At 23 she couldn't pay her rent, her fridge was empty, and she didn't exactly thrive in the standard business setting. She is Sophia Amoruso, the creator of Nasty Gal. The Netflix original "Girl Boss" loosely followers her very real struggles leading to the success of her business.
When watching the show parallels between Sophias' life and my own were nothing short of concerning. Though determined and creative, she was horrible with finances and commitment. I watched diligently, wondering how things would turn out for her in hopes that I would receive an answer about how things would turn out for myself.
Though I know in the end that Nasty Gal becomes a huge success, this seems pretty impossible when seeing where Sophia starts out. So what changed things for her?
Inspiration
In most films or portrayals of success stories, once the central character focuses on what they are passionate about things magically fall into place; like all the cliches about how doing what you love means, you'll never work a day in your life. This show is different. You won't find a simple life-altering solution to a problem at the end of each episode. Instead, you get what in Real Life feels like false hope. When one problem is solved three more are created, just like in real life, it's never simple. Seeing Sophia get her hopes up on what seemed to be the answer she had worked so hard for, only to watch it fall apart, backfire, or get blindsided by new issues hurts because it's relatable.
What's the problem?
What isn't the problem? Sophia not only struggles with the forever dreadful credit score, but she also tackles and unsupportive parent and her biggest enemy, herself. If there's one thing that Sophia Amorusa, Peter Pan, and I have in common it's the desire to never grow up. I never expected a tv show to bring me to the realization that although the world never stops challenging you, adulthood is nothing to fear.
Rather than watching a montage of inspiring clips placed to the beat of an upbeat tune, viewers see Sophia go through Hell for an entire season before things finally begin to take off for her business. The girl was so stressed she gave herself a hernia which is relatable since that is real life.
Real life also pushes people to get conventional jobs in order to survive.
Often people get so busy trying to survive that they forget to live their life. To fall into that routine seemed inevitable for Sophia. Over half of the things she went through seemed career ending, heartbreaking, and soul-crushing; yet, she made it work. To go through all of that and still prosper fills me with hope and as cliche, as it sounds, if she can do it, then I can do it and so can anyone reading this article.
