Think about the little bit of anxiety you experience just before posting a photo of yourself on Instagram. You’ve been staring at the picture for ten minutes, stressing over your weird hand placement or other erroneous detail, and sending the pic to your group chat for approval. Now imagine the nervousness that comes with having over 400,000 followers– sound like a nightmare? Well for Raven, aka inyourdre4mz, it’s an everyday occurrence. inyourdre4mz
Raven is a 20-year old living on the West Coast of Canada who first started accumulating a following online in early 2018. From a young age, she idolized pop culture icons like Britney Spears, Rihanna, and Nelly Furtado, who greatly influenced her beauty and fashion choices. Today, Raven’s internet fame casts her in a similar role, as she is now a source of style inspiration for a new generation. “When I was growing up, a big goal of mine was to be like those girls I looked up to, so the fact that I’ve somewhat achieved that makes me pretty proud of myself.”
On Instagram, Raven is known for her signature soft girl look that combines edgy and preppy vibes, an aesthetic Gen Z kids are currently obsessed with. In addition to the nearly half a million people following her, Raven is constantly reposted on inspo accounts and Pinterest boards, further extending her influence beyond her immediate audience.
What is it like knowing millions of people on the internet have seen a picture of you? inyourdre4mz
It used to be really strange thinking about the fact that so many people have seen my face and my photos, but then I think about how probably ninety-five percent of them wouldn’t recognize me if they saw me walking down the street. That gives me a sense of relief, because sometimes it does make me a little anxious. It’s weird, ya know? My photos end up on Aliexpress and other stuff like that, and I’m like how did that even happen?
Was there any initial occurrence that sparked your internet fame?
It just kind of happened. I used to have a spam account that I would always post on, so many selfies and all that. My friends would always tell me I should just post on my main account because they were sure that if I did I would blow up. I was always kind of anxious and not confident enough to post them to everyone but I thought I would give it a try. So I deleted my spam, started posting everything on my main account, and within 2-3 months I had like 10,000 followers.
Despite her initial hesitation, Raven’s online presence now radiates complete confidence. Her feed is full of unapologetic poses, self-assured smiles, and sassy captions. However, this commendable quality is a point of contention online. “Some people think I’m just super vain, and assume I think I’m better than everyone else even though that’s not what I try to get across. I’m able to love myself without putting other people down. I am not always that confident, but seeing other people being confident inspires me, so that’s what I try to do.”
While she’s famed for her glam and girly style, Raven’s self-love is not rooted in makeup, hair, or clothing. In fact, she claims to be most sure of herself after taking it all off: “I feel most confident after a night of self-care. I like running a bath, doing a mask, and putting on some face serums. It just makes your skin glow and I feel like it gives you the ability to look at yourself with just your natural beauty and think ‘damn, I look good.’’
What advice do you have for people struggling with their self confidence? inyourdre4mz
I’d say confidence comes in waves, and it’s not something that you’ll just automatically achieve one day. You’re always going to have times where you don’t feel that confident, but of course you’re going to have other times where you feel like you are fucking amazing, because you are! And because our bodies are always changing, we won’t always feel the same way about ourselves everyday and that’s okay. It’s important to know that even people who you don’t think struggle with confidence definitely do. I’m sure Bella Hadid has times where she is not feeling herself even though everybody in the world is feeling her 24/7!
Is there any one message you want to get across to your followers?
I try to get across to just be yourself, and remember that no one else’s opinion of you really matters. Nobody has lived your life or been in your shoes, so they don’t know what you’ve been through. With Instagram, especially with having a large following, people are always assuming that they know who I am. But really only you know who you are, and that’s all that matters.
One important part of who Raven is that might not be readily apparent to people on Instagram is her Indigenous heritage. She has recently been outspoken about her ethnicity and experiences,
Recently while in quarantine, Raven has taken extra time to really familiarize herself with the history of her ancestors and treaty. “Reading about the things my ancestors have been through changed my opinion of being First Nations so much. It made me realize I should really be proud to be where I am right now.” Specifically, Raven expressed pride over the ability to inspire and represent Indigenous girls, support herself financially, and travel to places she’s always wanted to go.
The number one destination on Raven’s bucket list was always Los Angeles, with the city symbolizing a culmination of her interests in fashion, modeling, and music. “Never in a million years did I think I would actually be able to go to LA. Growing up like every year my mom would promise me that we would go to Disneyland but we just never had the money for it or anything. So the fact that I’ve actually been there is so unreal. I still go through photos on my phone all the time and just think ‘wow, I was there!’”
What is your craziest LA story? inyourdre4mz
I met Alicia Keys one time backstage at a show and it was just a really funny experience. She was eating soup, and I went up to her and was like ‘Hey, you just eating soup?’ I think it was like squash soup or something, and she was eating it cold! I could not believe it.
Stay up to date with more fun stories from Raven’s life by following her on Instagram @inyourdre4mz. inyourdre4mz
