Inquiring Minds Want to Know: Kiru's Take on Confidence

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Kiru Srikanth from Kiru's Corner. Kiru is a 27-year old YouTuber who began her online journey in 2013 as a way to expose her audience to differing perspectives and to help those with common issues they may be facing.  Initially, Kiru's Corner started off as a Facebook Page called Ask Kiru where readers were encouraged to leave questions and Kiru would leave behind her advice and nuggets of knowledge. Since anonymity is non-existent in the world of Facebook, Kiru decided to move to a bigger platform, Youtube, where her message could reach a wider audience. Empathic Counselling Centre is super impressed with Kiru's courage in addressing several societal issues that cripple the Tamil Disapora including the caste system, "appropriate" clothing for women , and meeting parental expectations . We were curious about Kiru's confidence since obviously it takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there on the interwebs. Here is what Kiru had to say:

Empathic Counselling (E.C):  What's your personal motto in life?

Kiru's Corner (K.C):     Be the reason for someone's smile    

E.C: How do you define confidence?

K.C: Always keep your head high and never let that crown drop, even at the toughest of times.  Believing in yourself is key for success.  There is a thin line between confidence and cocky, so always remember to stay humble.

E.C. When first starting your Youtube channel, did you get any initial resistance, especially with being of South Asian background?     

K.C. I didn't put much thought into the society nor am I a person to stop myself due to other people's opinions.  Majority of my videos encourage people to stand up for themselves and not worry about what others would say as I have lived my entire life this way and strongly oppose of the idea.

E.C: If you can borrow someone's confidence for the day, who would you choose? Why?      

K.C: I admire Beyonce for her confidence.  She dresses, walks, and talks confidence.  She built an empire for herself and is capable of carrying herself all on her own.  

E.C: Can you describe a time where your confidence was at an all time low and it seemed like it could not be restored? What did you do to restore it?      

K.C: There are times I wanted to quit Youtube due to not reaching the subscribers or view count as desired.  Many days of feeling low and worthless and thought giving up would be a better choice.  I express my feelings to my friends who encourage me to keep going, I re-read good comments where viewers express how thankful they are for that one video I made.  Comments like those keep me going because "I was the reason for their smile".  Seeing older videos with a high view count bring back that confidence that my videos are worth something to someone out there, which in return keeps me going.

E.C: By putting yourself out there on the internet, you easily become a target for “internet trolls”. How do you handle them, especially negative comments or when someone does not agree with you?      

K.C: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and after being on Youtube for over 4 years, I have grown a thick skin to negative comments.  However, I would be completely lying if I say some comments don't bother me.  After all, I am only human!  Instead of allowing negativity to linger, I remind myself miserable people only want miserable company and bringing someone down with them helps them feel better, so hey, there's another person that smiled because of me!  Let's be grateful for all we can do for others... besides, that's another view for me! ;)

E.C: What is your take on “Fake it ’til you make it?”      

K.C: It applies to some cases but not all.  For example, if you're in a job you absolutely despise, you put aside those feelings and continue working there until you get a promotion, raise, or a new job.  At that point, you must fake it till you make it or you would be on the streets with no food.  Now if you're in a relationship that you're not happy in, you shouldn't wait around for the person to change, ask to marry you, or find a new partner.  You leave and allow yourself to be happy.  If you try to fake it till you make it, you're only harming yourself and your partner.    

E.C: Can you name a time where you have “faked it til you made it”    

K.C: At one point, I hated my job, my team, and my boss.  However, I went to work everyday, smiled at everyone that was bad to me, and pretended to enjoy my job.  Yes, it was harming me as the stress level created many issues, however it pushed me to find a better job and until I 'made it', I had to 'fake it'.

E.C: Despite how confident and strong-willed we are, we all have bad days. When experiencing these little dips in motivation, what do you do to get back on your feet?      

K.C: I try to keep busy at all times.  The hardest times is during my menstrual cycle, where I am at my lowest point in self confidence.  I try to exercise and release those endorphins to keep me happier.  Dancing keeps me relaxed and happy so I tend to do more of that during my bad days.  It might sound silly, but I read motivational quotes to snap me out of the depressed state of mind. 

Totally not silly, by the way..

E.C: Do you practice self-care? How important is self-care to you? 

K.C:  Self-care has become important to me after I realized how much damage I've been doing to my body by not doing anything at all.  I try to eat balanced meals and healthier choices of food.  It is extremely hard for me as I have the biggest sweet tooth and terrible self-control around junk food.  If I do eat junk food, I try to balance it by exercising or eating proper for the next few days.  It is so crucial for everyone to be taking care of themselves because we may not realize it, but putting garbage into our bodies and our minds can cause serious damage to us overall.  

Thanks Kiru for keeping it real with us and sharing with us your perspective on confidence. You can check out Kiru's Corner on Youtube here