Meet Misty Conteh | Social Media Manager & Workout Enthusiast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Misty Conteh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Misty, what role has risk taking played in your life/career?
I think taking risks is the best part of the reward. Taking a risk requires courage to face the fear of uncertainty. Are they scary? Absolutely. Not knowing what the outcome of something will be is terrifying. But if you don’t take risks you’ll never know. Taking risks is especially terrifying for me because I like to be in control of my life. I like having control over situations and knowing that everything will be okay because I’m making sure it’s okay. That’s where risk-taking really steps up to the plate. If I would not have taken risks, I would not have lived so many lives at the young age of 26. I wouldn’t be living in my favorite city in America. I wouldn’t be able to share my story if it wasn’t for taking a risk. I wouldn’t be so successful career-wise if it were not for all of the risks. A risk is a situation involving exposure to danger. So when I think of taking risks, I like to weigh the pros and cons of the potential risk. I think to myself, “Is this going to benefit me?” “If so, how?” “What happens if I fail?” “How will I recover from this risk if it doesn’t go as planned?” I think when people hear the word “risk”, they automatically assume it’s something bad. That’s not always the case. A lot of people have many regrets in life because they didn’t take that one risk. So whenever I’m taking risks in my career or life in general, I try and have a mostly positive outlook on it. I’m doing the best I can with what I have right now. Taking risks can either help me succeed or stop me in my tracks. If it doesn’t go as planned, I take it as a sign to reassess so that if I’m ever presented with the risk again, I’ll know how to properly go about it the next time around. Taking risks has helped me be able to network with CEOs, celebrities, and move up in my career. Right now, I do social media for my company, and that exposure alone was worth the risk. Taking risks has also planted me in San Diego. Being able to not only live in but explore this amazing city was definitely worth the risk. Looking back, even if I’m not always in full control of the things that happen, I’m proud of myself for taking a risk on this thing we call life.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Right now, I’m a social media manager for a small tech startup. I engage with customers, manage customers issues via social media, and track our metrics and trends. I love being able to go to work every day and interact with our customers on social media. Helping them, hearing them out, and figuring out how to brand our company better. I think what sets me apart from others is that I’m not afraid to go that next step. Sometimes, I don’t know what the outcome is, but that’s okay because I won’t know unless I do it. Social media plays a big part in everyday life, and since the pandemic, it is the face of a lot of companies. My social media career started as a child, honestly. I’m a millennial, so I’ve been using social media since MySpace. Being that I work in social media daily, I also have a brand for myself. I’m always working on exposing myself to the masses and putting myself out there more. I use these same factors in my day-to-day work. I’d be lying if I said it was easy. Of course, it had its challenges! I overcame these challenges by being a forward thinker. I’m always thinking of ways to better something. I’d rather be proactive than reactive. I don’t believe things can be perfect. If something is perfect that means there’s no room for improvement, and that’s just not true. So I’m always thinking of how to improve things. How to improve social impact, branding, making life easier not only for myself but for those around me. I’ve learned that rejection equals redirection. Just because you didn’t get what you wanted, ten times out of ten it means the universe had something better in store for you. I’ve learned that when one door closes, a bigger and better door is waiting to be opened. I’ve learned not to be afraid to take a chance on myself as an individual. I can only go as far as I allow myself to. I want the world to know that even though we all have 24 hours in a day, it depends on how you use the resources you have. Even if you don’t have a ton of resources, use the ones that are available to you. I’ve managed to live in three separate states by myself, meet amazing people from all over the world, and just take life as it comes. I truly believe that if I can do it so can you.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I always have friends visiting me in San Diego! I love hosting them and showing them all the fun things this city has to offer. First, I’d take them to the beach. I love Pacific Beach it’s my favorite beach and there are so many good beachfront restaurants. We’d have a nice little beach day to kick things off. I’d walk the boardwalk with them and check out all of the different shops people have set up. For my coffee-loving friends, I’d take them to Communal Coffee in North Park, or keep it simple and take them to Better Buzz Coffee. Of course, we have to go to brunch! I’d take them to Morning Glory, Breakfast Republic, Fig Tree Cafe, and PB Alehouse! I’d take them to the OB Farmer’s Market Wednesday night so they can pick up some local fresh fruit and veggies and a cute bouquet of flowers. For dinner, we’d go to Cucina Caprese which is the BEST PIZZA IN NORTH AMERICA! They’re right next to Lost Cause Meadery so I’d take them there as well so they can have some of the best mead ever. I’d also take them to Blanco Tacos + Tequila which is the best Mexican restaurant I’ve been to and they have great spicy margaritas. We’d go to Tom Ham’s Lighthouse for happy hour and take in the beautiful views and yummy appetizers. We’d go to Woody’s Breakfast & Burgers for a nice lunch! Their spinach feta salad is to die for! I’d also take us to Madhouse Dance for a fun and active dance class! We’d also hit up Renegade Fitness so we can stay on top of our gains. Of course, we’d also have to go to Balboa Park! We can get caricatures done and see all of the pretty views around the city. We’d check out the harbor and Little Italy of course. Pizza on 5th has bosco sticks and a bar on top of that! For my night owls, we’d go to Onyx to dance the night away! Mavericks is also fun and has so many games to play while you drink as well. And of course, for my arcade friends, I’d take them to Coin Op! Nothing better than a seasonal drink and an intense game of air hockey. We could also hit up The Office which has great drinks and reggae nights on Sundays! Finally, I’d take them to wine country! That’s right, we’d road trip up to Temecula and check out some of the wineries there. If we’re still feeling road trippy, we’d take the train up PCH to LA! That way we can watch the gorgeous coast and sightsee in LA some.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My granny is the light of my life. I wouldn’t be able to survive in a world where she didn’t exist. I’m so thankful that she’s been in my life since day one (literally). She is my soulmate, my shoulder to cry on, the person I laugh the hardest with, the person I want to impress the most, and make the happiest in this world. I’d also like to give a special shoutout to my friends. My friends are my family. They’re my go tos and I wouldn’t be here without them. I don’t have a lot of friends, and I don’t use that word lightly at all. I genuinely cherish the people I have in my life with everything in me. Whenever I’m going through the highs and lows of life, I know I can reach out to my friends to be there to support me. Big shoutout to Princess, Adan, and Shar. Thank you so much for doing this journey called life with me. I know y’all would drop everything for me as y’all have shown in the past and I would do the same for you. I love y’all. There are approximately 7.3 billion people in the world, and I’ve been blessed and honored with having the chance to cross paths with the people in my life. Thank you for the experiences, the lessons, the laughs, the cries, and for helping me realize that this life is worth living. I’m also very thankful for my therapist. I know therapy can be a bit controversial, but honestly, sometimes we need people who are going to call us out on our wrongs and make us hold ourselves accountable. Although my friends do that, it doesn’t hurt to talk to a licensed professional who gives me advice and tips on how to conquer the battles in my life. So again, thank you to all the special people in my life.

Instagram: @mistyshowers

Twitter: @mistyshowers