Ask.Fm Questions

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Once in awhile my phone lights up with notifications of dim-witted questions posted on my ask.fm account. People say to ignore the haters and the stupid questions and I do mostly that but I’ve realized that some people need to be taught, not ignored.

‘How did you become Cleo IT girl when you are so unpopular relatively to other instagrammers’

Try not to roll your eyes back twice – once for the sheer stupidity of the question and the other for the butchering of the English language. This is my summarized response:

‘I am the Cleo ambassador. The search was for a female with the personality and character that would accurately represent the magazine and what it stood for. Fortunately, none of these important attributes have anything to do with one’s popularity over a social media platform. If you teach girls to look up to an individual solely based on the numbers on her social media account, what will they take away from that?’

I want to address this properly.

Cleo has been my favorite magazine for years and I’m not just saying this because I’m the face of the magazine. Glossing over their extensive covergae on the season’s make-up trends and fashion advice, Cleo does so much more to inspire, connect and relate to girls.

The search for Cleo’s IT Girl started a few months back, and while I might not be too sure of what an ‘IT Girl’ stands for, I know what I stand for as the Cleo ambassador. My interview process with Cleo was simple enough – I wanted to share what I could with the magazine’s readers. The opportunity to reach out and be relatable to others was something I’ve always loved doing, and my collaboration with Cleo promised that very chance, and on a larger platform.

This is what I stand for as a Cleo Ambassador. The number of followers on my Instagram account is not a representation of me.

Chances are that you’re going to forget everything I’ve written in this article, but if there’s one thing to take away from this, promise me it’s this:

You are not defined by numbers – on a weighing scale, on a result slip, on your social media platforms.

If I inspire someone, I want the reason to be more than just the jaw-dropping number of followers on an Instagram account. #goals is not a record-breaking number of likes on a photo in one minute. #goals is when I’m able to let girls know that they’re never alone with anything they’re going through, and that it will only get better when it hits rock bottom because the only other way is up.

If you’re up for it, ask me something on ask.fm: @elizabethboon

Senseless questions may (read: will probably) be ignored.