why I created the "women storytellers you MUST follow" series

I’m sure you’re wondering – why did ayo create the “women storytellers you MUST follow” series? Or maybe you don’t care – understandably so. But Imma share some insight to serve as some possible inspiration by sharing 4 reasons why I made “women storyellers you must follow” series

1. Be PICKY about consumption

I rant about this quite a lot on instagram but I am PICKY about what I consume these days. I am a terrriblee scroller. I use tiktok like how I use youtube. As in I search for something on tiktok instead of using my fyp. My fyp is just for me to like my friend’s content in support.

I say all this to say that I am not a scroller because I am picky about consuming things that are unique & different. I don’t like consuming anything & everything because I don’t think that’s healthy for our souls. During an Issa Rae interview, she said she likes watching things that make her laugh or feel something and i relate STRONGLY with this. Since I want to produce work that does these 2 things, I gotta consume videos that also accomplish these 2 goals.

So I’ve become picky about what I consume. But in order to become picky I need to know what to watch instead. I know I am not the only person who feels this way. So I thought – why not start a series that highlights people who embody this ethos, so others know who to follow too?

2. Celebrate Black Women

A big reason why I did this series was to celebrate Black women. In a time where Black women are getting murdered by their husbands (although we know this has always been going on for a while) simultaneously during Black women history month, it only seems fitting that I do a more long form special feature on my youtube channel which will be releasing this Sunday.

Now I know not everyone on this list is a Black woman. I have a few Asian woman creators in the mix because I truly believe they are also amazing.

But oftentimes Black women don’t get the flowers they deserve especially in online spaces. So I wanted to share with the world the beautiful Black women who I believe are underrated but need to be known

3. Encourage other creatives

Let’s be honest: as creatives, as much as we want to say we don’t care about others affirmations there is part of us that oftentimes wants that validation. Even though we must be content with our our own validation, we also want that encouragement.

So, second to uplifting Black owned businesses, my other favorite hobby is cheering people on. It doesn’t hurt to uplift someone in their work. In fact, in a way it helps you also heal by lifting up others. A few creators responded to my videos which I was shocked by. But their response reminded me that creators need acknowledgement that their work is worth it and valuable too. Just because somebody has lots of followers doesn’t mean they truly feel validated in their work. Sometimes they need a reminder and cheerleader to tell them “keep going, you are doing a beautiful job”

I also believe if you give away that love & encouragement to others, that same energy will come back to you. So it never hurts to lift up somebody.

3. Have fun creatively

I first got this idea sort of from filmwcolleen. She did a series on instagram where she wrote love letters to her favorite creators. When I watched that it planted a seed in my mind but then I made it completely my own. I honestly couldn’t tell you where I got the other ideas from except Jesus because I look back and it doesn’t make full sense. But it was such a fun way to play with different ideas and think of different editing styles.

As this series comes to an end, I hope you are inspired to make your own series. It doesn’t have to be “women storytellers you must follow”. But maybe it could be another unique way you uplift someone else this wekk!