We recently connected with Sharon Cancio and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sharon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
For me, being an artist or a creative is a double-edged sword. On one hand, I have the freedom to really do anything I want. I’m able to do something I love and want to do, however, and whenever I want to do it. There is no one telling me what to do, I don’t have to follow someone else’s rules, and I don’t have to listen to anyone else, period. Not a lot of people have that opportunity, so I’m forever grateful for it. On the other hand, being a self-employed artist/creative doesn’t always come with the stability of a “regular job.” Pay is not always guaranteed and pay is not always the same. There are a lot of ways to earn money through your art, especially as a social media content creator, but just because there are a lot of ways to earn money, it doesn’t mean that you’re always actually earning that money. For example, a content creator may earn more money during the December holiday season than a possible slow month like March. A creator may have more brand partnerships in one month than the other. It’s never something that is actually stable. That being said, I’ve had “regular jobs” and I’ve never been happier than I am right now, as a creative. Sure the instability isn’t great, but I’m happy doing something I love and I personally value that more. When or if the time comes when I’m just over being a content creator, I have so much experience and a degree to back me up when it comes to finding a “regular job.” So for now, I’m totally content!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Sharon Cancio, also known to the internet as “Just Sharon.” I am a content creator, mainly known for my YouTube channel. I also post content on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. My content is a mix of my personality: an independent, confident woman with a witty sense of humor. My audience refers to me as their “internet sister,” and turn to me for advice, comfort, and all-around relatable content. I strive to give my viewer a safe space and make them feel heard, inspired, and confident. That being said, if I were to choose three content pillars they would definitely be: self-love, self-care, and women empowerment.
To give you a backstory, I’ve been making YouTube videos for about 10 years now. I first got into making YouTube videos when my older cousin showed me parody videos as a preteen. I immediately fell in love with the idea of creating content to make people happy, laugh, and share with others. So I asked my cousin to sign me up for YouTube and teach me how to make videos on Windows Movie Maker.
My first videos were a bunch of slideshows as I did this for fun. I started to take it a bit more seriously when I was 15 and YouTubers were beginning to become a source of entertainment amongst my friends and people our age. A friend at the time and I enjoyed watching a collab channel together. We thought they were so cool and we wanted to be just as cool as them so we made our own YouTube channel and started uploading videos. Our videos were challenges that were popular at the time like the cinnamon challenge, hot sauce challenge, and more. As we got older, we began to have different interests. I still cared about making YouTube videos, so I took on the YouTube channel as my own — hence the beginning of my name, “Just Sharon.”
I loved feeling like a part of a community, so I wanted that for my viewer. That being said, a lot of my content is submission-based. Some of my popular series include Period Horror Stories, where I share my subscriber’s memorable experiences of dealing with their periods. My Girl Talk series, where I answer questions my viewers may feel too embarrassed to ask someone else. I also have my Only Girls Understand series, where I react to stereotypical things that only girls are supposed to understand, relate to, or go through. I want my channel to be a safe space for my viewer and strive to do just that.
I mentioned one of my series where I share ‘period horror stories’. I actually make a lot of videos discussing periods, as I’m very passionate about menstrual education and it’s because I believe it leads to shame, embarrassment, and insecurities. Society has made something that is so natural seem like this secret we must keep, a secret we should feel bad about so I make videos such as period horror stories, to make my viewer feel better and be able to relate. We have periods and we’ve been embarrassed by them too! And that’s okay! I’ve even made videos like how to put in a tampon (which was actually featured on HBO Max show “And Just Like That..”) or tested different reusable period products.
Through making all these videos, I quickly learned about period poverty. If someone is ashamed of their period, how can they ask for help? In turn, I started hosting an annual period drive in collaboration with Florida State Representative Susan Valdes. We’ve donated around 20,000 individual products to I Support The Girls – Tampa Bay, a local nonprofit. Donations went to those in need all across Tampa Bay, such as group homes, detention centers, schools, domestic and homeless shelters, and more. As a way to promote period confidence, I’ve also designed my own Period Journals. This is a way to track your period cycle in a written journal, so one can learn more about their body and become more comfortable with it. One is able to track their moods, symptoms, days of bleeding, and more. My journals are available for purchase on Amazon, and can be found here:https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3ASharon+Cancio&s=relevancerank&text=Sharon+Cancio&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Take them seriously! I don’t think arists and creatives get as much credit as they deserve. Where would we be without art? That includes music, film, architecture, clothing, and so much more. I believe artists and creatives are able to change society because they can evoke emotional responses from their audiences. That’s something very powerful! Support them by buying their art, sharing their art, encouraging their art, and most importantly – validating their art. Just because it’s not a clean-cut, regular 9-5 job, doesn’t mean that it isn’t good enough. It’s still a job and it should be taken seriously, simply treat them as such.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The ability to bring people together. I love being able to make someone feel connected, heard, seen, even loved. I grew up loving anything and everything about pop culture and was definitely a “fangirl” when I was younger. Some of my fondest moments and memories that will stay with me for as long as possible are those interactions or moments I shared with someone that really meant a lot to me. Whether it was a musician, an actor, or a YouTuber. They meant a lot to me because at one point or another, they got me through a tough time or simply made me happier. The fact that I am now that someone for someone else, is honestly very humbling and wonderful and I will never take that for granted because I know exactly what it’s like. Being able to make someone happy is very special to me as life isn’t always that great, it can be pretty tough sometimes! Those moments of happiness are priceless.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://msha.ke/justsharon
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharoncancio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JustSharonCancio
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharoncancio/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharonCancio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JustSharon
Image Credits
Myself!