“When an opportunity comes your way to take you outside your comfort zone, you should go for it 100 percent,” says Roslyn Rodda, manager of marketing and tourism for The Shops of Grand River.

Roslyn Rodda is a firm believer in straying from her comfort zone.  It’s something she resolved to do in the wake of a major life event.

“I was diagnosed in 2008 with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” she said.  “Having gone through that, I told myself, ‘No, you’re not going to live inside of a square.’  I believe that when an opportunity comes your way to take you outside your zone, you should go for it 100 percent.”

Now the manager of marketing and tourism for The Outlet Shops of Grand River in Leeds, she put her belief into practice with her work.  “I actually started out here at The Shops on the operations side of things.  Administration is my comfort zone, and marketing takes me 100 percent outside of it.  But I’m loving every minute of it.”

Her bout with cancer has had other effects on her life.

“Not a day goes by that it hasn’t rocked my world.  I look deeper into life now.  The first 20 years of my life, I lived on the surface.  Now there’s so much more meaning in the smallest things.  Like tucking my kids in every single night.  Saying our prayers.  Leaving a note in their lunch boxes.  I take advantage of time to do those things now.  When you live inch by inch, life’s a cinch.”

On a recent morning at The Shops’ food court, Rodda talked more about her family, her work, and what she learned from dealing with

Her job:  “I handle anything to do with The Outlet Shops of Grand River brand in print and digital media and PR.  Sometimes that involves photo shoots and commercial shoots, which are my favorite.  Anything that deals with promoting The Shops, my hands are in that pot.”

The most challenging part of her work:  “Pushing myself to think outside the box every single day.  Getting into our customers’ heads and determining what they want to see from us so we can give them something new and not just do the same run-of-the-mill market strategy.”

Roslyn Rodda style:  “Mall rat.  I love shopping and finding the latest trends and trying to make them my own.  I’m not an impulse buyer.  I feel the fabric, try it on two or three times, and shop around to find the best deal before I make a purchase.”

What makes her laugh:  “Everything.  When someone tells a good joke, I’m laughing.  When things get too stuffy or serious, I’m laughing.  I feel like I giggle so much throughout the day.  Even things that should be taken seriously, I’m often laughing on the inside.  And I laugh at myself.  I’ve learned that I’m pretty clumsy.  It’s best to laugh about it.”

The best advice she ever received:  “Stars can’t shine without darkness.  My mom told me that after I was diagnosed.  It really resonated and stuck with me.  At that time, I felt like she was trying to tell me that pain and suffering are essential.  Without them, you can’t truly feel joy in the smallest things in life.”

The best part of being a mom:  “Watching them grow up and seeing them become the young ladies they’ve become, but it also breaks my heart to see them grow up.”

How she describes herself:  “Two words come to the forefront:  fun and witty.  I’m always up for a good time, and you have to be careful around me because I’ll come right back at you.”

One of her favorite activities:  “Date night is always fun, but we don’t get a lot of those with nine-and-six-year-olds around.  I love going out to the newest restaurants and seeing the latest movies, but I also love just being at home with my husband and two girls, in yoga pants and tank tops, watching something on the DVR.”

Her favorite movie:  “Do I have to pick just one?  I love movies that are created after books.  Of course, I have to read the books before I see the movies.  I am excited about the movies based on the Divergent series.”

Is there a fictional character to which she especially relates?  “I put myself into whatever I’m reading.  If I didn’t feel I could relate to the characters or story, I wouldn’t read the book.  I think you have to connect.  Otherwise, it wouldn’t be interesting.”

Her favorite book:  The Great Gatsby.  “I’m such a nerd.  I’ve read that book so many times it’s crazy.  Fitzgerald is intoxicating to me.  I’ve also watched all the movie versions.”

If she could have a conversation with anyone, it would be:  “Paul, from the Bible.  I would really like to rack his brain to get an insight into his wisdom and experience.”

If she were stranded on the hypothetical desert island with one magazine, one meal, and one music album:  “The magazine would be something like a Reader’s Digest.  I don’t think a copy of Vogue is going to do it for me.  The meal would be sushi, any kind.  And the music would be Bob Marley.  I’m on a desert island, so why not?”

Her favorite sushi:  “Sushimi.  It’s whitefish, salmon, or tuna.  No rice or seaweed, just the raw fish.”

The food she hopes to never eat again:  “I’m not that picky.  As long as it’s not moving on my plate, I will eat it, but I cannot eat fake cheese like Velveeta or the aerosol cheese that comes in a can.  That’s for taste.  For texture, the food I cannot eat is Jell-O.  It’s like eating seal blubber.”