Where I’m From: Kosova
Current Hometown: Detroit, Michigan
Favorite Balkan Song: vallja e Rugoves
Favorite Balkan Dish: Flia and Pitë aka Burek
1. Can you start off by telling us a little bit more about yourself? Where are you originally from and where are you currently living?
My name is Leonita, I am Albanian Kosovar and I was born in Croatia. My parents come from Kline, Kosova. My dad and his family moved to Croatia around the 70s due to being targeted against and the tension between Serbia and Kosova. My father built a great life in Croatia — he graduated from law school and became a judge in Croatia. We come from a big family — my dad has 6 brothers and 2 sisters; my mom has 5 sisters and 1 brother. So I have many many cousins. I have 3 siblings – an older brother, an older sister, and a younger brother. I sometimes feel like the baby of the family since I was the youngest for about 4 years before my brother was born and I count on them so much. I appreciate and love my siblings dearly! My entire family means the world to me.
During the late 80s, my Dad made the hardest decision of his life. He decided to move to America. He had to leave everything he built and start all over. He moved for so many factors: the Yugoslavian war, to be near his younger brother in the US, to give his children opportunity and freedom — to live that “American Dream.” When I was two years old, we moved to Detroit, MI. I grew up in a two-story flat with my uncle and his kids. They lived upstairs, we lived downstairs. We were always outside playing, we had each other, and it was so many beautiful memories. It was the best childhood anyone could ask for, I truly loved it. As I mentioned earlier, we are a big family so we would have so many family get-togethers and eventually have huge weddings. It was a blast.
2. What was your college experience like in the United States and did you find yourself connecting with more Balkan diaspora?
I graduated High School Salutatorian (2nd best in my class – actually I was tied for second with my cousin). Education was also very important to my dad. He would push each of us to do our best, be our best. At that time, not many Albanians wanted their daughters to pursue schooling but my dad fought for it! He fought for his daughters and nieces to go to school and finish the highest degree possible. And we all did! With high honors!
I ended up getting a scholarship at the University of Detroit Mercy. I was going back and forth as to what I wanted to major in. I loved science, but my dad suggested business. I began as a business major but switched halfway through and ended up majoring in Biochemistry. At that time I wanted to be a dentist. I knew I never wanted to be a regular doctor because it was way too stressful, so I thought pursuing dentistry wouldn’t be so bad.
Even though I was at the top of my class, I overestimated my knowledge. I had to work really really hard and struggled in certain classes. During my freshman year of college, we finally moved out of Detroit. Now living in Farmington Hills, there was a bigger community of Albanians that weren’t my relatives, and in college, I would meet many more Albanians which was nice.
I graduated from UDM with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry but decided dentistry was really not what I wanted. I didn’t want to go to school for another 4 years and was not motivated to pursue dentistry. While looking into various career paths, I stumbled upon Dietetics and Nutrition. And it clicked! This was it! This was what I wanted. I was always interested in how the body worked, the way our body processed nutrients, and healthy living. I got accepted into the program that next year and graduated from Eastern Michigan University Coordinated Program in Dietetics in 2013.
During the time just before getting accepted into the program, I met my now-husband Sokol. Funny enough we had the same friend and that is how we connected. We played volleyball together with a group of friends and we have been together since.
He is from Pogradec, Albania – and through him, I really became more in tune with my Albanian side. I became friends with his friends who were Albanian. I did not have many friends that were Albanian and not my family. So it was a new feeling. At first, I felt out of place but over time I grew into that side of me. I traveled to Albania with him and he proposed to me in Ksamil right on the water. I was always proud to be Albanian and loved my culture and traditions, but he showed me more about the country and different aspects of our culture. But there was also a part of me that loved that American life. I enjoy having a balance of both.
Time passed and I was working as a dietitian and started a family. There was always a part of me that enjoyed tech, creating content, and social media. I worked part-time with a company called Health and Wellness Innovations in Ann Arbor, and was lucky enough to learn about nutrition, technology, social media, blogging, and really delved into content creation. From there I wanted to build my own nutrition blog. But life happened and I was not able to fully commit.
During this time podcasts were becoming more popular – and I thought wow! What an amazing platform – a place to share stories, ideas, knowledge, and inspiration. So in the back of my head, I thought I should start a podcast one day! Little did I know that I would start a podcast around Albanians.
3. How did you get the idea for the BOTA podcast and make it a reality?
BOTA in Albanian means the world. This podcast became a place to share world views, culture, careers, and all the above from an Albanian American perspective. On the podcast, I interview inspiring people who are experts in their field and have achieved significant milestones in their life. But most importantly, it’s a place for people to find their voice and share their stories. A place where they feel comfortable to express their ideas, aspirations, and offer listeners an inside look into the highs and lows of their lives.
I struggled at times to find where I belong, whether that meant culturally or career-wise or sometimes both. This helped me find my inner voice to showcase my perspective on being Albanian, growing up in the US, and how my experiences have shaped me. We all have different perspectives, so why not understand each other better and learn from each other?
So far, BOTA has gotten a great response, and I am so thankful. Of course, there have been a couple of negative messages regarding certain topics that I’ve brought up on episodes, but I just want to say that our podcast is a safe space for us to have these kinds of conversations.
Everyone that I have interviewed — every single person — is proud to be Albanian and loves the beautiful parts of our culture and heritage. But in reality, not everything is beautiful. Sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly is how we can grow and learn to be better people.
4. You’ve had some notable guests on your show, who have you enjoyed talking to the most?
I have enjoyed speaking to every guest and each guest has a special place in my heart. I learned so much from them and I appreciate each of them for allowing me to share their story on the podcast. If I have to pick 1, I would say Edon Molla. He was the first guest I interviewed and he is such an amazing talent. Originally from Kosova, he is a singer and songwriter based in NYC. We talked about his newest album “For Merita” and he has so much insight on being a singer and how he got started. He also motivated me to keep going and I will never forget that!
5. What has been your favorite and least favorite part about having a podcast?
The most favorite thing about having a podcast is the people I get to connect with! I have met so many people virtually on my Instagram page @botapodcast and built such wonderful relationships with all of my guests. It’s so beautiful and I love having people be a part of the BOTA community. I truly enjoy messaging with people on Instagram and am so thankful for those that support me and I hope they know how much it means to me <3
Be sure to listen to our podcast episode with Leonita HERE.
The least favorite would be the stress of editing and creating cool content that people would like. You can get down when something takes hours to create and it maybe does not do well on Instagram (low likes and number of shares). But I have come to realize it’s okay if people do not like and comment on every single post. It’s out there and for those that it does resonate with, it’s for those people! It is time-consuming and I do everything from hosting, interviewing, editing, producing, content creation, and social media. This is my side hustle, as I still do have a full-time job. But it has been fun and I can’t wait to see where it takes off and show what more is in store. Season 1 is coming to an end soon, and Season 2 will be starting up again in September 2021.
6. Any advice or tips for managing your day job with your passion for podcasting?
Schedule your time wisely — there may be days where you will get less sleep, and days you pump things out quickly. So I will usually do interviews during my lunch break, or right after work. I am lucky I get to work from home, so that has been to my advantage.
Typically, I’ll do the editing and content creation late at night when everyone else is asleep.
A few of the programs and apps that I use are iMovie and Audacity (for editing), Canva (for content creation), Headliner (for clips) and Planoly (for Instagram). Getting things done in advance is helpful. There have definitely been times where I’ve had to create something on a whim and that’s okay, too. I also have had a lot of help from my friend and now co-partner Blerina. She has been my hype woman and there since the beginning. I truly could not have done all of this without her. That’s why I am so excited to announce a project she and I are working on called @botanetwork: a place that will share resources, guides, and networking for people in our communities who are motivated to go after their dreams.
7. In addition to the podcast, how do you stay connected to your Albanian roots? Do you visit back home often, find happiness in cooking traditional recipes, etc.?
My family has kept so many traditions up. My mom makes traditional foods all the time: flia, pite, pasul, mish e lakna. We grew up learning about the tradition of hospitality — making sure people who visit feel welcomed, and having meze, food, drinks, and good times. Speaking Albanian whenever I can. I do not speak it as much but I do enjoy it.
I visited back home to Kosova, and also Croatia when I was 15 — planning to go back there hopefully next year! My husband visits Albania a lot, so I have been there about 4 or 5 times I think. I learned so much from him, including the different dialects which we call Gheg and Tosk. So I understand Albanian very well but am always learning to improve on the speaking part. We love our music! We grew up listening to Albanian music, dancing, and valle. It’s probably my most favorite thing. There are so many ways I keep up with traditions. And I think it’s natural to lose some, keep certain ones, and even build upon new ones.
8. Any final words of wisdom you’d like to share with our audience?
Be true to who you are! You bring value in so many different ways. Try not to compare yourself to others because your experience, your journey brought you to where you are. If you feel that you are not where you should be, take a moment to evaluate what you want in life and learn how to get there. Teach yourself, read, learn, look at both sides of something, and keep striving till you reach a place where you can feel grateful and happy. There will be downs, and there will be moments when you don’t think you are good enough. Those moments are when we learn most about ourselves. Take time to understand yourself – write in journals, spend time with family, talk to a friend, listen to a podcast, read a book. Find that spark and inspiration. There are moments in life that will define you, are you willing to take that journey?