Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mariah Sun. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Mariah, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from my kids! I got married really young and ended up in an abusive marriage and we had two children in our marriage. It was a really difficult part of my life, and ultimately I ended up leaving my marriage after being a stay at home for years. I moved across the country and away from all of my family and started over. If you’ve ever done this, you know how hard it is. Navigating the world with two small children on your own can sometimes feel suffocating, like you can never catch a break. I’ve learned so many hard lessons and learned how to survive on my own in different regions, cultures, and demographics. My kids have kept me motivated and determined in the midst of every challenge thrown my way. Having someone’s childhood in your hands will make you unbreakable and resilient for sure.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I model on purpose, and accidentally became somewhat of a social media personality. I’m always going back and forth on my “brand identity” as an influencer, I know I have an audience I love and we vibe and it works for me! I’m not much of a “niche” person. I like to be myself and attract who I attract. My social media really is how I got into modeling. I seen a mother agency looking to cast some new faces and used their hashtag and they found me and signed me the next day! My story with modeling gets a little emotional after getting signed.
About a month after signing with my mother agent, one of the biggest modeling agencies I had been praying for wanted to sign me and I spent so much time praying on it. Unfortunately, on the day I got signed I found out my uncle had been murdered. My uncle had more belief in me than I did in myself sometimes. My goal in my career is to achieve every hope and dream my uncle had for me, and to be as big as he knew I could be. If you look at a lot of the shoots I’ve done, I’ve worn a necklace with heart shaped wings. It’s a necklace that carries his ashes, and I take it everywhere with me so he can experience all these amazing things and places I’m getting to experience. I’m so grateful for the brands who have allowed me to have that moment. His memory is what keeps me going when I feel defeated in this industry.
Growing up, I was picked on for having freckles and being mixed. I grew up poor, my mom worked several jobs my entire childhood. My family doesn’t come from money. This chapter of my life is personal, I want to break the generational curses that have plagued my family. I want to rewrite our story. I want to give back to my mom. I want to give my kids what I never had, even if it’s just stability. I just want to give back to everyone who has poured into me. I want to make the people around me proud.
I would like to focus more on activism and philanthropy work in the next year, and finding a way to merge that with my social media. Losing my uncle to gun violence has given me motivation to prevent our youth from turning to gangs and drugs, and I hope in whatever I achieve in modeling and beyond I’m able to use my platform to better the communities I get to experience.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Being resourceful. 2. Learning how to network.
3. Consistency over complacency.
I’m from a small town where no one was doing what I’m doing now. It was hard to learn how to build your portfolio, find agencies, etc. there’s so much to learn, but if you’re resourceful you can always find what you need to go forward. And when you feel defeated, or like you’re in a lull- remain consistent and motivated.
And never compare yourself to anyone else or their journey.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I would love to work with any organizations focused on at-risk individuals or underserved communities, particularly any youth programs. If you give back to your community and are looking for help and think I can assist, let’s connect! [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Itsmariahsun
- Other: [email protected]
Image Credits
Oliver Miguel, Ramiah Branch
