QL Exclusive: An Interview with Qatar-based leading lifestyle social media content creator, Eileen Lahi
Qatar Living speaks to the Youtuber, content creator, and Qatar’s influencer of the year 2018, Eileen Lahi, to learn more about how she uses social media platforms to inspire people.
28-year-old Eileen Lahi is an Estonian modest fashion blogger who shared her story on her YouTube channel, where she has over 89k subscribers.
Eileen did her bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature.
She converted to Islam when she was 19.
After graduating from university, she moved to Qatar to work as a teacher for three years. Eileen met her husband here in Qatar.
“I fought hard for the life I knew I wanted to have. I started traveling at a very young age, and I have been blessed to have my journey take me all around the globe. Ultimately, back in 2015, my exploration lead me to Qatar, and I settled here to pursue a career in teaching,” she said.
Eileen started blogging on social media 10 years ago.
What is special about her story is that she converted to Islam in 2011 and that was the reason behind her username “Eslimah.”
“I became Muslim in 2011, and I did not really have any Muslim friends to connect or relate to. I was keen to meet new people and feel understood; I had the desire to connect, so I created my username ‘Eslimah’ and just put myself out there. And so, it all started,” she said.
“Many people think ‘Eslimah’ is my name, but it is not. It’s just an alias that I came up with back in the day, that would combine my two identities - a twist on the words ‘Estonian’ and ‘Muslimah,” she mentioned.
After she started to share her story and real life experiences, Eileen got a lot of engagement on her platforms.
Eileen was announced as Qatar’s influencer of the year of 2018 at Grazia Style Awards.
“I think the highlight of my social media career has been the recognition that I won right here at home, in Qatar! It was the 2018 Grazia Style Awards, and I won the title of Qatar’s Influencer of the Year. If I think back, I came to this country so lost and so alone; yet with so many aspirations and so many dreams - and to have reached this kind of recognition was both - a very humbling and very proud moment for me,” she described.
Eileen joined Creatives Amplified, which is as an influencer marketing and management company that was founded by Harriet Gyamfuah in 2018.
Harriet is a close friend of Eileen’s and she described her saying, “Creatives Amplified was founded by Harriet! She started the company and within a month of its inception, we were working together. Her work ethic is unlike anything I have ever seen before, and I absolutely love working alongside someone as her! Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that one day I would be tied to an influencer agency, and have a PR team, but that is the cool thing about life. You just never know what’s next.”
During her journey as a blogger on social media, Eileen has learned from her experiences, especially that her combined platforms have allowed her to connect with people all around the world.
“I learn something new every day. I have connected with hundreds of thousands of people globally. Listened to so many stories. Travelled to so many countries. Been through so many falls, and so many highs,” she said.
“I have learned so much from the people who share this platform with me. They have cried with me and laughed with me; they have sought comfort with me and provided so much comfort to me. It is not just a highlight reel of beautiful pictures, it’s real people with real stories and real lives. Never judge a book by its cover,” she added.
COVID-19 changed a lot in people’s lives all around the globe and for Eileen it stopped her from travelling due to travel restrictions- related to COVID-19. She has not met her family in a year as well.
However, Eileen saw it as a chance to be more aware, more grateful, and more present to understand and value all the blessings that we have, especially our health.
She used this period to spend more time for reflection.
This tough time because of COVID-19 did not stop Eileen from her success on creating content on her platforms, but it made her find new angles in creating something else that she enjoyed more.
“If a year ago someone would have asked me what my social media is all about, I would have answered that it was all about travel. It was my main area of focus and what I used to blog about. Of course, now I have not been able to travel since the beginning of the year; because of the pandemic, and I have had no travel-related content for nearly 8 months, and who knows how long this will last? I have completely shifted into more home-related content: DIY's, cooking, home décor, and surprisingly, I have enjoyed it a lot, but it has been very new to me.”
Eileen urges everyone to hold on to their dreams and to have good faith and believe in themselves.
“There are no shortcuts to success. If you have a dream - go out and chase it. Put in the hours, put in the work. Do not expect results to come overnight. Focus on what makes you unique, and just get started. And be consistent. Do not give up,” she ended.
To know more about Eileen Lahi, you can check her on her Instagram: @eslimah
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