We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Destiny Shivers. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Destiny below.

Destiny, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I have been a creative and “free spirit” for as long as I can remember; uncertainty and doubt come with the territory.

After almost two years of blogging and content creating inconsistently, I wish I would have taken advantage of the time I had at home-not working or needing to-when my daughter was small to really focus on and build my followings. While I do not regret focusing on my child and my own mental health, I do often wonder where my content would have taken me by now. When I started my first blog & platform “The Hot Young Mom”, I was a bored stay-at-home mom enrolled in college classes, in a state with nearly no family, no friends, and no outlets to help pass the time. Writing and playing Sims 4 helped me find community, but when I lost my auntie in 2022, I pulled away from Sims and creating. It was too hard to do anything but cry and mourn.

When I finally found the strength to stand up and breathe again, I slow-crawled back to my blog and social media profiles and the love was overwhelming. It was almost too much for me, honestly. As overwhelming as it was, the support I received was a reminder that all I have to do is trust myself and go wherever my creativity takes me. The world will receive me and my talents will carry me. Had I started when I initially had the idea and dove in, without hesitation, I truly believe my words and content would have been recognized and uplifted in the spaces I dream of being in. No time for dwelling and regrets though, we move and keep moving.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am Destiny, formerly and more commonly known as, The Hot Young Mom. I started the blog thehotyoungmom.com as a way to try to motivate myself to “overcome” my postpartum depression & “Baby Blues” and share my testimony with the world. Through Instagram posts dedicated to my struggles as a single mom in a multi-generational household, I aimed to connect and inspire parents- mostly woman identifying parents- to find themselves after motherhood, persevere in the face of adversity, and be encouraged to break cycles of abuse and trauma-led parenting. However, after losing 2 of my closest uncles and aunties and becoming a tad *too* influenced by the women I followed on social media; I decided to pivot. I couldn’t keep up with the societal pressures of being “hot” or “fine” AND a mama to a small human.

What was birthed next was “Mother of Fun”, a blog, brand, and lifestyle committed to changing the landscape of sensory play, collaborative play, and free and conscious parenting. On motherofun.com my mission is to guide parents to parenting that is patient, playful, and a collaborative journey rather than one led by power and fear. Our Instagram and Twitter pages are filled with ways to play with your children, quick and easy-to-apply parenting tips, and educational resources and research behind play-based parenting. We can be found on all social platforms at motheroffun_.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

As a creative that is constantly learning about new and abundant career paths, I think society and creatives alike would greatly benefit from telling the truth about the paths creativity can take you on. As an author, I have found that my writing could lead me down a path of copy writing, technical writing, ghost writing, and a host of other lucrative writing careers. As an amateur photographer and content creator, I have come to find a wide variety of stable, well-paying jobs that would allow me to continue being creative and doing what I love while having the job stability that comes with a “regular” job. In high school, my only promoted career options were college, a hard labor trade, or the military- essentially. The more creatives I meet and discover, the more paths become available to me; the more regret and disappointment begin to creep in.

While social media amplifies creatives in the best way, it is also easy to get discouraged when your vanity metrics do not align with what companies and other influencers look for. I believe a thriving and encouraging creative ecosystem includes connections, opportunities for amplification and promotion, places to share and receive feedback, and community.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My chief motivating and driving force is free, joyful, and well-rounded children raised by happy, healthy, and whole parents. I was born and raised in abuse; my childhood was robbed by anxiety and fear. I vowed to never raise my hands or voice to any children I have… and then I had a child. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to not yell or threaten but I was committed to holding my promise and raising a child that was free from gender roles, oppression, and fear. Raising Bean by myself, with no outside the home help or partner support, opened my eyes to how inaccessible and uniformed most mainstream parenting advice was. As the “Mother of Fun” I desire to create parenting advice and guidance that is digestible, fun, and informative on a culturally sensitive and appropriate level.

Contact Info:

• Website: motherofun.com
• Instagram: motheroffun_
• Twitter: motheroffun_

Image Credits
Ronald, Shoott Photography – Christmas Sweater Photos