Many of us get to a point where we have zero idea of what we're doing in life. It's totally fine, it happens. Welcome to your 20s. And even though deep down we kind of know that everything will be fine in the end, it's still pretty overwhelming.
Stand-up comedian Luisa Omeilan however, has been there, done it and come out the other side with a BBC show in the pipeline. And a certain Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter had a little something to do with it. Kind of.
If you’re really into comedy, you’ve probably heard of Luisa already. If you haven’t you’re going to want to get to know her because she’s bloody brilliant and legitimately funny. Her debut stand-up show What Would Beyoncé Do?! - a mantra Luisa decided to live by after having a similar 'erm WTF am I doing' moment when her best friend reminded her that she was the same age as Beyonce - is on it's way to a screen near you.
We had a chat with Luisa to find out all about being under pressure as a young woman in your 20s, how to deal with that pressure, and of course, channelling queen Bey. So here you go. Bask in the glory of Luisa's Beyonce inspired wisdom and go and win at life.
Hi Luisa! So, do you really think asking yourself what Beyoncé would do in a situation really changed how you thought?
Oh my god yeah, it completely changed my life! The show has changed my life and it’s that idea of working hard for yourself and even having control over your destiny, maybe? I try to focus on what I can do and what I can achieve.
What would Beyoncé do?! Work harder. I did and that started opening doors. It’s definitely a good mantra to hold on to.
You decided to adopt the What Would Beyoncé Do mantra when you were in your 20s. So, what advice would you give to those of us at a similar age and are dealing with the whole ‘everything’s crap, I’m not in a relationship, I’ve got no money and life is falling apart’ thing?
I’d say that it’s very normal and you’re not on your own. Also I think it’s very common to feel like you’re having a mid-life breakdown in our 20s. It’s actually normal to feel like you need to get your shit together. But just enjoy yourself. Have fun, be poor for a bit and have some life experience! It will all work out and fall into place.
Can you tell us about a time when did what Beyoncé would do and won at life?
I remember being offered a TV pilot once and it started off with me having my own show and ended up with me being on a couch with two dudes talking about anal sex. I was offered the show and it would’ve been alright money but I just couldn’t do it.
Even though it would’ve been my first TV job, I would’ve started earning money, I could’ve moved out. But I couldn’t say yes because I couldn’t stay true to who I am or what I do. I felt like it was selling out, I feel like it was a bit cheap, and I said no to it. I got a lot of shit for turning it down and then two years later I’ve now got my own stand-up show on BBC so… it paid off. To yourself be true, that’s what Beyoncé would do.
There’s so much pressure on us at this age to lead a certain life, and it’s so hard to pinpoint why it’s still such a huge weight on our shoulders, don’t you think?
I just think it would be nice if, from an education perspective, we were encouraging people to pursue their own ambitions and desires, and develop a better world view rather than settling down to get married, find a job, have a baby and all that jazz?
I wish people were encouraged to be a bit more worldly. That people would travel the world, see things and experience different things. I think we wouldn’t have had somebody like Donald Trump come in if more Americans had decided to experience a bit of culture different to their own.
As young women, as much as there’s this aspirational ‘you can do whatever you want and be who you want to be’ message out there, many are left asking well, erm, how do I get there?
There might be loads of things that are against you, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try. Like in stand-up, I never experienced sexism when I first started doing comedy. It’s only when I started doing well that I realised that oh, there are hoops to jump through.
It’s a hard life balance because if you’re not struggling with your career and that then you’ve got your mental health to deal with, then you’ve got your physical health to deal with. Are you skinny enough, are you pretty enough? And all of this sort of bullshit is completely unnecessary.
It really is! So how did you manage to find a way to get through it all?
By doing stand-up! I did it by doing something really difficult but doing something that I love.
It must be really rewarding! Do you think you’d be a different person had you not pursued it?
Yeah definitely! Sometimes I’d wonder, why didn’t I just play the game? Get married at 25, have a baby and have a house by now. Why am I moving back into my mum’s house at 34 years old? Why am I pursuing this dream, why haven’t I made it easier for myself by just playing the game and settling down? But I made the choice to say to myself that I don’t think I’d be happy with that. And it’s so okay to feel that way!
It’s hard whichever choice you make. People say going for your dreams is hard but I think not going for them is harder. Because they’re going to come up and bite you in the ass! Either way it’s hard, so you might as well do something you want.
And for the girls approaching 30 and freaking out about it?
30 is such a good year! Everyone I’ve met who’s turned 30 has loved it. Everything comes together, it starts making sense. 30 is a good year.
Totally asking for a friend… but it’s absolutely fine to feel like a complete mess in your 20s, right?
Oh my god, that’s what the 20s are for! Enjoy the mess.
Want to see Luisa live? Get tickets to her Valentines Day Party on Saturday 11 February here. Jokes from her second show Am I Right Ladies?! followed by a paaaartay.
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Follow Jazmin on Instagram @JazKopotsha
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.