What to Do When Your Friends Don't Support Your Ambitions

Vlogger Jouelzy posted this video to vent her frustrations about the lack of support she received in pursuing her goals from a few of her close friends. The video resonated with me as someone who has chosen an unusual career path.


Toward the end of the video, Jouelzy gives a word on limitations people will try to place on your ambitions.

We all have some of the same tools. Some of us just use them differently. And when people see you using things tht they have in themselves differently--whether you are more vocal about something whether you are exposing yourself a little bit more and it's working for you, they get scared. That "I don't get what's special about her" sentiment. You don't get what's special about me because I have the same damn tools as you, but I chose to use them. Don't shade me because your lackluster life is leading you nowhere. We all go different paths. My path to success is not the same as any of my other peers, and in the same sense that I'm not going to sit on Instagram and compare my life in 2D to somebody else, don't you dare throw your shit in my face. That's just how I feel about it. You can't as a friend offer someone professional advice when you only know them on a personal level.

I just don't want anybody to get deterrred whether you're becoming a vlogger, a blogger, you're starting your own company, you're starting your own career path, you're getting into something that is not typical because you are a Black female and we are always expected to focus on one singular thing and have regular jobs and be corporate women and aspire to work for someone else as Black women, do not let someone else deter you from pursuing things that are out of the norm for Black women because we still have a long way to go.