Zuliya Khawaja spent years climbing the corporate ladder, until reaching the point when her six-figure job no longer brought her joy. She decided to look for happiness in other places and discovered her true passion when she started running her vegan food blog Naturally Zuzu.
Khawaja was born and raised in Uzbekistan, and she was in her twenties when she immigrated to the United States. It didn’t take her long to adjust to life in a new country, and she went on to become a successful real estate broker with a six-figure salary.
Despite reaching success in her career, Khawaja couldn’t’ shake the feeling something was missing in her life. She decided to take a break from her hectic job to explore things that brought her joy, such as dancing and cooking.
People in her life initially didn’t understand what she was going through and thought it was just a phase, but she kept extending her break. After a while, she decided that going back to her corporate joy was no longer an option because it never brought her as much joy as being in the kitchen and working on new recipes.
Khawaja’s leap of faith eventually paid off, and she went on to become one of the most popular vegan bloggers on social media. She also gained her plant-based nutrition degree from eCornell Nutrition Studies, was featured in several food magazines, and won Bravo TV’s competition show Top Chef Amateurs.
