Ever have one of those friends who just keeps it real with you? You know that one friend that no matter what, he or she is there to lift you up, help you dust off the haters and tell you how great you are?
Well, Amber Wagner is that friend in my head. And if you watch her on social media, she’s probably yours too.
Wagner is all about positivity. She’s raw, uses a few curse words here and there–but she’s all about positivity. Raised in a devoutly Christian family, the Los Angeles-based Instagram personality who is best known as Just Livin’ Baby (@Jstlbby), has spent much of her life in the church. It’s her faith, she told The Fader, that inspires her to create acerbically comic videos in which she provides guidance on love, life, and loss.
“Keeping it real and positive” is largely why her videos have gone viral, garnering attention from celebrities and everyday people looking for direction. But offering advice is nothing new for Wagner, who is often the first person her close friends call when they’re looking for counsel.
“I started doing those because I had some days where I was dead broke, didn’t have no gas, and out the blue, God would just bless me with some funds. In random places, like in my glove box, I’d find ten dollars. Or lookin’ in my shirt pocket I’d find some money. So I was just like, ‘You know what, let me start telling people how good God is.’”
“What made me be motivational, was I just in a dark place for a while, you know. Dealing with these guys using and abusing me and me not fully loving myself and knowing who I was. But once I did, a new sense came over me and I just had to put this out there.”
Amber got her online name from the 2 Chainz song, “Living.” In the chorus, he says, “I’m just livin; baby” and I just love that, cause that’s really what I’m doing. Like, I’m just livin’ out here.
“When I give a message, I’m speaking off of personal experience. I put it in a way where everybody can relate to me, but giving real-life problems and giving solutions to them. I just pray about it and keep going. It’s just pure. Nothing forced.”
For more on Amber Wagner, follow her on social media, here.
(on the following page are some of Amber’s most motivational videos)