For our Special Edition January 2021 Series we are talking about "Embracing Your Uniqueness and Individuality” with three dynamic and diverse woman who have carved a niche for themselves by showcasing authenticity, Sobia Ameen (Prominent Social Media Personality, Baker, Activist and Architect), Prejual Chakma (Model, Humanitarian and Social Media Personality) and Hridi Ahmed (Entrepreneur and Instagram Blogger).
Editor of The Bedroom Journal Magazine, Sarwat Zahin, interview these wondeful women to get to know more about their personal journey and dig deeper into their roots to find out what makes them confident in their own skin and the people they are today.
Hridi Ahmed
Juggling multiple hats at once Hridi Ahmed is the founder of Azuria Organic Skincare and Akoriyo Minimal Décor, as well as an Instagram Blogger who lives by the mantra of Minimalism. She says “My style of representing my contents is a little different than usual. I like to think of it as depicting a world that I live in in my mind, where everything looks bright and sunny and soothing. Luckily, my audience have successfully grasped what I attempt to deliver. Apart from that, I'm a lover of art of all forms, I am a singer (that too in a Bangladeshi band that solely covers Japanese rock/pop genre) and I love spending time in nature or at least soak myself in sunlight everyday for greater spiritual/cosmic energy to flow within me.”
What is most interesting about Hridi is her approach towards creativity and commerce. You will not find too many entrepreneurs in Bangladesh who make organic skincare products all by themselves, design and build clay plates and coasters by hand and follow a unique way of minimal living while being successful in all three departments in Bangladesh.
As Hridi talks us through her struggle to find her ground professionally and to be her authentic self, she says, “Before I started, I was someone who always felt that I was not good enough at doing anything. I did not have a plan for where my life was headed, even though I was studying Computer Science & Engineering back then. I always felt there was something missing and that there is more to life. After I started Azuria back in 2018 and saw how much people loved something that I myself created, it gave me joy and helped build my self confidence in the last two years. Through my journey with my two brands, I discovered new skills that I did not know I possessed. I focused on enhancing those skills and to day I can proudly say that I don't doubt my capabilities.” She adds “To start a business, there is a lot of work that is put behind it. Single handedly running two businesses, there are a lot of places you need to visit that are not very "safe" for women, especially in our country. Being a woman, you are also not taken too seriously when you're an entrepreneur but eventually your success does turn things around.”
A huge part of unleashing your fullest potential comes with putting your true self out there in the world and now with social media that has become a mandatory. Similarly in Hridi’s case the success brought to her online brands have been through the constant grind to be individualistic and unique on her social media platforms. When asked about the pros and cons she said “Through my social media, I constantly try to promote mindfulness and positivity in a way that it can bring a positive impact on people's lives. When you're a public figure on social media and you articulate your thoughts properly it feels like a big win every time you see that your audience are being able to absorb what you have to offer. Being a public figure in social media does have its cons too. There would be multiple times when your hard work or ideas and words would get stolen, or someone would create a fake account with your picture or you might even get PR requests from fake pages so that they know your contact/address information. So there's this constant need to stay alert to know what people's true intentions are.”
She describes her journey of self acceptance as an ongoing one as she says “Being an introvert since the time I was little, I've had struggles to communicate with people. I was always that shy person, I still somewhat am. I prefer my own company than being in a crowd and I really love and enjoy my own company. I believe it is something that we all should at some point of our life learn to enjoy. Because for me, I feel it has allowed me to know myself, know my values and my worth. The more time you spend in solitary the more you discover things that you love and that helps you to know what you want in life. As I said I always used to believe that I was not good at doing anything till I finally discovered my values and skills. Self love is very important. We should all give ourselves time for self love and self reflection so that we can grow. I personally believe that our mind and our being are two best friends. They need to be kind and gentle to each other and help each other grow. It sounds hard at first but once you learn to love yourself and understand the entire concept, it becomes very easy. That is exactly what I practiced doing and I still do. It is an ongoing journey of self growth and of knowing my true self.” On her last notes about her future vision she says “I don't personally like to think too ahead in the future but I like setting small goals per 6-12 months so that they are easier to achieve for me and so that they feel like big victories every time I do achieve them.”
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