It’s nice to have dreams and people to look up to. Sometimes these dreams can be as small as wanting to pass your next exam or as big as wanting to create the next big tech innovation. When you have big dreams like that it's nice to have a point of reference or someone to look up. Many singers that I know tend to look up to Renee Fleming if they want to do classical music or Beyoncé if they're in the pop realm. Having someone that you can look up to can change how you deal with situations, gives you ideas on how you can deal with current things in your life, and also motivates you to continue your journey on the path to success.

We usually have many people to look up to for different things. For instance I look up to Rihanna for fashion reference (even though I can barely pull off the looks she wears) and for her nonchalant attitude. Y'all Rihanna is literally the definition of carefree black girl. But for creating music I look up to people like Q-Tip and Missy Elliott, because they make amazing music that I try to emulate. Having people to look up to really helps you visualize yourself and your dreams. When I see people like Briana Shanee (the founder and owner of Matte Brand) and Domyenn (founder and owner of Slayer Hair Company), it motivates me more to keep working on my app and on all of our other business ventures that I want to achieve. Having those figures makes it worthwhile because you’ll be on the same roster as the people that once motivated you.

I can’t wait to have my peers in music and business be people like Jay Z, Diddy, and Dr. Dre. Or create work that sets me apart in marketing like Bozoma Saint John. If I didn’t have these reference I probably wouldn’t be able to dream as big as I do now. Having representation in your respective industries is really essential to people who are just getting started whether it is in music, business, art or whatever career you dream about. It’s just nice to see that you too can make it on top.

That’s why I love to see women like Michelle Obama, Bozoma Saint John, and others do their thing because I look at them and think I can do that too. I can be a chief marketing officer at a publicly traded company or I can be an educated black women taking initiative on women’s right and on education. Of course my goal is not to completely replicate the paths of these great people but it is very intriguing to see where people that look like me or have similar experiences end up.