Woman issues rousing call to live life on one's own terms and not fear judgment from others

So many dreams have been butchered under the fear of judgment and criticism. People often do not pursue the life they want to because they are afraid that they will be looked at differently by conventional society. Anna Kai (@maybeboth on Instagram) wants to stop people from doing that. In her opinion, it is a waste of time to pay heed to such opinions. Her logic is simple: yes, those stares and judgments will be hard to deal with, but at the end of the day, the realization that those things stopped you from pursuing your actual wishes would be much worse. In her video, she encourages people to follow their hearts in order to avoid such disappointment.

Kai on her Instagram gives fellow young women life advice. She follows a particular format, which has garnered a lot of popularity. While filming her advice videos, she does her makeup and at the end storms off after banging a product on the table. Through this action, she wants to inspire women to make noise and not cower under fear of judgment. Her videos focus on giving empowering suggestions to women on their dating and personal lives. In this video, her emphasis is on inspiring women to not suppress their desires for some "Chad's opinion".

The video starts with Kai talking about how a woman she knew wanted to start a TikTok blog about her weight loss journey. But she was scared at the prospect because the "internet is mean." The woman also had worries about what "people around her might think." Since Kai had built a following of more than 900k for herself in a similar profession and deals with the internet and people's perceptions on a daily basis, the woman asked her for advice.

Kai had a poignant piece of advice for the woman: "Other people may be cruel, but the cruelest part of life is getting to the end of it and realizing that you let Chad Schmad's opinion stop you from living out your dreams." Her message is simple, the power to decide your future must not lie in other people's hands. It is not logical, and will only lead to hurt feelings. Moreover, the person leaving the mean comment on the other side of the screen will be least bothered.

Kai shared her own story to back up this suggestion. She shared how she had started a blog that "failed spectacularly for the first two years." It was not the easiest time for her, as she had to deal with failure and criticism all at once. But if given the choice, she would go through it all over again. It is because in her own words, "People who choose unconventional lives, pay their dues in the judgment they receive." If you want to stand out, you will be looked at and will be thrown opinions at. It is a rite of passage, that needs to be dealt with maturity.

It was hard for Kai to live with the fact that the blog she was putting her blood and sweat into was not receiving the love she wanted. She had to also contend with the sneers of people who were 'pitying' her for not living a conventional life. But today she doesn't mind them at all because all of those hardships led to her present, which is beautiful. Ultimately, the hurt that she received then was acceptable to her, something that she could manage, but she would "never be able to live down the regret of not pursuing the life" she wanted. There was no scenario where she was comfortable giving other people's judgments so much power. Kai ended her video with this message: "The people we find most inspiring are the ones who dared to stand out."

The comment section loved the message. @nonidle_keish believed that the suggestion was a godsend. "I love you! You put it so simply but it means so much," they commented. @journeys_with_lisa expressed gratitude to Kai for being such a beacon of light for other women, writing: "Thank you for shining your light regardless of the darkness slung your way. You are a Queen and I appreciate you showing up on my newsfeed."