“Many of Us are Acquiring Degrees that We might never use”| The.Deronke, Content Creator/ Influencer

Deronke is a US-based Nigerian content creator who creates relatable content from real-life experiences and conversations. However, she was born and brought up in Lagos, Nigeria. Contrary to what you might see online, she is very reserved. She is what many might call an Ambivert. Her personality online often makes people make assumptions about her, some of which include being very outgoing and having a lot of friends when in fact, she is a shy person who rarely goes out or speaks to people. She is the last of seven children but she loves to describe herself as the number one born leader.

She is such a happy person who loves to share it with everyone around her which is why a few of her friends encouraged her to start content creation. She was reluctant at first, so they practically posted some of her videos on her behalf. Eventually, she started posting her videos on Twitter before finally moving to Instagram. Her content creation journey started fully in 2021, though she was already making videos before then, just to make her friends happy. Aside from being a content creator, she is also a student of Psychology. She draws inspiration from conversations with friends and internet trends. She is a lover of music and an excellent dancer, who finds a lot of comfort in dancing.

Yellowlyfe Mag had a conversation with The.Deronke and it was refreshing. She talked to us about her experiences, getting into content creation and how it has been. If there is one thing we love about this edition, it’s that it’s all vibes and inshallah, let’s dive in!

YellowLyfe Mag: What was it like growing up with so many older siblings?

The.Deronke: My older siblings are very protective of me. They act like, “ we would guide you with our lives”. I also have a very good relationship with my siblings, especially my brothers. We fought a lot but they always have my back.

YellowLyfe Mag: What are you most passionate about?

The.Deronke: I’m very passionate about Dance. I find a lot of comfort in Dancing. I dance when I’m happy, when I’m sick, and when I’m sad. As long as you are playing music, I will dance. I don’t see myself becoming a professional dancer though but I just like to dance. It’s comforting.

YellowLyfe Mag: How did you get into content creation? How did it all start?

The.Deronke: It was so random because I really don’t see myself as a social media person. I have social media but I don’t see myself as creating content for someone. However, I love making mini videos to make my friends happy. So my friends advised me to post them online because there are going to be a few people who would be able to relate to them. I didn’t want to do it initially because I’m very shy, so I felt like people would judge me. So my friends offered to post it on their social media accounts. Eventually, I started posting it myself and I started with Twitter. I found the kind of audience I wanted there. Last year, I remember Pulse Ng posted one of my videos on their page, I wasn’t expecting it to get that much attention. So I just came back on Instagram and started my content creation.

YellowLyfe Mag: Aside from content creation, what else do you do?

The.Deronke: I’m a student. I’m currently studying psychology, I also have an associate’s in Pre-med and Biology.

YellowLyfe Mag: Would you go fully into content creation?

The.Deronke: Yes, I would. That’s what I have in mind for now. I have other plans that I want to bring up and I need to put all my time into it but I can’t do it right now because I’m involved in other things and I don’t want to mess it up. That aside, content creation is what I want to be focused on.

YellowLyfe Mag: Do you think your family would be cool with you being a full-time content creator?

The.Deronke: Yes, of course. They are very supportive. My siblings are definitely my number one fan. My parents watch all my videos. My dad follows me on Tiktok, so when he calls me, he talks about how funny my videos are. They don’t have issues with it as long as it doesn’t affect my academics. I wasn’t even expecting that much support but I’m grateful that I have supportive family and friends.

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YellowLyfe Mag: What inspires you to create?

The.Deronke: Wow, most times I shoot these videos at the most random time and place. However, I draw inspiration from real-life experiences; conversations with friends, things I go through, and things I see on the internet. I make the videos at the most random times as well because when an idea pops, I try not to forget so I record immediately regardless of where I am.

YellowLyfe Mag: Take us through a typical day in your life

The.Deronke: I’m not really a morning person, I hardly go out except to school. So a typical day is, “Wake up, pray, talk to a few people, eat, go to school, if I have a video idea, sometimes I jot them down so that I can have an idea of how many videos I want to shoot. Sometimes, I just pick up my tripod and ring light and shoot immediately and that’s it”. My typical day is just “Vibes and Inshallah”, anyhow it comes, just go with the flow.

YellowLyfe Mag: You seem like a really happy person from what we have seen online, do you get
overwhelmed sometimes?

The.Deronke: I definitely do. Sometimes, I randomly just delete my Instagram just to go away from my social life because I don’t like the attention sometimes. I like it but not every time because I know that I’m not that kind of person. I only show my feelings to people who know me personally. All of us are living fake lives on the internet. However, it’s not that I’m not happy, I am happy but at the same time it can be overwhelming.

YellowLyfe Mag: So how do you deal with it?

The.Deronke: When I see Food. I am a foodie, so Food makes me happy. I’m just very little but, “ I dey chop (chuckles)”. I have conversations with a few of my friends as well. Music also helps. Just give me my phone and Airpods and I’m good. I do everything with Music including sleeping, eating, and studying. The funniest thing is that the only social media platform I want to be on when I’m in that mood is Twitter because I feel like when I Tweet about how I’m feeling, there will always be one or two people who can relate to it.

YellowLyfe Mag: Do you cook?

The.Deronke: Definitely, I cook. I actually like food photography. So sometimes I intentionally cook just so I can take pictures of the food. The weird part is that I didn’t like going into the kitchen when I was little but I grew up and I began to enjoy cooking.

YellowLyfe Mag: What kind of music do you listen to?

The.Deronke: Thank you. I do not have a specific genre but as long as your music is good, “Deronke will listen to it”. I listen to music from India, Mali, Jamaica, Togo, and Pakistan. As long as it sounds good, Deronke will listen to it. Is it Fuji or Apala?

YellowLyfe Mag: What would your advice be for an up-and-coming content creator?

The.Deronke: Hm… I tell people, “Nobody will support you the way that you will support yourself”. The first step has to be believing in yourself. You have to be confident because you cannot be doubting yourself and expect people to keep hyping you up. Also, ensure you are putting out great content as well.

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YellowLyfe Mag: Do you think you would have any regrets if you didn’t get into content creation?

The.Deronke: Not really. Maybe I wouldn’t know as many people as I do now but I wouldn’t have any regrets. I still lead a normal life as, “Deronke Onijogbon”.

YellowLyfe Mag: Do you think students should study content creation in schools?

The.Deronke: It certainly needs to be added to our curriculum to help people develop skills. There are a lot of creative people out there. The whole world has become so digitized that we can’t afford to rely solely on children becoming doctors and lawyers anymore. The new generation is so focused on content creation, that’s what they do. Many of us are just acquiring degrees that we might never use, for instance, I don’t plan on using mine. We have to start doing things that go with our generation, we are no longer living in the generation of our parents. So I think it should be taught.

YellowLyfe Mag: What would you say has been a challenge for you in the whole content creation path?

The.Deronke: My biggest challenge would be my inability to say No to people. So when I do my content creation, I help people promote their business. However, I realized that I find it very hard to refuse people. The job might be a big one but I can’t take them because of my principles. So I usually need an extra push from friends to finally refuse the job. So that’s the major challenge.

YellowLyfe Mag: What kind of jobs do you refuse?

The.Deronke: I also don’t promote products that I can’t use such as Organic skin care products, and hair care products, I don’t have long hair naturally so I like to avoid products that might hurt me. If I have to promote a product then I have to use the product, I have to try it out and I’m wary of things like that so I just avoid them. I used to deny things like cryptocurrency as well, though I take it sometimes. However, the ones I’m fully comfortable taking are Music Pr. That’s my area of specialization since I listen to music a lot.

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YellowLyfe Mag: What’s your favourite quote?

The.Deronke: Ah, I dey come, let me think. I should have ( puts on a thinking hat). I say, “ When I was young, I wanted to become a lawyer or doctor but right now I have become what I want to become”. I also say, “I am the number one official born leader”.