Simone Ashley, Unfiltered

When brown girls come up to me

or dark-skinned women come up to me,

it makes me love my job even more.

'cause I feel like I am helping change the world.

Hi, I'm Simone Ashley, and this is my GLAMOUR Unfiltered.

I would say my greatest achievement as a woman is my career.

I'm really proud to say I did most of it on my own,

since I was a little girl, manifested my dreams,

and I'm really proud to say

that most of them have come true,

and I'm still on a journey for even bigger,

bolder dreams coming true.

but I'm really grateful for everything that I have,

and I'm proud of myself.

I would say onscreen representation is so important

because it's about representing an honest picture

of what the world is.

Other forms of work in different industries

or in music and whatever it could be,

that is showing what the real world is

when we walk down the street,

what we see in most places if you're fortunate enough,

and I think it's important for everyone to have a dream

and to have that dream to be something

that is capable of coming true.

I don't think anyone deserves to feel like,

oh, well, that will never happen to me

because of what I look like or where I come from.

Whatever I do, whatever any artist does,

it has to come from a truthful, authentic place.

Otherwise, why are we doing it?

I think to convey a message, an emotion,

a story that has such urgency to be told,

it has to come from a truthful place,

and then in terms of me as a dark-skinned woman,

having a character that is authentic and well-rounded,

or rounded as a human being, because I am a human being.

I think it would be a disservice to portray characters

that are a stereotype or don't do the justice

of how amazing dark-skinned women are

to anyone who doesn't understand why.

Hopefully, that clears it up. [laughs]

I feel the most empowered when I feel happy,

and happiness comes in loads of different forms.

It could be that I'm just having a good day,

or it could be that I've really gone on a journey

and figured out, what is it that makes me happy?

Is it my work?

Well, what makes me happy when I'm not working?

And if I'm working, if there's something going on

in my personal life that's making me unhappy,

how do I still find gratitude and happiness?

When I feel happy, I feel like I can take over the world,

and also, when I dream, I feel empowered as well.

Creating something in my head,

that imagination of a vision or a dream,

that makes me feel really empowered,

makes me feel like I've got control

over my future and my destiny.

As cheesy as that might sound, be cheesy, be a dreamer.

It makes you feel like all the that goes on in the world

that tells you it's not possible isn't true.

I think it's different for everyone.

For me, personally,

whenever I'm in male-dominated environments,

I feel patronized,

or I feel like I have to be taught something,

and then I find myself biting my tongue,

'cause I'm like, well, you don't have to prove yourself.

Don't explain that you already know what you're doing.

If they want to mansplain you, just let them do that.

And then I find my amazing, powerful girlfriends,

and I realize, oh, it wasn't me,

it was just the environment I was in.

I guess the lesson in that

is to also make sure you have people around you

that do make you feel like you're capable

and that things are possible.

I'm running a lot at the moment.

I'm training for a half-marathon.

Running and just moving my body,

listening to my favorite tunes, by the end of it,

I feel so clearheaded, I have such clarity.

There's all the obvious things,

like if you have the means to see a therapist,

for me, that's really helpful.

Surrounding yourself with friends,

taking care of your heart,

all the wholesome things that we are taught,

but I think the hardest thing

and almost the simplest thing to do is to just let go,

surrendering to the now

and just being as present as possible.

99% of interactions with fans are always just so wonderful.

When brown girls come up to me

or dark-skinned women come up to me,

it makes me love my job even more,

'cause I feel like I am helping change the world.

That means a lot to me, it really does,

and that's all I've ever wanted to do.

Since I was a little girl, I wanted to change the world,

and I hope that I am, and if I'm not,

I wanna strive to keep to do that,

and if I can leave the world leaving it a happier,

more positive place, then I'm happy.

The one fan interaction that really made my day,

I was having a bit of a bad day.

I can't remember what it was.

I was driving to work and I was jamming to my tunes,

and there's this guy on a bike, and he looks at me,

and I rolled down my window, and he just went,

Congratulations on your career.

And then he just went off and I was like, Thank you.

You just made my day,

and it was just the nicest thing to say.

It's got nothing to do with me.

I just thought, wow, what a generous, nice person.

Whoever you are, guy on the bike,

I hope you are having a great time.

You made my day, and I'll never forget that.