SAMANTHA FEHER
Samantha Feher isn’t just a 21 year old senior at Elon. She’s a writer for StyleCaster, a blogger, a lifestyle influencer, and, yes, a student. I can’t even balance my cup on my plate in the Tully so I give her serious credit for being able to balance all of this. The reason Sam has been my favorite influencers since high school is that she doesn’t live an overly glamorous life. Although I love to daydream about other famous influencers’ awesome lives, Sam lives a life similar to mine. She is a student, a sorority sister, she travels, studied abroad and got drunk at Oktoberfest, and is a normal person. The fact that I can so easily see myself in Sam, or being friends with her, is the reason I believe over 54,000 follow her on Instagram. Sam also makes herself available to her followers– consistently answering Direct Messages and replying to comments. TPM had the opportunity to chat with Sam about her rise to insta-fame and her experience as a Media Professional.
TPM - HI SAM! HOW ARE YOU DOING?
SAMANTHA - GREAT, THANKS! DEFINITELY A LITTLE HUNGRY, BUT THAT’S NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY!
TPM - SO, LET’S TALK A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR INSTAGRAM AND BLOG. YOUR INSTAGRAM HAS 54.3K FOLLOWERS, WHICH IS INSANE BECAUSE I REMEMBER YEARS AGO WHEN I STARTED FOLLOWING YOU YOUR ACCOUNT HAD 12K FOLLOWERS. HOW DID YOU GAIN SUCH A LARGE FOLLOWING? HOW DID YOU HANDLE THIS?
SAMANTHA - OMG, YOU’RE AN OG! THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT! HONESTLY, I NEVER SET OUT TO GAIN A LARGE FOLLOWING — IT WAS JUST A HAPPY ACCIDENT. A FEW MONTHS INTO MY FRESHMAN YEAR OF COLLEGE, A PICTURE OF MINE WAS REPOSTED BY A POPULAR ACCOUNT, WHICH ROCKETED ME UP FROM 1,500 TO AROUND 5,000 FOLLOWERS. AS SOON AS THAT HYPE WAS OVER, SOME SMALL HANDMADE JEWELRY COMPANIES STARTED REACHING OUT TO ME VIA DM TO WORK ON GIFTING COLLABORATIONS. IT WAS SOMETHING I’D NEVER SEEN BEFORE, BECAUSE, DON’T FORGET, INFLUENCER MARKETING WAS BRAND NEW BACK THEN. IN MY HEAD, I WAS LIKE, “COOL, FREE STUFF!” EVENTUALLY, PEOPLE STARTED FOLLOWING ME FOR A REGULAR INFLUX OF DISCOUNT CODES AND OUTFIT INSPO, AND I DECIDED TO REALLY PURSUE IT! NOW, OF COURSE, IT’S THE BEST SIDE HUSTLE A GIRL COULD ASK FOR.
TPM - IS BEING AN INFLUENCER WHAT YOU SAW YOURSELF DOING?
SAMANTHA - I DEFINITELY NEVER SAW MYSELF BEING AN “INFLUENCER,” AND, FRANKLY, I STILL DON’T THINK I AM. OR, AT LEAST, I DON’T LIKE THAT WORD. I CONSIDER MYSELF A MEDIA PROFESSIONAL — I WRITE, I CREATE VIDEO AND PHOTO CONTENT, AND I COLLABORATE WITH BRANDS TO DELIVER AUTHENTIC, CURATED CONTENT THAT REFLECTS MY PERSONALITY AND MY LIFESTYLE. SO, LIKE I SAID EARLIER — I NEVER SET OUT FOR IT TO GET THIS BIG, AND WHILE I’M BEYOND GRATEFUL THAT IT’S BEEN A SOURCE OF SUCCESS IN MY LIFE, IT’S DEFINITELY NOT A TITLE I APPLY TO MYSELF.
TPM - HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH #HATERS? HOW DO YOU STOP THEM FROM RAINING ON YOUR PARADE?
SAMANTHA - #HATERS ARE AN UNAVOIDABLE OBSTACLE IN THIS FIELD OF WORK. BETWEEN HORRIBLE COMMENTS ON MY POSTS, HARASSMENT IN MY DMS, AND SPAM ACCOUNTS IMPERSONATING ME (OR JUST SAYING HURTFUL THINGS ABOUT ME), IT CAN GET PRETTY TIRESOME. BUT, HONESTLY, THAT’S ALL IT IS: TIRESOME. I DON’T GET ANGRY OR UPSET UNLESS THEY ATTACK MY LOVED ONES. IT’S JUST REALLY DISAPPOINTING TO KNOW THAT THE #HATERS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF MY SCREEN SPEND THEIR TIME TRYING TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE FEEL BAD, INSTEAD OF LIVING MEANINGFUL, HAPPY LIVES OF THEIR OWN.
TPM - FROM READING YOUR BLOG I KNOW THIS SUMMER YOU INTERNED AT STYLECASTER, HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE?
SAMANTHA - I LOVED MY INTERNSHIP, AND I’M SO EXCITED TO CONTINUE WORKING FOR STYLECASTER AS A FREELANCE WRITER FOR THE INDEFINITE FUTURE! IT’S JUST A REALLY WONDERFUL FEELING TO DISCOVER THAT YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU TRULY LOVE, AND I KNOW THAT NOT EVERYONE IS SO LUCKY.
TPM - HOW WAS FASHION WEEK. TELL US EVERYTHING.
SAMANTHA - NYFW WAS QUITE LITERALLY A DREAM COME TRUE. I WORKED WITH SOME OF MY FAVORITE DESIGNERS, CHECKED OUT SOME OF MY FAVORITE LABELS’ COLLECTIONS, AND MET A LOT OF TRULY INSPIRING PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE, I JUST POSTED A VIDEO ON YOUTUBE ABOUT IT!
TPM - WHAT DO YOU STUDY AT ELON UNIVERSITY? HOW WAS YOUR TIME BEEN THERE?
SAMANTHA - I LOVE ELON! THE SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS IS FULL OF INCREDIBLY BRIGHT PROFESSORS WITH VALUABLE LESSONS TO TEACH. AS A JOURNALISM MAJOR AND A MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING MINOR, I’VE BEEN EXPOSED TO A LOT OF THINGS THAT I’LL BE EXPOSED TO EVERYDAY IN “REAL LIFE” AFTER I GRADUATE. I FEEL VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE FEW PROFESSORS WHO HAVE BEEN ON MY TEAM SINCE DAY ONE — I OWE A LOT OF MY PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS TO THEM.
TPM - HOW HAVE YOU JUGGLED RUNNING YOUR INSTAGRAM, BLOG, AND WORKING FOR STYLE CASTER? HAVE THERE BEEN DAYS WHEN YOU’RE COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED? HOW DO YOU DESTRESS ON THESE DAYS?
SAMANTHA - I’M NOT GOING TO LIE — IT’S A LOT; AND THAT BARELY SCRATCHES THE SURFACE! I TRAVEL A LOT FOR MY VARIOUS JOBS, PLUS I’M A MEMBER OF A SORORITY HERE AT ELON. BESIDES THAT, I JUST STARTED A YOUTUBE CHANNEL, WHERE I’M TRYING TO POST EVERY TWO WEEKS. OH, AND I’M GRADUATING A SEMESTER EARLY FROM SCHOOL… CAN’T FORGET THAT! IN SHORT, YES — I GET STRESSED. BUT, WHEN I’M FEELING REALLY OVERWHELMED, I HAVE A COUPLE OF STRATEGIES FOR DE-STRESSING. ONE OF THEM IS (AND I HATE TO BE THIS GIRL, BUT…) EXERCISING. WHEN I’M STRESSED OR UPSET, NOTHING FEELS BETTER THAN POUNDING OUT A FEW MILES ON THE TREADMILL TO A CARDI B REMIX. (MY CURRENT FAVE IS I LIKE IT, REMIXED BY DILLON FRANCIS.) WHEN I’M FEELING LESS ATHLETIC, I BURN A CANDLE AND LAY ON A HEATING PAD. THAT SOUNDS SO WEIRD, BUT I SWEAR– IT’S THE MOST RELAXING THING EVER AND IT PUTS ME TO SLEEP EVERY TIME!
TPM - I READ ONLINE THAT YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A RISK TAKER, WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST RISK YOU’VE EVER TAKEN?
SAMANTHA - I THINK THE BIGGEST RISK I’VE EVER TAKEN WAS CHOOSING TO STUDY ABROAD ALONE. ALL MY FRIENDS WENT TO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, AND SOME DIDN’T STUDY ABROAD AT ALL. I WAS FACED WITH THE DECISION AT A REALLY PIVOTAL POINT IN MY LIFE, THE DETAILS OF WHICH I WON’T BORE YOU WITH, AND I HAD TO DECIDE WHETHER TO PLAY IT SAFE OR GO ON AN ADVENTURE WITH MYSELF. I CHOSE THE LATTER, OBVIOUSLY, AND LET’S JUST SAY THE RISK WAS DEFINITELY WORTH THE REWARD.
TPM - WHAT’S NEXT... I KNOW IN YOUR LATEST BLOG POST YOU ADMITTED YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S NEXT SO, WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 5 YEARS?
SAMANTHA - OH, I’M LITERALLY PICTURING IT RIGHT NOW. FIVE YEARS FROM THIS EXACT MOMENT, I’LL BE SITTING IN A WELL-LIT OFFICE SPACE IN A LIGHT, AIRY NEW YORK CITY APARTMENT. THE WINDOWS WILL REACH FROM FLOOR TO CEILING, IT’LL BE A CRISP SEPTEMBER AFTERNOON, AND THE LEAVES WILL JUST BE STARTING TO CHANGE — THAT’S WHEN I’M MOST MOTIVATED. I’LL BE WORKING ON MY LATEST PROJECT, WHATEVER IT MAY BE, WEARING MY POPPY LISSIMAN ANTI-GLARE COMPUTER LENSES (THE FRAMES OF WHICH ARE SPARKLY, OBVIOUSLY). I’LL BE THANKING THE UNIVERSE FOR BREATHING SO MUCH LIFE INTO ME. ALSO, THERE’S PROBABLY A PUPPY SOMEWHERE IN THAT MIX.
TPM - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT OF YOUR DAY TO SIT DOWN AND CHAT WITH ME. I’VE BEEN A FAN OF YOUR ACCOUNT FOR YEARS AND I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU DO NEXT!
SAMANTHA - THANK YOU SO MUCH! STAY TUNED — THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON.
Thank you so much, Sam, for giving TPM the opportunity to interview you!
We love you and can’t wait to see what you do next- xx- Eleanor Davis, Editor in Chief
INSTAGRAM @SAMANTHAFEHER
BLOG http://samfeher.com
YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLTvbvhROj2PmsUY8J6CLPg