Time is both an asset and a challenge. Every moment spent offline is a missed opportunity, and every lost connection is a potential career setback. For Kenyan content creator Shorn Arwa, time played a defining role in an extraordinary comeback story.
Back in February 2023, Shorn Arwa lost access to her verified Instagram account, which boasted 239,000 followers. This wasn’t just a minor inconvenience—it was a catastrophic career blow. For an influencer, an Instagram account is more than just a social media platform; it is a portfolio, a business hub, and a gateway to brand deals and opportunities. Losing it meant losing years of hard work, partnerships, and engagement.
The timeline of her struggle was long and arduous. She lost her phone while in South Africa, and since it was her only trusted device for authentication, she found herself locked out of her account. For two years, she tried everything—password resets, emails to customer support, and consultations with tech experts. Yet, time and again, she hit a dead end. As months turned into years, the frustration of watching lost opportunities pile up weighed heavily on her.
However, Shorn didn’t let time defeat her. Instead, she adapted. She started a new account from scratch and kept creating content despite having to rebuild her audience. The passage of time tested her patience, but it also strengthened her resilience.
Then, in a moment of sheer unpredictability, time played its ultimate trick. Late one night, as she was trying to soothe her restless baby, a thought struck her—why not try logging in one more time? It was 3 AM, and she was exhausted, but something pushed her to take a chance. And just like that, in the same month she had lost it two years prior, her account was back.
The irony was not lost on her. After countless hours spent agonizing over her lost career tool, it took only seconds to recover it. Time had both taken away and restored what she cherished most.
Shorn’s story is a testament to perseverance. It highlights how, despite the ticking clock, determination can keep one moving forward. Sometimes, the answers we seek come when we least expect them but only if we keep pushing forward.
