Over the past 2 weeks, I’ve learned a few new life lessons. One of the most important lessons I’ve learnt is that the media & the Internet aren’t always the happiest, or kindest place, to be involved with. I always take what I see on the web with a grain of salt, but I have to be honest, I’m not used to as much attention as my tweets have been getting! As you know, I’ve never had anything go “viral” and I didn’t start on Vine. If I had, I’d probably be a household name by now. I prefer to inspire people with my hustle and drive and if one day I become a household name, cool! But that’s not why I’m in this career path. Otherwise, I probably would’ve tried dating Bieber or posting content different than I do years ago. I never have looked deeper into the word “overnight sensation” because I believe it means nothing more than just that: overnight. In 2018, if you’re not an overnight sensation the day after you start your company, blog or YouTube channel, then you probably think you’re worthless and want to give up already. Right? It’s not your fault if you think like that, but think of all of the people out there starting companies, some that become successful and many that fail, but if the successful ones had given up after their first failure. Same for actresses: ones who have long careers are scientifically not ones who have become famous overnight. One of my friends asked me why she should start a YouTube makeup channel because of the possibility that no one would watch her videos. I replied back to her:

“Do you think I thought like that when I was writing my blog at 12? Do you think I intended for people to read my terrible writing at 12? NO!”

There needs to be some attention brought to the fact that Kylie Jenner has been labeled a self-made billionaire by Forbes. I am not writing this post to put anyone down, but if people don’t call this Forbes for their labeling of someone who isn’t self-made, many of you trying to start companies might feel like you won’t be successful or become self-made unless you have a wealthy, powerful family or many investors. That’s the complete opposite of the truth. To set the record straight before I get more hate, go Kylie. I’m not into makeup and I think spending $400 on a makeup brush is kind of a waste of money, but you could say me spending $400 on a plane ticket or a pair of shoes is a waste of money too! Here’s the thing: everyone has different opinions and visions on life. I’ve built a platform (and I’m definitely not a millionaire, or billionaire, or in my opinion, even successful yet!) based on my honesty and obsession with showcasing the journey of becoming a self-made entrepreanur. You might not agree with my opinions, and I don’t always agree with my friends or anyone in the media (like anyone who is currently in the White House, please bring Obama back) but you don’t put people down for their opinions. I don’t agree with Forbes and I called them out via Twitter on that, but I don’t deserve to be put down and neither does any other person in the public eye or not. Tweet me your opinion, or your favorite celebrity your feedback on something they say, but realize that everyone is a real human being off of the Internet. We’ve all got feelings, we’re all making mistakes, and we’re all doing our best in the world to be the most authentic and admirable person on & off of the Internet.

So Forbes, I unfollowed you because of this article. I unfollowed you not because of who you chose to put on the cover, but because of what you labeled this person as. As a publication who has featured people like me, and Sara Blakely, and Michelle Grant, and OPRAH!!! and labeled all of us “self-made entrepreanurs” I’m seriously disappointed in your decision to label someone who came from so much the same label you’ve given me. What will other teens out there think of the word self-made now? Maybe you did this to get more press, and get people buying your magazine, but shame on you. People read Forbes during times when they’re not able to sleep at 3 AM because they’re nervous their business won’t succeed, or because they want to feel inspired by someone who went from $0 to $1 million in 10 years. They’re not reading Forbes to learn about an empire built before someone already came out of the womb. Acknowledge success and the ways that people get there: but don’t overlook the journey prior to their success. Every entrepreanur has a different journey, but most don’t come from that much. That’s why entrepreanurs are rare, and special.

All I’ve ever done, and will continue to do, is create new conversations and get people thinking. I welcome your feedback (be nice! no cursing!) via all of my social media platforms, as I always do, but I’m human too. Would you want to wake up to 1000 nice tweets and 1000 mean ones? Nah. There’s space for all of us and all of our companies!

Xo,

Alexa