Not Everyone Wants To Build Something Big

Lately I’ve been thinking about this whole idea of 'building something big.'

Society makes it sound like there’s only one definition:

big equals fame.

big equals plentyyy money.

big equals a type of influence so heavy that when you sneeze, thousands of people online say 'bless youu!'

big equals being featured in Forbes 30 under 30 (which, by the way, I can’t make again because my almost-30 self is already late to the party 😂).

And I love it for the people chasing that. Honestly, wallahi, I admire them. It takes courage, consistency, hard work, and vision to want something that massive and actually pursue it. May Allah bless them, multiply their efforts, make it easy for them and crown them with success.

But when I really sit with myself… I don’t want that. Kawai it’s just not me. I’ve never been the girl with a 10-year plan to build an empire, or the one who dreams of seeing her face on Billboard covers. Honestly, I’ve just wanted to live a good life. Comfortable. Healthy. At peace. That’s it. That’s the dream. For meee.

And somehow the world around us has a funny way of making you feel like 'small' isn’t enough. Like peace, comfort, and 'having just enough'aren’t valid goals unless they come packaged with an 8-figure salary and some big  social media announcement.

On social media, the narrative is always 'build big or go home.'

Its been framed - if you don’t want to be loud, if you don’t want to commercialize every passion, if you don’t want to chase visibility or sit at 'the table'.. then somehow you’re labeled as lazy, unserious, or someone with 'no ambition.'

And that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Because ambition doesn’t only wear one outfit. It doesn’t only live in mansions or trends or goes viral. Sometimes ambition is quiet. Sometimes ambition looks like raising children in peace. Sometimes ambition is saying, 'I want my husband to be stinking rich so I can chase my passions for passion’s sake and impact exactly how I want'😂.

I’ve heard this so much in recent times: 'Zeenatu, you have potential. You have the numbers. You have the influence.'

And it’s true, in a way. I have 125,000 people following me. Do you know how scary that is????😂😂😂 Likeeee. When I think about it too deeply, it actually makes me uncomfortable I want to delete social media and disappear. But I enjoy doing what I do and it pays my bills sooo...

You probably won't believe if I told you I wasn’t trying to be famous (lmao I'm not. Why cant I find another word?). I wasn’t even trying to build anything. I was just being myself. Cooking, writing captions, telling stories. The very things that make me happy. And before I knew it, somehow, there were over 100,000 people watching me. Do you know how wild that is? Sometimes I go out and someone says, ‘Oh my God, are you Zeenariya?’ and I’ll quickly say, “No!” 😂😂 Because please, abeg, I’m just a regular person.

But still, my DMs tell me otherwise.

Every other day, someone writes to me:

'You inspire me Zeenatuu.' 'You’ve made me enjoy cooking again.''I feel seen in your words.'

Me???? 🥹🥹🥹🥹 I bawl sometimes because whatdyoumean me being me inspires you to be better or makes you feel seen??? Okay okay. Dabs eyes with tissues. Don't mind me. I'm probably getting my period soon or sth.

Anywayyyy, People tell me the most heartwarming things 🥹. things that remind me that impact doesn’t always look the way the world measures it. Sometimes it’s not financially rewarding and that’s okay. (I sha loooove financially rewarding impact. Super sweet). I digress.

Sometimes it’s not shiny or loud. Sometimes it’s just someone, somewhere, feeling less alone because of something I wrote. Or deciding to cook something nice for their loved ones because they watched one of my videos.

And if that’s the kind of impact my 'small' brings, then I’ll take it. Gladly.

But beyond that, I don’t want to live for the world’s version of big. My version of big is living peacefully, loving honestly, eating well, laughing loudly, writing words that touch people, and cooking food that feels like home.

I’m just a regular babe with regular dreams.

Yes, I want money (please don’t get it twisted, wallahi ina son kudi).  But I want my own definition of success. I want soft mornings where I’m not rushing against life and always checking the time and ticking off to do lists. I want meals that taste like comfort. I want to travel the world and tell food stories that make people feel seen. I want to raise my children with love and intention, not fear. I want to help women step into financial independence so they can live fuller lives.

I don’t want the spotlight. I don’t want fame or noise or the pressure of being 'everywhere'.

I don’t want my life to feel like a performance just to prove I’m 'doing something'.

I just want to be.

What I want is softer, but not smaller.

And I think that’s important to say out loud. Because soft doesn’t mean weak. Soft doesn’t mean you don’t care. Soft doesn’t mean you lack drive.

Soft can still hold weight. Soft can still make an impact. Soft can still be enough.

So no, not everyone wants to build something 'big'– at least not by current society’s definition. For me, I just want to build something honest, something intentional, something that feels like home.

So maybe I’ll never be on Forbes 30 under 30. I Maybe I’ll never be the face of an empire. But if being myself is enough to make someone smile, to inspire someone, to make a stranger in my DMs say, ‘Zeenatu, thank you’ — then small is already ENORMOUS!

And to me, that will always be more than enough.

Well that was looong! So how that I've finished yapping and I’ve shared my own idea of success with you… I’m curious, what does your version of ‘making it’ look like? I wanna knowww!