The journey of Thoughts of Shams started 3 years back in 2017. At a phase in Shams Afroze Chowdhury’s life where she was probably the most vulnerable she had ever been, she took to content creation to divert her attention. “I still remember the day very clearly. That was the day I got my first ever smartphone. So it was kind of a big deal for me.” shared Shams while reminiscing the old days.
The Youtuber and content creator Shams that we all love and admire now, her journey actually started with her Facebook page. Clearing the confusion she said, “Probably a lot of people don’t know that I started my journey with my Facebook page, the same name as my YouTube page.”
As she always enjoyed writing, coming up with scripts and relatable content came naturally to her. “I started writing my own content and it was a stress reliever for me. Whenever I sat to write a bit, I would forget every stress that was causing me pain. It was in 2018 when I made my first video and uploaded it on my Facebook page. Then slowly when I realized I actually enjoy creating content and be the reason for someone’s smile, I moved to YouTube in the year 2019. Also when I saw people were accepting my content and they are sharing, commenting frequently, that did boost my confidence a lot.” she explained.
Negative criticism is a part of the daily life of a content creator. Shams is also no exception. Sharing her thoughts on negative criticism she said, “I don’t deal with negative criticism at all. That’s the simplest way I can put it. I know it can get really testing to read these comments and then say something back to these people who are spreading negativity. But I honestly feel, these people will keep doing these things no matter what.
She also shed some light on how the female content creators are treated by the audiences at the time, “There is another thing that I noticed in my 3 years on these platforms, and that is, the hate towards female content creators are remarkably higher than male content creators. A female content creator could just mind her own business and keep doing her own thing but there will always be few people who would have something negative to say about her. It’s a harsh reality but sadly there is nothing we can do about it unless these people plan to change themselves.
Being a content creator and entertainer for almost 3 years now, Shams shared her two cents when it comes to everyone who wants to explore the world of content creation. In her words, the biggest mistake one can do when it comes to reaching for a career in the entertainment world is to not have the right intentions. “There are far too many content creators who would copy other creator’s content style or do whatever is trending. This will not take you far. You need to understand that not everything is not for everyone.” she further added.
Another piece of advice she left for emerging content creators is to not run after fame. From her experience, she realized that, if someone is only focused on getting fame from content creation, then it will not get them far. Instead, she advises everyone to be their raw, authentic self, and success will follow.
While answering what are her plans for Thoughts of Shams in the future, she candidly admitted that she has none. “I am really bad at planning. So with Thoughts of Shams, I’m not really planing anything. I have enjoyed the journey so far and I plan on creating content for my followers till my last breath. I’m not planning to do something that one day I won’t be proud of.” concluded Shams.