Author Profile: Lilly Singh

Looking for a Desi queer girl to admire? Look no further! - Lilly Singh is your Unicorn!

(Quite literally speaking - Rainbow Unicorns are on-brand for her!)

A brown girl breaking all the glass ceilings and showing us some of the harsh truths behind the hustle, Lilly Singh is known as a multifaceted entertainer. From Youtubing as iiSuperwomanii to hosting her own late-night television show - A Little Late with Lilly Singh - she’s at the forefront of media and entertainment with trailblazers such as Mindy Kaling, Jay Shetty, Liza Koshy, Priyanka Chopra and more.

As a brown-skinned Desi girl myself, I was naturally drawn to Lilly Singh in the early phase of her Youtube career. I remember being in awe of her and have loyally followed her professional journey to this day. That loyalty was fueled by how inspiring I found her and so I was thrilled when she released How to Be A Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life.

This book is my kind-of perfection.

In all seriousness, this autobiography contains insightful and motivational nuggets of wisdom regarding personal development, professional leadership, having courage and confidence through her eyes. Despite how specific the experiences are to her and her journey as a content creator, it really does not matter who you are or what your chosen path is - everything here is #RELATABLE.

By no means am I a content creator like Singh - the last time I created anything on Youtube, it was an amateur AMV slide show of an Anime show when I was 12. Yea… never again. However, I found so much value in this book because I was reading it at a time when my confidence was at a low point, specifically with my career. I was drowning in work and bills, my health was taking a severe hit, and I’d lost sight of who I was and what I wanted for myself. By the time I had to consider major changes, I didn’t know where to start.

Even worse, I was terrified to start over.

So, I turned to Singh. I had started How to Be a Bawse years ago and got about 1/4 of the way in. Unfortunately, between grad school and work, I never got the chance to finish it. I figured I’d get back to it eventually, most likely at a time when I felt like developing my leadership skills to be more “BAWSE-LIKE”. Now that I was feeling rock-bottom, I gravitated towards anything that could help me mentally and emotionally and decided to continue the book. I won’t say I felt instantly better - oh no - my whole situation was (and still is) a work in progress. HOWEVER, I will emphasize that through her words and shared experiences, I found my courage.

Yes, because I share cultural and physical similarities with Singh I felt even more empowered, but that’s part of the whole-point of why we’re talking about Lilly Singh. Here is someone who looks like me, who has big ambitions and similar challenges, and is literally accomplishing so much I never considered to be possible. Furthermore, she’s intentional about using her platform to highlight and champion humanitarian causes, challenge issues in the ever-persisting patriarchy, and to be honest to us all about how freakin’ hard it is while teaching us what she herself wished she would have known years ago.

That’s the inspiration.

We absolutely need more stories from the BIPOC and Queer community that are honest and real with their audience, especially for the younger generation. There’s a misconception that life is a straight and linear path, and I believe we’re only now starting to realize that’s not true. We need to learn from more folks who look like us or share similar experiences as a way of seeing our greatest potential. That way we can measure ourselves against, and alongside, those who inspire us.

Singh’s latest book - “Be a Triangle: How I Went from Being Lost to Getting My Life into Shape” is next on my list and takes a more direct approach on self-reflection and introspection. In this book, Singh is once again vulnerable and open about her own personal struggles throughout her journey. I consider this as the next chapter of her endeavors, a reflection on how to create a balance between the hustle and grind. The timing could not be more ideal. Now that we’re at the tail-end of this pandemic, it’s extremely important to find alignment amongst everything we commit ourselves to whether that be work, relationships, personal endeavors and more. Furthermore, we need to remember that we are our own biggest advocate. As such, we need to master that balance so we can become the best version of ourselves we’re ultimately aiming for. I know that Singh’s most recent book will be exactly what I need to keep myself going on my desired paths with more focused attention on my mental wellbeing. I hope that you’ll take a chance on her books and get to experience just how impactful her stories can be.

Article edited by Lola Lujan.