Swamped in a sea of paper cut-outs, glue-stained fingers, and dreams waiting to be realised, Myriam sits cross-legged in the messy midst of it all. With willpower, Pinterest at her side, and her vision board, she cuts and maps her ultimate glow-up journey. She says it’s like a prayer board she keeps by her bedside with a little microphone cut-out, seemingly always staring back. Little did she know that the microphone would go on to bring over 26,000 people, all tuning in to hear what she had to say – be it progress or sometimes the ugly truth.
In a sit-down interview with Cosmo ME, Myriam tells us how she’s turning her life around one small step at a time, all because she decided she’s no longer settling.
Cosmo ME: Tell us, who is Myriam?
MYRIAM: I’m Myriam, I’m 28 years old, and I’m somebody who’s recently decided to turn my life around to find out what I really want. I left my last job a few months ago because I felt like I needed something more. I needed to be happier with what I was doing. So, I started this journey. We deserve to be happy in our lives – we’re only born once, so we may as well make the most of it. I kept postponing this journey until one day, when I was out at a restaurant with my friends, and I told them, “I feel like I’ve reached a point where I’m hating myself enough, or hating my life enough.” I don’t want to look two years ahead and find myself stuck in the same loop. So I thought, “Why not document it all?” That very day, I went and bought a mic. I didn’t want to procrastinate or fall back into old patterns, so I set a date to film my first video: a closet cleanout.
Cosmo ME: What was your reaction to going viral, and how did you navigate the world of content creation?
MYRIAM: Craziness, craziness, craziness… I couldn’t keep up; it was so overwhelming because I’m not used to this at all. I felt frozen. It took me two to three days to process. Suddenly, I had an audience, and that came with responsibility. I took some time to take it all in, and then I decided to continue being myself. People connected with me for who I am, so I’m going to stay that way. At first, people would tell me I’m an influencer, and I’d think, “No, I’m not – don’t call me that,” because, in a sense, social media had given the word a negative reputation. Influencers stood for values I didn’t relate to. I didn’t want to be one. Then I realised that this is actually what being an influencer should mean. There are ups and downs. There are things people don’t even imagine that go into content creation. I try to share those difficult moments because many people don’t show them online. I think it’s important for that content to exist because it reminds people that setbacks are part of moving forward. That’s why it was important for me to share the real side of the journey and show people that they can do it too.
Cosmo ME: How are you finding your new online friends and followers?
MYRIAM: We’re all just moving forward. No one wants to bring anyone down or hurt one another. We’re simply living and making the best of what we have. If we’re talking about mental health, when I first saw the surge of followers, I panicked. I questioned whether I should continue or stop and whether I could actually sustain it. I told my friends I was overwhelmed, and they said, “Myriam, you were always meant to inspire. Your story has to be heard. It has to help others. You can do it. It’s an amazing opportunity.” They were incredibly supportive. I felt like I couldn’t go back. Maybe it was the push I needed not to return to where I started. People weren’t just following me for content – they were invested in my journey. It’s become a reciprocal relationship.
Cosmo ME: Talk us through your down days; how do you showcase that reality to your followers?
MYRIAM: There are many days when I tell my followers I can’t give much right now. I can’t overwhelm myself with something so new to me every day. Even when I’m changing my style, I sometimes just want to go back to my comfort zone. I can’t always be in the best shape. I still want to exist. The old and new versions of myself are still coexisting, and I think they’ll stay that way until they gradually find a balance and become the best of both. In a way, I’m still finding myself. I remember my friends asking me, “If you want to introduce yourself and can’t share your occupation or what you do in life, what would you say?” And it hit me: apart from my name, I knew almost nothing about myself. I told them that I only recently learned what my favourite colour was. It was that huge for me. I was living my life for everyone else; I forgot to live it for myself. So now I feel like I’m holding my younger self in my arms and getting to know her. It’s funny because I’m discovering what she likes to do and what she likes to eat. I think I was always trying to fit in, to the point that I forgot my identity. Who am I really? What do I like? When I finally allowed myself to be who I really am, I realised I’m loving what I’m discovering. I’ve never reached this stage of self-love before. Sorry, every time I talk about this, I tear up.
Cosmo ME: What’s a perception you’re trying to challenge through your content?
MYRIAM: I keep telling myself that I want to see what happens if I don’t give up, because I’ve spent so much of my life giving up. It’s now or never. I feel like this is the time to move forward in every aspect of my life, and I’ve made a point of showing that. I’m not just working on weight loss because so many people think your weight defines you, when it really doesn’t. There are so many more interesting things about a person. For a long time, whether as a friend or in relationships, I felt like I was seen as just a body – and an overweight one at that. But I’m more than that. I have qualities, flaws, strengths, and struggles, just like everyone else. I’m a whole person. Get to know me beyond my body. I want to challenge that perception. I want to stay committed to this journey. I want to keep moving forward. I want to show the world that being plus-size is not wrong. Losing weight should be about health, not about meeting someone else’s expectations. There are so many things beyond our weight that define who we are.
Cosmo ME: What would you say to the versions of Myriam who got you here?
MYRIAM: To my younger self, I’d like to apologise because I did the best I could with what I knew at the time to get myself this far. I hope she’d be proud of the changes I’m making. Everything I’m doing is for that little girl because she was abused and went through a lot. She deserves to live a few happy years, so I’ll do everything in my power to give her that. And to the version of me today, I’d say I’m so proud of what I’m achieving because, not long ago, I had my doubts. I can do this. I’m stronger than I know, and I’m more beautiful than I give myself credit for, even if I don’t fully believe it yet. I feel like this was manifested, too. At the beginning of the year, I made loving what I’m discovering. I’ve never reached a vision board and randomly included a picture of a microphone, even though I’d never touched one in my life. But I always knew I wanted the world to hear my voice.
Next, check out Parvané’s Power Playlist!