An Inspired Chat with Maki Bethea of Irvington

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Maki Bethea. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Maki, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is a normal day like for you right now?
A normal day for me right now… First I wake up at 5am to make it to the gym. Then I come home and get ready to help manage a classroom of 22 kindergarteners. They’re cute, but be warned.. They bite AND cry. When I come home I have to give myself at least an hour of decompress time. This is where I take a nap, scroll on my phone, eat, etc. By 5:30 I have either homework to finish for my online course or spend my time editing / planning content for tiktok. By 8pm I get ready for bed or watch one of my favorite guilty pleasures… Baddies on Zeus. I try to get to sleep by 9:30pm, but lately it’s been more like 10:30pm.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
A little blurb about me! Hi, my name is Maki. I am a creative who makes content on tiktok. I went to NYU Tisch school of Fine Arts where I studied drama. I have always loved acting and wanted to find a unique way to explore it more post college. As of right now, I am still working on building my brand on tiktok. I had a few minor setbacks that caused me to take a long break, but rest assured I am coming back stronger. One thing you should know about me is that I will always get back up. It’s a promise I made to myself a long time ago. 

My content features different short skits that I write and edit myself. In an effort to stay connected to my viewers, I also feature more personal videos like vlogs or chat sessions. I want my viewers to know me on this journey of creativity. I just turned 25 and sometimes I feel like I’m not doing enough or I’m not where I should be. I think a lot of you can relate or have felt something similar. I want my content to be a place where other artists can share their thoughts and feel seen. Essentially, on this journey of creative exploration, we all need each other to keep going and find inspiration.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
I would say my relationship with my mother is one that shaped how I see myself. I’ve always known my mother to be a strong willed individual. Growing up, my mother and I were often at odds. I didn’t understand her when I was younger, but as I get older I feel I understand her more. After my brother passed in 2023, I finally saw the humanity in her. At that time, I also saw the humanity in myself. I realized that my ability to get up after feeling knocked down time after time, was passed down from her. I watched my mother work long hours, lose her job, grieve the loss of her mother, move to a new city, buy a house, grieve the loss of her son, start a business, and go back to school. I finally am starting to see my mother and understand that what she instilled in me is resilience.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I would say the fear of succeeding. I think a lot of people talk about the fear of failure. At a young age, I was taught that you only fail if you give up. However, no one has prepped me for success and how uncomfortable that can feel. A lot of times I notice that I downplay my goals or try to be “realistic”, not realizing that going above and beyond is a beautiful thing. It’s a blessing to know your strengths and be able to really lean into them. After years of hiding myself, I’ve forgotten how to trust myself, questioning every move I make. It also creates this enormous pressure to do everything perfectly and that’s something that can never be obtained. So, I try and try thinking “I’m not giving up so that’s good”, but I’m also not allowing myself to succeed. All I can say is it’s a work in process and I’m always committed to working on myself to see my dreams become reality.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What do you believe is true but cannot prove?
For a while, I believed that everything happens for a reason. My earliest introduction to religion lead me to believe that god has a plan for all of us. But the one thing that I felt could never be explained with this ideology is sudden loss. I think loss of a loved one can really change the way you perceive the world. For me, it helped me understand that we are the creators of our life. That is to say that the way we think can change how we feel about something. I’m not saying that life doesn’t have meaning, but what I am saying is that we give life a meaning, a purpose. I have come to understand that I choose what my life will consist of ( those that are in my control ). It is up to me whether I choose to get up and go to the gym or skip leg day. It is up to me if I prioritize making time for my goals or fill that time with something else. There are of course things that are out of our control, but all that seems to matter is what we choose to do with the time we are given.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
This question is interesting because it forces you to question the wait. Honestly if I knew I only had 10 years left, I would immediately stop looking for validation from others on how I should live my life. Unfortunately, I think I have created a habit of asking for advice while already knowing the answer for myself.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @makibethea
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/makiiman
• Other: TikTok: Maki.iman