{"id":19828,"date":"2020-10-22T13:33:47","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T17:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/?p=19828"},"modified":"2022-06-22T10:06:47","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T14:06:47","slug":"a-place-to-live-authentically","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/a-place-to-live-authentically\/","title":{"rendered":"How Instagram Became A Place To Live Authentically"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I am living proof that with community, with sisterhood that anything is possible. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

If you took a gander at my social media platform on Insta, you\u2019d notice several things. You\u2019d see a gorgeous and flamboyant display of images of my fat, Black, and very Muslim face and body. You\u2019d see neon colors and bold prints. Different hijab and turban styles. You might\u2019ve even noticed that I\u2019m almost at 60k followers. Although, I don\u2019t call them followers anymore, I call them my community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community. Seems to be such a buzzword now like artisanal <\/em>or organic.<\/em> But it doesn\u2019t matter how \u201ctrendy\u201d it gets, as a Black woman, we\u2019ve always utilized such words. They are deeply rooted in our lineage. That sense of belonging, knowing that someone has got your back. I can now say that I have a strong community of misfits who look nothing like me, who come from all over and I consider to be closer to me than my own blood family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would you believe that there was a time when I hadn\u2019t thought that community existed for someone like me? I knew they were out there, but at the time, life, my husband, and society had beaten me down so bad, that I thought \u201ccommunity\u201d was a myth. It was only for worthy people. People who weren\u2019t broken. Like me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I made myself think that I could do it all on my own. If I made it in life, it would\u2019ve been because of me<\/em> only. Hell, no one believed in me anyway. That wasn\u2019t true though. People had<\/em> believed in me; I just hadn\u2019t found them yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also hadn\u2019t believed in myself like I thought I had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember when I first started opening up about life as a fat, Black woman who was broke af with not one but two master\u2019s degrees. Like any millennial, I started a blog. I had no clue where it would take me. I just thought it\u2019d be great to tell my story\u2014authentically and unapologetically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Instagram was the place I felt the safest, shockingly. Yes, the trolls were there but I\u2019d already dealt with so many real-life trolls. I stumbled upon the Body Positive Movement (before it was diluted by barely fat white women and companies trying to sell you flat tummy teas and toxic diet culture). I found people who were like me or at least interested in what I had to say. There were other fats like me. Who were loud and opinionated and sexy and didn\u2019t give a damn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There weren\u2019t any Muslims in that space yet. But still, I felt welcomed, like I could be what those women were for me one day. They gave me hope and a sense of belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I always tell people that my glow up was not without sacrifice. I blogged and modeled and worked for free for years in this industry. I was featured in Elle Magazine<\/em> and Huffington Post <\/em>more times than I could count but none of the fame was magically flipping into cash money for bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, I was also going through a divorce. Unemployed. Not one job prospect on the radar. But I was still creating content. Buying clothes from the clearance rack and returning the others. I was on food stamps, stretching $182 dollars per month for groceries. This is what it\u2019s like to be disadvantaged as a Black person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember hitting rock bottom. My credit cards had been maxed. Bill collectors had been blowing my phone up. I couldn\u2019t afford to put gas in my car, let alone pay them. I fell into a heavy depression. I remember asking myself: why couldn\u2019t I just get it right?<\/em> I knew the work I was doing in the plus-size community was work that needed to be done, but I could no longer pour from an empty cup. So, I broke down and told on myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a fat, Black Muslim who has not come from privilege.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Tears streamed down my face as I wrote a long post to my community about how I could no longer do it all. Immediately, women from all walks of life started commenting and offering kind words and love and empathy. Many others asked to support me financially. One dollar here and ten dollars there. Some even bought social media branding consultations from me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They raised a total of 2,000 dollars. It was enough to continue my work for a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a fat, Black Muslim who has not come from privilege. It is not easy being someone like me with all of my marginalized layers in a world of white privilege that is programmed to boost one over another. But what I can tell you, is that it is possible. I am living proof that with community, with sisterhood that anything is possible. I wouldn\u2019t be here if I hadn\u2019t allowed myself to be open, to be nuanced, to be vulnerable in a way that others\u2014who are very different\u2014could see themselves in me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forget agendas. Forget these movements. Strip yourself of all of that performative bull crap and that mentality of \u201cwhat will other people say.<\/em>\u201d What\u2019s left now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been humbled by life so many times, and I\u2019m sure you have, too. Right now, we are in an exciting yet uncomfortable time. Politically. Racially. Environmentally. We must do. Act. I know that\u2019s super general, but the \u201cdoing\u201d part is for you to figure out. In what ways will you draw from your community\u2014big or small? In what ways will you uplift the group within your home, your workplace, on a larger scale? In what ways are you going to live authentically and become the version of yourself that was always there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Photo Credits: @cylesuesz, @Victoriakaempfe.photography, @zeedavid<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Leah Vernon<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bio<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leah V is a plus-size Hijabi model, public speaker, and author of Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black Muslim. She\u2019s been featured by Buzzfeed, Yahoo, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Seventeen, and The New York Times. She grew up in Detroit, but currently resides in New York City. Connect with her on Instagram (@Lvernon2000) and on her website (Leahvernon.com).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>

What I Wish People Asked Me About Instead<\/h3>\n
\n

By Priyanka Saju<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>

What Pasta Has Taught Me<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Laura Delarato<\/strong><\/p>\n

Does simplicity exist when being plus-size isn\u2019t so simple?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author Leah Vernon strips down to show us the human element of social media and how it\u2019s helped her find a sisterhood of women who have become a chosen family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"class_list":["post-19828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-know"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Instagram Became A Place To Live Authentically - Dia & Co<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Writer, model and influencer Jeah Vernon muses on how finding community in the least likely of places - Instagram, helped her evolve into who she is now.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/a-place-to-live-authentically\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Instagram Became A Place To Live Authentically - 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