There is no shortage of faux personalities on social media who pretend to be something they are not. Things have reached a point where we tend to think all social media influencers are phoney. But there are always exceptions – like Sem Graham, the young girl from Utah who created her own success.
Difficult Beginnings
At first glance, one might assume that Sem Graham belongs to a classic privileged background. But you couldn’t be more wrong; the young girl has faced hardships from the very beginning.
She was born in Florida on 22 November 1999. In the beginning, her family was just like any other. But things changed when the 7-year-old Sem, along with her younger sister and mother, met a horrible car accident. While the two girls escaped mostly unscathed, her mother was left permanently crippled. It was then when her life took a turn for the worse.
Suffering from her disability, her mother went into depression. Her father, who was also neglecting the family, pushed her mother towards alcoholism. Her parents targeted their frustration towards their daughters, mentally abusing them for years. But throughout all this, Graham endured.
Ever since she was a child, Sem wanted to become a model. Her first chance came when she was 16 and participated in the Miss Delray Beech Teen contest. Her success at the contest made her a mild celebrity in the town and her prospects in modeling looked bright. But meanwhile, the abuse at the hands of her parents kept worsening. It was then when Sem decided to leave home and make a life for her own.
More Hurdles To Cross
The young girl crossed the country and reached Salt Lake City in Utah. Graham was under the impression that the numerous modeling agencies in the city would present herself with the opportunities she needed. However, she was in for a rude awakening. Once in the city, she soon found out that the modeling agencies in the city were not keen on hiring new models with no prior experience. Graham, who had just set up her life in the town, couldn’t afford to travel again to a different city. It was a difficult time for the young girl, but she once again endured.
For a young girl to survive on her own in a new city – most people can’t even imagine that struggle. Sem, like most teens struggling to make ends meet, found a job at a fast-food outlet. Barely getting minimum wage, every day was a race to overcome obstacles. Saving money for her future, most days she had to survive on nothing but protein bars and cans of juice. For the longest time, she had to live in her car because she couldn’t afford the rent at a motel. This continued for months until her uncle in the city took her in and her life improved slightly. But Graham, having tasted hardships all her life, was not prepared to relax just yet. She continued to excel at her studies and was determined to make a bright career for herself.
The Stars Turn
But all that changed with a phone and a social media platform. Sem Graham had been active on Instagram since 2016, ever since her first modeling contest. There, she posted her pictures and formed a decent following. But her fortunes took a turn when one of her videos went viral on the platform. In a few days, her followers count ballooned to over 25,000. This was the first time Graham realized that she didn’t need modeling agencies to realize her dream to become a model – all she needed was her iPhone.
Over the next few years, Graham turned her Instagram account into a canvas of her modeling dreams. And her audience loved it! By 2019, she had more than a quarter-million followers. In 2020, when the pandemic struck, Graham realized that she needed to change her strategy. That’s when she started partnering with subscription-only services like OnlyFans. There, she shares NSFW pictures with paid members, a monetary model that had much higher returns than revenues from Instagram.
The Life Of An Influencer
A lot of people look down upon social media models who create adult content. But Graham doesn’t let the narrow mentality bother her; she knows what it took to reach where she is. Recently, when she bought her first house, she couldn’t control her joy – for a homeless kid to buy her first home is a feeling beyond words. Contrary to the popular perception, being an IG model is not an easy job either. She has to constantly think of innovative pictures to click. A lot of work goes into getting the right location, the right costume, and the correct ambiance. While many might think that IG models live an easy life, Graham disagrees. She has to follow a strict routine of posting content online, even on days when she is not in the right mood because she has an obligation to her fans.
Sem Graham is a remarkable story of a young girl creating a successful life from scratch. But behind the filters and the glam, there is a simple girl who only wants to take care of her younger sister and focus on her career. Despite the quick success she got, Graham still wants to continue her studies and start her Ph.D. by the time she turns 26. With the tenacity she has shown all her life, it is clear that she will achieve this too with ease.
