Grace Beverley

Like I would post in the mirror without my face.

Literally my face was nowhere.

And it was because I was embarrassed.

Like I didn't even have my name attached to the accounts.

And all of this was obviously because the idea of my friends who were at sixth form with me seeing me post on Instagram was completely mortifying.

And that fear was confirmed, to be honest.

Like a lot of those people did judge me.

Even when I turned up at university as someone who was posting on Instagram, influencer wasn't really seen as a job.

It definitely wasn't seen as a respectable job, I can tell you that for free.

It was really embarrassing.

It felt really embarrassing.

And the only thing that kept me going, as I said, was the fact that that inflection point

was pretty early on for me.

Like, yes, it took probably a year and a half for things to start taking off, but each gradual win felt like a win.

So it felt like something that I could commit to and I felt like it was worth sticking to it rather than giving in to being seen as cringe.

I also thought that I've done it now, so I might as well continue.

But I think the thing really is, is that I saw an end goal and I developed a thick skin to embarrassment early.

I learned that the fear of being judged doesn't actually kill you.

And in the end, people get bored.

Like I started being paid 20 quid here and there to post on Instagram.