Lilly Singh is reflecting on her 13-year career and she’s reminding us all – in particular, brown girls – to believe in ourselves, even when others don’t.
The trailblazing YouTube star, author and philanthropist, who made history when she became the first person of Indian descent to host a late-night talk-show on American television, has posted a powerful video message on social media for young people who may be facing an uphill battle like she did:
“Dear Brown Girls. This is a no BS video. I wanna be real with you,” she begins.
“Since the beginning of my career until now, one thing that has been consistent is people telling me I can’t do it,” she continues, visibly emotional. “Or I wasn’t good enough. Or I shouldn’t do what I wanted to do. Or that I was embarrassing.”
Lilly goes on, “And of course we can say it happens to everyone and it does. But I need to be real with you and tell you that it’s going to happen more to you. Because people don’t know what to do with a strong woman. And I’m not even talking about myself. I’m saying, this is my analysis of all women doing great things. People do not know what to do with a strong woman. With a talented woman. With a driven woman. With a rich woman. With an outspoken woman. Especially a goddamn brown woman. Especially in the culture we grew up in.”
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And while the lack of belief and support was a consistent theme in Lilly’s career, the now two-time author and founder of Unicorn Island productions, says she’s proud of achieving all her goals despite the obstacles.
“I want you to know it is going to be so difficult, then I want you to go do the goddamn thing anyway. And I need you to believe and really, really feel it in your bones that you are fully capable of that. I never want you to limit yourself with what you think is possible for yourself because I promise you, everyone else will do it for you okay? And I mean strangers, people you’ve never met, people in your own community, people in your own family. You gotta stay focused on you and your goals and just know in your heart that you can do it.”
Lilly ends her message by sharing that no one should feel like they have to be “living within this box or these limits” and that the most important thing to do is “ignore the noise and just get it done.”
“I’m truly so grateful that I could be a part of so many of your journeys. It is the pride and joy of my life and the honour of my life to know that anything that I have done might’ve had a positive impact on you. Brown girls, get out there, get it done. We got paths to pave baby!”
You can watch Lilly’s message in full below:
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CelebrityKind Loves…
Check out Lilly’s latest book, Be A Triangle: How I Went From Being Lost to Getting My Life Into Shape. It’s a thoughtful and rather hilarious read about creating a solid foundation for your life (like the base of a triangle!) through an adjusted mindset and internal dialogue, so that no matter what is thrown your way including self-doubt or identity struggles, you’ll be able to navigate the world!
As always at CelebrityKind, we encourage you to support your local, independent bookstore. Or, if you order the book through the links provided below, CelebrityKind will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you so you’ll also be helping us grow. (FYI, the audiobook is particularly fun to listen to because it’s like your very own pep talk from Lilly herself!)
(Feature Image Credit: Tinseltown/Shutterstock.com)
