happy because their perception of hijab has improved.
Influencers Today: Could the nature of your work cause you problems because you became a well-known influencer with a large following OR do they back you up?
Esraa Mansour: I don’t feel popular there because everyone is focused on their work and don’t give much attention to your “personal” social media. Furthermore, because my job is primarily about clients and communication, social media is an important part of my job, and my success on social media has given me more confidence in myself and more competence at work.
