LightBox: Simi
Content writing queen, badass brand storyteller & soft life advocate.
This is Lightbox, a new segment of the twentysomethingbytres newsletter. Every month, I will be interviewing a twenty-something-year old to get insight into what life is like for them, the careers they are building, challenges, ideologies and more.
It promises to be a great time.
This month we will be speaking with Simi, (@thesimikunleoni on Instagram), a content writer, coach, and one of my favourite people in the world. In this article she talks about her life, content writing, the importance of being delusional and more.
Let’s get into it!
Hello, how are you doing?
Hi, I’m doing great.
Great! Can you please introduce yourself and what you do?
My name is Simi. Similoluwa Kunle-Oni. I am a writer. I do a lot of writing, from content writing to copywriting, etc. I also manage brands’ social media pages, creating awareness for brands, basically.
What was growing up like for you?
Growing up was really fun - I grew up in a close-knit environment, and I had a lot of family members around me. It was sweet. There was a lot of communication and great vibes.
That’s nice; and how would you say navigating your twenties has been?
Navigating my twenties has actually been surprising. It’s been fun. There have been good days, like extremely good days, and extremely bad days. One of the things I actually love about navigating my twenties is being able to make certain decisions on my own, and grow into my identity as a person. Just being in charge of my life, you know? On the flip side, there are days when I just want to (laughs) travel home and curl up in my mother’s bed and be a baby because sometimes I just want to be somebody’s baby and not have to worry about anything. But yeah, twenties are very wild, and we don’t get to do that a lot.
What do you think are the highlights?
I think I already answered this in the previous question, but there is something SZA mentioned in one of her videos about how she’s a very delusional person, and how that has led her to have extreme highs and lows. I relate so much to that. I can be very delusional in the sense that I think of how extremely good things can get —I dream about how extremely good things can get—and I stay in that plane. This is good because being delusional can actually help you achieve a lot. You have all these big dreams, and you work hard towards them, and they manifest. The highlights for me have been times when being delusional worked in my favour.
I will also say that growing as a person has been a highlight. Yunno, being more self-aware. Also, growing my brand, and growing people’s brands by helping them gain public awareness really really means a lot to me. The fact that I have helped others by writing relatable content, teaching them how to write better, and growing a community has been amazing. I have also enjoyed getting to know certain people who have been a great help to me, have encouraged me and made me believe in myself. These people have helped me elevate my career because there are times when I don’t want to do anything, or I am too scared to do certain things, and these people support me and tell me that I can do whatever I put my mind to. Basically, meeting great people. People that I have grown to love, people that love me, and creating fond memories with them has been a major highlight!
What are the lows?
In your twenties, you get rejected a lot. I think that’s the number one thing. I feel like even people that have their shit together get rejected. They still get told a lot of Nos. Another low is just how shocking adulthood can be. Adulthood turned out to be everything that I imagined it to be, and everything I didn’t imagine it to be. You want to grow up so much, and do things on your own, and then you find out that “okay, you’re actually doing things on your own!” And that can be unnerving in the sense that there are times when you don’t even know what you’re doing or what’s going on, and you get irritated by everything you do like “what the fuck am I doing?” (laughs) I’m so sorry, I don’t think I should curse. But yeah, basically, rejection and the shock from adulthood, and getting to navigate a lot of things on my own.
If you could go back in time and have a conversation with your twelve-year-old self, what would you tell her?
I would tell her to speak up more, to be more confident, because I feel like these are things I do more now. I am more confident, and I speak up better. In times when I feel like something is not right or people are not doing the right thing, I am able to tell them now. I have learned to be a little more confrontational. The good type of being confrontational, yunno, not the raging bitch kind of confrontational (laughs). But, like, if there is anything that doesn’t sit right with me, I have learnerd to speak up now.
What are you doing currently, as a career path?
I am writing. More than half of the time, I know what I am doing. Sometimes I don’t know what I am doing, but that’s the beauty of it.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Living life, of course! That’s my mantra. In five years, I will be twenty-eight. Oh my god! I feel like I will be much cooler than I am right now, and I will be extremely rich. A wealthy ass babe. In five years, by this time, I will probably be on vacation. Yeah, basically just living life (laughs heartily).
If I was interested in content writing, as a career path, where should I begin?
First, you need to write write write write. Show people you can write. Utilize your social media accounts, and post what you write. Just write. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just write. You grow as you continue to write, so basically, just keep writing. Also, sign up for my content writing class!
What is one thing you think everyone should do before they turn thirty?
Hmmm, so I think before turning thirty, people should do everything they’re scared to do, or everything they’ve always wanted to do. You don’t exactly have to be everything you want to be, but you should actually give it a try. Get out of your closet and just do something you’ve always wanted to do. Live life, to be honest, and continue living life in your thirties. Genuinely live life, learn to do things on your own terms and follow through on that. You should try to do everything you’ve always wanted to do.
Advice for people who are still figuring things out and want to be cool like you?
I am still figuring things out too! But to be honest, the best way to have things figured out and survive in the process, is to always want to learn, and to develop new, easier ways to actually survive. Because adulthood is the ghetto, so you have to keep figuring things out. Everything is going to make sense someday.
Also, I know I am cool, thanks for that.
Three things you can’t live without.
My family, my phone, and my friends.
Last words!
My last words would be: Live life, dare to dream, and don’t be scared of rejection.
If you’re scared of rejection, you’re not going to do anything useful with your life because you will always want to be in the shadows. Also, be delusional! Oh my God, delusion is really really good! It leads to manifestation. And yeah, learn to pray for things. Pray when you need help. Don’t lose sight of God.
I would also say, learn to be your own self. Find your identity. It will take a while, but at the end of the day, you’re going to grow into it. Because If you don’t have your own identity, you will discover that you are living life on other people’s terms and doing what other people are doing, and not what you actually want to do or what you’re destined to do. You will discover that you will start making some very risky decisions that you’re not really supposed to make. You can follow trends if you like them, or if they’re vital to you, but it is important to have your own identity. Thank you! Also, subscribe to 20-something. Bye, Tressiene, the Love of my Life. Kisses. This was lovely!
Thank you, Simi! This was Great! <3
Check out Simi’s Content Writing Course. Registration ends next week! She is a beast at this content writing thing, so if it’s something you want to get good at, or you’re interested in, consider signing up! Let me know if you enjoyed this, and who you’d like to see next month! Thanks for reading as always, I’m rooting for you!
This week, in Media:
Reading: I got bored of everything I had been reading, so I started reading Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola and LETMETELLYOU, it is sooooooo cute omg! I find myself giggling, and honestly this isn’t me??? I am the babe that enjoys angsty books like A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, and yet here I am blushing at the ludicrous conversations Kiki and Malakai have. I even feel like I am intruding omg. I love romance.
Listening: This week I haven’t really been in the frame of mind to listen to music tbh, but I recorded an episode with a friend on her podcast, about Navigating Black Tax. First time doing this so kind of nervous, but we had fun doing it.
Watching: Still watching Twenty Five-Twenty One, I have two episodes left before I move onto the next gutwrenching K-drama, but I have enjoyed it, it’s been a soulful journey.
Till next week!
I know I'm totally fan-girling but please I want Caleb Ibejigba next. Thank you!
Love this so much.
Congratulations on launching a new segment ❤️