Nora Lum, the artist known as Awkwafina, defies easy categorization. She blends awkwardness with confidence, humor with serious social commentary, and individuality with mainstream appeal. Her journey, marked by self-acceptance and a refusal to be confined by expectations, offers valuable lessons for anyone striving for success and authenticity.
Embracing Uniqueness and Rejecting Limitations
Awkwafina's persona embraces a culture of nerds and misfits. She wears nerdy chemistry glasses yet projects a fierce brand of confidence. In terms of a larger-than-life, multifaceted personality, Awkwafina is a rare type. But that doesn’t mean someone with a slightly tamer version of awkwardness can’t reach the same level of confidence-and inspire others to do the same.
Lum makes it clear that she isn’t interested in trying to make everyone an Awkwafina fan. “You either like her or you don’t. The song “My Vag” is a case in point. A response to Mickey Avalon’s 2006 song “My Dick,” Awkwafina’s song went viral (the video currently has over 2 million views on YouTube). But not everyone embraced this “loud and proud” song about female genitalia, and she’s okay with that. Some feminists, in particular, took exception to the poignant-yet-bawdy raps. She also cautions against trying to mimic popular trends that don’t feel natural. In her case, she points to rappers whose music hasn’t evolved because it was only trendy for one time and place. The same could be true of sales, marketing, writing, and numerous other professions. Thanks to Silicon Valley, we’re fed images on a daily basis of what it “means” to be a tech startup in 2018. But does that image really fit with your business or personality?
Defining Boundaries and Staying True to Yourself
Lum admits there’s more to her than Awkwafina’s awkward bravado and shameless confidence. But after talking to Lum, it’s clear she’s not afraid to put herself out there, from sharing childhood anecdotes about fighting loneliness with imaginary friends to “feeling small in the nine to five world” when she still had a day job. She looks equally comfortable wearing her signature chemistry glasses and making comedic rap videos about vaginas. But there are limits to how far she’ll go. She may rap about female genitalia, but she’s also very adamant about not crossing the line of being sexualized by Hollywood or the music industry: “You can’t sell Awkwafina to Bravo,” she says with a chuckle. Knowing who you are, what you want, and what you’re willing to do (or not do) can give you a huge advantage in any career, because it allows you to stay focused and keeps people from pushing you around. “I don’t care if people think I look stupid,” says Lum. “I know what I’m good at on camera…you have to be visually confident. If you are, it shows. And you don’t have to have an existential identity crisis to get to that place.
Time Management and Prioritization
Time management is critical for anyone who is self-employed, whether you’re an entrepreneur, freelancer or an artist. While it’s sometimes difficult for creatives to have a standard routine, you can’t be successful if you don’t get things done. “I don’t want to waste the opportunities I have,” explains Lum. While she says that she’s “the last person to take a kickboxing class,” she stresses the importance of having a regular sleep schedule and eating right. Keep in mind that your routine doesn’t have to conform to some standard any more than your personality does.
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Finding Inspiration and Embracing Shamelessness
Lum cites Margaret Cho as one of her main childhood idols, thanks to the former’s shamelessness and sense of humor. “She was incredibly important to my upbringing because she was the one guiding light that said, ‘It is possible. I did it. It’s okay [to not fit in]; I don’t care,’” explains Lum. Lum defines shamelessness as “being all in on what you believe in and what speaks to you.” She attributes part of her shamelessness to her sense of humor and tells me that both give her the confidence to get on stage and perform.She hopes that this will also encourage other young people to be brave enough to push the limits.
Upholding Communities and Learning from the Past
“My immigrant background allowed me to carve an American identity off the movies and tv shows I watched, the children I went to public school with, and my undying love and respect for hip hop,” she wrote. “And though I’m still learning and doing that personal work, I know for sure that I want to spend the rest of my career doing nothing but uplifting our communities. Awkwafina, 33, has achieved critical and mainstream success in recent years.
“There is a sociopolitical context to everything, especially the historical context of the African American community in this country,” she wrote. “But as a non-black POC (person of color), I stand by the fact that I will always listen and work tirelessly to understand the history and context of AAVE, what is deemed appropriate or backwards toward the progress of ANY and EVERY marginalized group. But I must emphasize: To mock, belittle, or to be unkind in any way possible at the expense of others is: Simply. Not. My. Nature. “I apologize if I ever fell short, in anything I did. Not retiring from anything else, even if I wanted to, and I didn’t drunkenly hit someone with a shoehorn and now escaping as a fugitive.
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