We recently connected with Zharia’Elizabeth McGlothin and have shared our conversation below.
Zharia’Elizabeth, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Gaining confidence was definitely something that I had to learn and somewhat force myself into. Growing up I had a hard time being comfortable in my darker skin complexion. Especially growing up in a time when colorism is so real, it was really hard to ignore that and embrace who I am.
I remember one day when I was in middle school I was at my grandparents home and I went into the bathroom and I said to myself over and over again “you are beautiful.” I kept saying it to in a sense force myself into believe it. Honestly it starts with you faking it until one day you truly feel it. I started doing things that made me different than others like developing my own sense of fashion and I took pride in that. Dressing up everyday became the norm for me and it truly instilled so much self-esteem in me because I was at a point where it didn’t matter if no one else understood it, I did and that was more than enough for me at that time. I started wearing my natural curly hair which was also not the most accepted or “trendy” at that time. These are just some of the things that I did to help myself walk into that confidence that I knew was there, I just had to push myself a little bit for it to be revealed.
Learning to love your skin complexion when “beauty standards” have not necessarily been that in the past is hard. My biggest piece of advice to those that are struggling with it is to remember that learning to love yourself and be confident in who you are is the stepping stone in you reaching your maximum potential. It may take some time and it may be an up and down journey but start loving yourself because once you do it pours into so many other areas in your life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a content creator, self published author, model, and college student. I definitely hold many hats and my hand is always in different baskets aiming to touch whatever is called of me. I started content creation on Youtube at twelve years old, I’ve been signed to my modeling agency for almost two years now, and I published my first book at nineteen.
At this time I am currently anticipating graduating from undergrad with my Associates and Bachelors Degree. I document my life through social media showing my day. I am a signed fashion model and I am currently working on my second book!
I am a creative and am someone who embarks on different journeys. The way I see it we have one life and I want to spend it knowing I did everything that inspired me because there’s so much to offer.
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?
I would say firstly resilience was one of the most impactful skills in my journey thus far. When you’re a creative the only thing you really have is your vision and your execution. Everyone won’t understand the vision and everyone isn’t meant to. Having that resilience to push through with the support of many or the support of none is truly what helps showcase the dedication one has to their journey.
Another skill that was most impactful would be patience. Good things take time and everyday won’t be the same as the day prior. Sometimes you’ll work on a project for months until you finally get it right in your eyes. Sometimes you won’t see the recognition you were hoping for in your work. All of it is apart of the journey to success and it’s meant to teach you these valuable skills for the next venture.
Most importantly, faith by far has been the most impactful component of my journey personally and professionally. I walk heavenly in my Faith with God. He has gotten me through many trials and tribulations in my journey thus far that I am forever grateful for. Remaining faithful to the promise he has for me is what keeps me going.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
One of my new years goals is to read more. A book that I am currently reading is “Do It Afraid” by Joyce Meyers. This books emphasizes the importance of taking leaps of faith and combating the feeling of fear. In my life I’ve had to take many risks that I wasn’t always sure would turn out on the right path. You never know until you try and if you never try you’ll always wonder.
I feel the this book thus far is giving me the motivation and encouragement that I need with my current endeavors. It’s scary trying something new, starting a new business idea, moving out of state, as well as so many other things and this read showcases that while empowering one to push through that fear and take that risk.
I believe many could takeaway great wisdom from this book as it’s a mixture of telling the word of God and revealing circumstances where doing it afraid is pivotal in your journey through life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://a.co/d/0YgnEck
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zharia_elizabeth/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZhariaElizabeth
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@zhariaelizabeth?lang=en
