My name is Armita Lor Kalantari. I started InstaBeing as a collection of life lessons to bring these ideas to a wider audience. Thirteen years prior to this, I was living in Iran where I was a professional inline figure skater. However, I was not allowed to compete worldwide, because I was a woman. 

With the love and support of my coach, Sepideh, who was like a surrogate mother to me, I moved to the United States to pursue my dream of being the best skater in the world. I wrote to her for a year; every day after my practice in the United States. It was the only time of day which I had so much enthusiasm to write about my accomplishments of the day in the areas of school, learning a new language, a new culture and new tricks on skates. In 2006, I found out that Sepideh had Leukemia, my world was crushed and all my motivation to skate stopped right then and there.

When Sepideh passed away, I grieved for two years. But, one day I woke up and decided to not let unexpected events control me and my life. This is when I fully took responsibility and started painting a canvas to a new life.

In 2009, I began studying architecture at Cal Poly Pomona, and it was here that I started to find a greater meaning in my life again. As I pursued my career as an Architect, I strived to be able to build a better environment for our next generation. Now, after having practiced Architecture for the past 5 years, I’ve discovered my passion has grown beyond designing and building our physical environment, that in fact, I have developed a profound interest in humanity and its nature. Through many years of self-education, I’ve shifted my thinking to the spiritual aspect of the human experience and the need for self-discovery and personal growth. Today, I strive to share that with you weekly with InstaBeing.