Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Comfort.
Stephanie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was an educator (secondary grades 6-8) for ten years (really fifteen if you count working in daycares, summer camps, tutoring centers, etc) and when the pandemic hit, I had to make the decision to leave my job (it was a remote position located out of state) and do something else. The “something else” ended up happening overnight as I had started uploading videos to youtube and within one week of leaving my teaching position, one of them went viral, and I was able to begin doing content creation full time.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The content creation itself was smooth for the first year because I had SO MANY ideas. But, one thing that did tend to slow me down was public perception. It seemed that my content (because it was unlike a lot of other things being produced on the platform) made me extra vulnerable to criticism and it took some time to get used to things like mean comments, and internet trolls. However, the support I’ve gotten from my audience who still really enjoys what I have to say has been phenomenal and consistent throughout and that reality has made it worth it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Currently, I am known for posting videos on youtube. I post mental health videos, cultural commentary videos, advice videos and possibly most notoriously, storytime videos where I do dramatic retellings of some of the most awkward, comedic, and disappointing events in my life. I think I am most proud of my ability to remain true to myself and produce content that feels organic to me. I believe that’s also what sets me apart from others, my ability to remain true to myself. I am also proud of the opportunities I have been granted because of the channel. Most recently, I was featured in Forbes online magazine in an interview about the importance of Black women’s voices when it comes to creating vulnerable, relatable content online.
Any big plans?
I am looking forward to continuing to diversify the types of content I produce. I would like to expand across more platforms. I’d also like to grow beyond the realms of social media and produce media that stands the test of time. Currently, I still feel like I am in an incubator space, so no big changes on the horizon…yet.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohstephco
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OhStephco/featured
Image Credits
Nathan Lusk (all headshots)
