staying true to yourself, curating personal style, and fighting cancer with megan nespliak
Meet Megan Nespliak.
Her colorful, fun style might first capture your attention, but her authentic (and incredibly funny) personality turns you into a long-time follower. What I admire most about Megan is that she knows exactly who she is and lives her truth unapologetically. In a world where so many are afraid to live out loud for fear of judgment, Megan encourages her followers-turned-friends to take the picture, lean into your confidence, and embrace every good day as best as you can.
No matter what challenges come your way, may we all learn from Megan and choose to stay positive - and dress well - along the way.
I love how you stay true to yourself. Have you always known who you are?
When people are trying to figure out who they are, I think in their head that means getting over a mental illness or like a trauma or something. I share when I am depressed or anxious. That's just like a part of who I am, and a lot of people feel like they can't be who they are until their mental illness is dealt with. I have high functioning anxiety. I have a panic attack pretty much every day. I get super depressed about stuff, especially with cancer. And I've been through a ton of trauma in my life and I'm like, you know what? All those things happened but now I'm funny so it's like... People just need to realize that not everyone is going to like you and not everyone is going to accept you no matter how badly you want them to. I'm just so confident that I'll find my people. Everyone else who doesn't like me doesn't matter.
Sometimes people wait for the right timing to do what they want or make a change, but there isn’t ever really a perfect time. Bad things happen, and I had to learn that you're going to have to carry that with you every day.
Exactly. Being transparent about that stuff on the internet is so beneficial to so many people because somebody with high functioning anxiety might not have the same experiences with it that I do. People don't look at me and think, “Oh she's anxious and nervous all the time,” because I'm really outgoing. But because I'm outgoing I get anxious, because I'm like, “Am I being too much? Is this annoying?” It's a whole different side of anxiety so it's good for people to see that you don't have to be introverted to have these issues, you know? Before I was diagnosed with cancer, I was very transparent about all of my issues on the internet - my dating issues, my mental health issues, my health issues, whatever. Now with cancer it's reaching a whole different demographic of people because cancer patients are like, “How are you being so positive? This is terrible.”
True. You’ve also been transparent about dealing with cyberbullying and hate comments.
I think it’s really people playing into cancel culture and thinking that it's fun to see other people going through something like that. People are really toxic overall and social media just gives them the ability to be toxic. I've always been on social media, like I told my parents at age six that I was going to be super famous by the time I was like twelve. I’ve been putting myself out there for my entire life pretty much, so I'm very used to hate comments. People are just mean. They don't do it even to hurt your feelings; they do it for attention. There are always going to be people that don't like you, no matter what you're doing. My humor is going to land with the right people and if people don't like it, then they just won’t follow me and that doesn't bother me. That's how I look at it.
Totally. And you are not afraid to call it out.
Especially with the YouTube video that I made. I felt like certain people really needed to be called out because they thought that their questions were anonymous, even to me. If I have to put up with all of these terrible questions, so does everybody else. The one girl that I actually personally know that said something mean reached out to me and she was like, “I think it was a little dramatic of you to call me a bitch on the internet.” And I was like, “I think it was a little dramatic of you to come at a cancer patient. You need to chill.”
And someone can appear on social media as like super put together but in reality, we're seeing what they want us to see.
What I really don't like about social media is that it's a highlight reel. There's a lot of influencers out there that are so inauthentic, and that's why I really love the community that I'm getting to build because they're people that appreciate the things I'm sharing. They love colorful fashion. They want to learn about fashion and how to style things, and that's the kind of community I really want to build.
Do you ever find yourself stuck in a rut? How do you stay so creative?
I definitely experience burn out and I think everybody does with social media because it's really repetitive. Posting every single day is quite the process after a while, but I haven't really had a creative rut. Usually, a day off social media is good for me and then I'm back to feeling fine. One thing I do that helps with creativity and being able to post as much as I do is I batch shoot all my content to the absolute max. There's girls I know that batch shoot for every week so they’re like a week ahead. I have four weeks of content ready to go just because I got so anxious getting diagnosed with cancer that I was like, “Well, what if I'm sick for two full weeks? I need to have stuff to post.” I have at least thirty days of content ready to go. And I get all of my inspo from either Pinterest or two creators that I am obsessed with, MJ Hedderman and Gabi Daiagi are my two. They are just colorful, creative girls.
It's so cool that nowadays with social media we can all inspire each other. It’s not so secretive and competitive.
I hate girls that are like, “You can pay me for an hour-long coaching session on how to grow your social media.” It drives me nuts. It's all accessible for free; people just don't know where to look for it. I want to make a whole YouTube video about how I started, how I got into it, the actual behind the scenes of everything. Because the gatekeeping has to stop. There's obviously some things contractually I can't share, but if you want to know how I'm finding my hashtags, I'm not gonna gatekeep that. It’s insane to me that influencers can be as insecure as they are. I've met a ton of influencers and I'm like, “You've got 10,000 really engaged followers. Why are you scared that someone's gonna come steal your thunder? You have a huge momentum here.”
You’re a cheerleader for everyone, and you share affirmations with your followers. You’re a best friend on the internet.
That is one of my favorite things that people keep saying about me, that it's like being on facetime with their big sister. I love that that's the vibe I give off. The mantra that I do every day I got from Gabi Daiagi. She does the, “If no one has told you today, you are beautiful. You are kind,” but I added, “I hope you do something today that makes you and someone you love smile” because I've always really liked quotes and I've been a very depressed person for most of my life. I just thought about it and I was like, “What would I want to hear every day that would genuinely make me feel better? That's what I want to share with people every day.” I love being able to lift people up. It's intoxicating. When people tell me how I've positively affected them, it just makes me feel so good.
You’re positive, but I also love your sense of humor. Like in your video where you said, “Cancer made me positive, it didn't make me nice.”
Cancer gave me so much perspective because I've never been a nice person and people used to say that I was a negative person because of that. I was like, “No, I'm actually very positive about things but if you're not going to treat me or my friends or my family with respect, I will not respect you. I will not be nice to you because I don't owe anyone anything. If you are an asshole then you're getting that energy back.” This is the best advice I've ever been told. Two girls on Tik Tok did it and I cannot remember what their names are. But this man came up to me one time while I was shooting content and was being so creepy and I just started barking like a rabid dog. They think you're nuts, and they leave you alone. You don't have to be nice to them. Literally yell at them, scream at them. Be crazy because men hurt women all of the time. It's very normalized for whatever reason.
Right. Another good piece of advice you’ve shared is how you shouldn't have to wait for something like that to make the most of your days.
I talked to my therapist about this, because we were talking about the comments saying things like, “How do you feel now that you know that you're gonna die?” And I was like, “I've been given a timeline of a year but you don't know. Your timeline could be two more days.” Nobody actually knows. No one is guaranteed eighty years, which is what society grooms you to think you have. It's not meant to be morbid like, “Oh, I could die any day.” Just appreciate every single day. Everyone gets sick. Everyone has days when they are sad or going through something. I'm not saying to be positive through everything because life's hard. But if you feel good, don't just sit at home and watch Netflix. Go and experience life. Everyone's asking me what shows I’m watching and I'm like… first of all, when I'm feeling good, I'm not watching shows and second of all, when I'm not feeling good, I'm too sick to watch shows. I don't care what’s on TV right now. I got really frustrated with myself for a while after I got diagnosed because I feel like I've wasted so much time from when I was super healthy and I wasn't going through chemo. Now I'm like, “We're just gonna make the most of it and make as many good memories as possible.” I'm super happy that I'm in the habit of taking pictures because if there ever is a time that I'm gone, there’s going to be so many memories for people. I'm happy that that's a habit that I have.
You don’t have to be an influencer profiting off it.
People criticize me a lot and they're like, “Get off social media. Just go live your life!” But I have chemo brain now; that's a side effect of cancer. I can't remember things all the time. If I ever get really sick, I want to be able to look back and look at all my cute outfits - it's stuff that makes me happy. If social media doesn't make you happy, then don't post on social media, but I think that taking pictures and videos is beneficial to literally everybody. That’s another thing with the confidence thing - once I started taking pictures of myself consistently, that is when my confidence went up. I'm taking 800 pictures for one outfit and then going through them so I'm getting only the good ones, but the good ones are insane to me. I'm like, “I'm really pretty. That's crazy.” Like, my confidence… huge boost.
We're so quick to comment on someone's photo that you look so pretty. But it’s important to also tell them in person, and say it to yourself, too.
That's actually one thing that people have always told me. Whether it's going on dates or just with my friends, I'm good at giving compliments. I try to authentically compliment people. It's not like, “You're so pretty.” It's, “Your hair looks so good today. You really tried on that outfit and it looks awesome.” Those are the things people will keep in their head. I love being able to be like a little thing that made somebody's day.
That being said. What is one thing everyone should know how to do?
Everyone works towards this, but be kind with yourself. Be patient with yourself. If you're not happy with yourself, there’s probably something you can do to change it, but don't just sit and feel sorry for yourself. Love yourself as much as you are able to. Everyone has some kind of insecurity, but don't let that hold you back from living life. There's no perfect day. There are good days and bad days. And you know what? If you have a good day, make the absolute most of it. People like to make excuses for why they can't have good days. Just because you work a 9 to 5 doesn't mean you can't go to work happy or stop on the way and get yourself a coffee that you love. People just need to appreciate the fact that you woke up today, you're healthy, you're alive. I know that's cliché, but it's true. I wish I could go to January and wake up and be happy and be like, “Oh my God, I don't have to go to the hospital today. Yay!” Like I said in my YouTube video, people with depression are really going to hate to hear this, but you can literally wake up and decide to be positive. I get it; I have the chemical imbalance in my brain. I have depression. I am fully aware. And it's hard. But if you wake up and you’re going to make today a good day, then yeah, bad things might happen, but it’s how you react to the bad things that make it a good or bad day.
Truly. What does a day in your life kinda look like?
I love sleeping in. I make myself an iced chai. I spend a lot of time with my dogs. I spend a lot of time on my computer editing a video, answering emails. I walk my dogs with my mom. I spend pretty much 90% of my time with my mom. Every day is a little bit different, but we like to watch Saturday Night Live or a movie at night. We're very relaxed people. I love shopping. I would shop every single day if I could. At least every two weeks I'm buying quite a few things. I've been shopping from Princess Polly since I was eighteen and then they reached out to me to start working together. I lost my fricken mind. Now I'm on an actual contract with them and work with them monthly, and that is such a dream come true to me. I fricken love them. Easiest company to work with ever. Every single time I get to like do my selects, it's the best.
You shared a good jewelry post the other day, too.
I really love focusing on small business and women-owned businesses because I think men need to just stay out of things. They're such an inconvenience sometimes. My friend in Kelowna has Shop Mogano. She's amazing. There's a girl in Toronto, Supplying Grace, she's amazing. There's so many cute jewelry places but I always look for quality, female-owned, small businesses for jewelry.
And when you're influencing, you have to have to think about who you’re supporting because you’re sharing it with others.
I'm a business student. I'm almost done with my degree. I have 5 more fricken classes before I get my degree, so I'm very close. But I'm actually going to help the college develop a social media course. I'm very excited to help them develop that. They need it.
None of what you do is an accident; you’ve found success on social media not because of your diagnosis, but because you’ve been working towards it.
I was already doing this before I got diagnosed. I've always set goals for myself; it motivates you. People can criticize me all they want. They're like, “Oh, you're using your cancer to gain followers.” Absolutely I am. It's going to do something positive for me. I'm not going to deny that cancer is helping me get followers, but I wouldn't follow someone just because they had cancer. There's obviously some other reason that people are following me. I'm not fake; I'm sharing my experiences. I don't wanna be the cancer girl. That's not who I am. I am not my disease. I fully plan on beating it. People keep asking me, “Do you think you're going to outlive it?” Absolutely I think I'm going to live longer than a year. I am so stubborn. And within that year I'm gonna do all of my fashion stuff and I'm gonna travel and spend time with my family. And be as creative as I want to be and live my life as normally as possible because spending everyday thinking about cancer, you're just going to get depressed. You need to have something else to focus on. I reserve my time for thinking about it when it's happening to me and I'm ill or getting treatment. That's when I'm thinking about it. Obviously my mom and I have mental breakdowns about it because it's shitty, but throughout the day, I'm busy doing things. I'm just living my life. And I love it. I was never a ‘stop and smell the roses’ person. I've always been go-go-go. But it's like… who cares if you don't get that one video filmed or that email sent? If I can go to the beach and watch the sunset, that's gonna make me happier. Balance. Just stay positive.
SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH MEGAN NESPLIAK
I can’t go a day without… my dog.
Everyone should watch… Netflix Reputation World Tour. Watch it and experience it because if you're not a Taylor Swift fan, it'll make you a Taylor Swift fan. It's the most amazing thing ever.
Life is better with a little… sunshine, metaphorical and literal.
Everyone in their 20s should… take risks.
One thing to do in Vernon, Canada… bike the Rail Trail along Kalamalka Lake. It's this really pretty trail right along one of the most gorgeous lakes in Canada.
What the world needs right now is… to stop listening to male politicians.
One way to make a difference is… compliment people when you notice something about them. It's so easy to make somebody's day. Even if I see a girl walking and she has a cute outfit on and I'm driving, I will roll my window down and be like, “You look stunning.” You need to normalize that because people just suck; you are gonna get insulted and that's gonna stick with you, but you are also gonna remember the girl that screamed at you from her car that you looked good. There has to be a balance somewhere.
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All photos courtesy of Megan Nespliak.
“There’s no perfect day. There are good days and bad days. If you have a good day, make the absolute most of it.”