Let me go ahead and say this now: I am a Cardi B stan.

I learned about Cardi B when I was late-night scrolling through Instagram in search of something to aid my insomnia. I spotted a video of a woman with long nails and orange hair and I ended up watching every single one of her videos. I learned that I was late to the game when it came to Cardi. She was quickly growing as an Instagram personality who made videos joking about the strip club or telling off people that wasted their time leaving negative comments on her pictures and videos. She didn’t care about sounding politically correct or whether you liked her thick Bronx accent. She just liked making people laugh while being her regular, authentic self. Since discovering Cardi, I have picked up three lessons from her and her rise to fame.

Lesson One: Just be you. Cardi never shied away from her previous profession (stripper) nor did she attempt to change her loud and colorful personality the more she was recognized. You are either going to like her “as is” or you will have to more along. Being yourself allows people to either like/love you for who you actually are versus a mask you are hiding behind.

Lesson Two: Pursue your dreams. Cardi has always made one thing clear: she was not going to spend her life as a stripper. It was a stepping stone to where she was going next. Despite constantly hearing that she wouldn’t ever be more than an exotic dancer, she ignored the naysayers and left the strip club to pursue her goals of being a rapper. After two mixtapes and two seasons as a cast member of Love and Hip Hop, Cardi signed a record deal with Atlantic Records. If she would have listened to everyone else and ignored her dreams, we wouldn’t know Cardi B, the music artist.

Lesson Three: It doesn’t matter how you start. Cardi B is a girl from Bronx, NY who is featured in magazines, attending New York Fashion Week, making recurring appearances on Being Mary Jane and doing radio interviews. She started from making funny videos on Instagram and grew into something way bigger than imagined. She didn’t wait until she had a whole Youtube channel set up with the lights and perfect camera. She used what she had: her phone, a free app that lets you make videos and her funny personality. No matter how small your start is, it is still a start!

Cardi B may not be everyone’s cup of tea but she is definitely out here living life!