We recently connected with Olive Okoro and have shared our conversation below.
Olive, 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?
Definitely, and not really. I used to be really obsessed with age. More particularly, the age at which people reach so-called ‘success.’ I always wanted to be a YouTuber when I was younger and even wanted more was to be seen as creative and beautiful. I have always loved watching people share themselves on social media, and I have loved even more the love they receive. I could have started my creative career during quarantine when I graduated high school, and in some ways, I did. I started posting more on Snapchat and making TikToks with my closest friends. This expanded to deleting Snapchat and focusing on making TikToks in the summer of 2022. I took a chance on myself, and it paid off. If I had taken the chance years ago, I may have been farther in my career than now. Regardless, I’m having a great time on the journey.
Olive, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hi everyone! I am Olive Okoro, a content creator and fashion model! I am 21 years old and a full-time college student attending Texas A&M University studying to obtain my Master of Science in Economics. Those are the basic things I present to almost anyone who will listen, but this is a special occasion, so let me provide more about myself and my human existence.
I got into content creation, hoping to make this hobby a career when I turned 20. I started making TikToks revolving around my outfits and opinions about the world around me. I provide laughs and different ways of expressing one’s self, especially to queer African girls who never really fit the norm of what society wanted us to be.
If I were to say I have ‘solved’ any problems within my audience, it would definitely be in the realm of genuineness. I am all about being different and as colorful as my heart desires. This life we live is long and short. I refuse to let this life go by without showing others that it is filled with hope and whimsical wonder. This is what sets me apart from others. I know many subgroups in just one person, and I don’t hide them. I would rather be loud and fully myself than shrink down to what I THINK other people want to see.
I am very proud of myself overall for how much I have grown in confidence, fashion, relationships, and career. I can see the ‘mistakes’ I have made and would do them again 100 times over. I was young, and I still am. I am growing, and so will my career in content creation, fashion, modeling, and everything else.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
You must put yourself out there, or no one will know you exist. I have always struggled with comparing my content creator journey with others who have more significant followings than me or receive larger brand deals than me. However, I have realized I cannot be jealous of someone when I can always reach that level. I learned to stop self-loathing and instead make my own dreams happen. I became my own hero. People become so in their own heads that they believe people will not enjoy what they bring. I learned that what I think is not the reality at all. I dare to exist entirely, and if anyone ever wants to get into content creation, they need to believe the same as well. Putting yourself out in the world for others to comment on your opinions and ways of expression is radical. Some non-creatives don’t want to be perceived, and that is okay. Creatives know that they will be perceived and decide to make money from the perception; I chose the latter.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I can express myself fully and make a living! Yes, I will receive my degree and have something to offer the world in the academic sense. However, I love having the freedom to show my creativity and help others know that creativity can be shared. I love influencing others and providing more positive ways of living. It is essential to have a grateful aspect of life and not let rejection get to me. Rejection is just redirection, and knowing how perseverance can get me so far is so rewarding. Life is serious, and it is also not sometimes. In my career path, I want to be an international economic developer who is also in magazines and billboards, helps thousands of people, in commercials for brands that help people, makes clothing for people without clothes, and so much more. I am rewarded for the smiles I bring others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/oliveokoro
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digital.olive/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olive-n-okoro/
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@digital.olive?_r=1&_d=eafjegc02hklg0&sec_uid=MS4wLjABAAAAT78GjUpd_9E6nT6ki7Gau7x_QyaIYnFtSfnCAAx_GoDJ3IWe5-bWsz71Yh2nuJv_&share_author_id=6639877189125242885&sharer_language=en&source=h5_m&u_code=d3mgjm7li39433&ug_btm=b8727,b0&social_share_type=4&utm_source=copy&sec_user_id=MS4wLjABAAAAT78GjUpd_9E6nT6ki7Gau7x_QyaIYnFtSfnCAAx_GoDJ3IWe5-bWsz71Yh2nuJv_&tt_from=copy&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=client_share&enable_checksum=1&user_id=6639877189125242885&share_link_id=F1F515B4-B034-485B-AE83-27E94551E617&share_app_id=1233
Image Credits
Cody Hamilton Katie Lucia