Keeley K. (@kxjpebs on Instagram), a 23-year-old influencer from Northern Ireland also known as “KJP,” has turned to content creation to share her lifelong passion for fashion as well as raise awareness of living with chronic illness. After spending much of her youth hospitalized and battling health issues, Keeley has reached a point of better management that has given her the energy to pursue long-held dreams.

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Keeley reflects that her journey into influencer content creation stemmed first and foremost from a deep, lifelong “love of fashion.” She says, “I always just kind of posted new outfit pictures and things like that.” However, as she grew older and became increasingly impacted by illness, Keeley felt compelled to broaden the subjects she addressed to her growing audience. “I felt like I wanted to share not just my outfits and not just, you know, my makeup and stuff like that,” she explains, “but also what I was going through, what the realities were for people with chronic illnesses and disabilities.”

Crucially, Keeley did not want to sacrifice her passion for fashion in the process of addressing these important issues. As she puts it, “I wanted both to be there.” Beyond simply marrying her interests, Keeley also saw influencer content creation as an opportunity to build a career centered on things she loved that offered flexibility to manage her health. Observing others successfully monetizing content creation, she decided to actively study and pursue it as a profession, realizing “this is really something you can make a career out of.”

Keeley suggests her content represents the dual facets of her life. As she explains it: “even with the chronic illness and all of the sickness and stuff, I still have that side of me that loves fashion, I still love to dress up, and I still love to do my makeup, and I still love to do all those things that everyone else loves to do, even though I do have my disabilities.”

The Dual Worlds Of Fashionista Keeley K (@kxjpeb): Influencer Content Creation Meets Chronic Illness Advocacy

First Brush with Virality

According to Keeley, her first viral piece of content opened up about living with a feeding tube, which she found extremely nerve-wracking to share publicly. As she remembers, “I was very nervous and having the feeding tube and stuff like that, trying to. Kind of put my face right there. And though, you know, being scared of judgment and stuff.” However, she explains, her goal was to contribute towards normalizing chronic health issues.

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Keeley says she sat watching the comments roll in with anxiety after posting. But within thirty minutes, she recalls being “amazed” by the outpouring of supportive comments locally and globally. Numerous people messaged her to keep creating content and spreading her message. The experience left her with “an incredible feeling” that amplifying her voice could make a real difference.

When creating content, Keeley takes different approaches depending on whether the focus is fashion or chronic illness. For health-related posts, she often looks for relevant awareness events on the calendar to help guide timing and themes. She shares personal experiences from appointments, procedures, or daily life she thinks could enlighten others facing similar circumstances.

In contrast, fashion content requires far more pre-planning and vision-boarding in Keeley’s process. As she describes, “I like to visually plan everything. I like to know every detail.” This includes extensive notes on all elements involved, from makeup, hair, outfits, to photography locations. Keeley researches and scouts locations, working to match them aesthetically to her planned outfits and overall visual concept.

Collaborating with her inner circle also plays a key role in bringing Keeley’s visions to life. As she explains, when she gets overly deep into planning, “I’ll just get, you know, I’ll hit a wall and I’ll not really be able to go any further.” At such times, she relies on loved ones familiar with her creative instincts to spark new directions and ideas to pursue.

Balancing Career, Advocacy, and Health

Keeley is direct in citing flare ups of her medical issues as the chief challenge she faces as an influencer content creator. Bluntly put in her own words, “whenever my illnesses flare, there’s no getting out of it.” These unpredictable flare ups force a complete cease to her work and other responsibilities. Keeley accepts the disruption her conditions cause, acknowledging they disrupt every domain, not just her career. Over time, she has adapted to manage.

When considering building an influencer career faced with her disabilities, Keeley knew difficulties would arise. Even casual content creation previously exhausted and exacerbated her health. She grappled with how to make this career path “doable” for someone with her limitations. With illnesses requiring modifications to nearly everything, she asked herself the key question: “How can I do this and avoid getting physically sick?”

Pacing herself rigorously emerged as the essential realization. Breaking down tasks, building in extended timelines where necessary, and firmly limiting overexertion became vital. When collaborating with brands, transparent communication of her circumstances also proves important so accommodations can be made.

Sustainability stems from Keeley actively content planning each week, scheduling creation, editing, emails and more. Though her approach differs by necessity, through flexibility, openness and fiercely guarding her limits, Keeley carves out space to elevate her voice while protecting her health.

Given the rarity of her conditions, Keeley considers advocacy a priority. She actively shares related surveys, petitions, studies and more from trusted organizations. Keeley also spearheads both fashion and general fundraisers, allowing her audience to directly support progress.

Additionally, Keeley strives to counter misinformation circulating online about her illnesses. With limited existing reliable resources on them, she creates posts showcasing places to access facts and pursue ethical research. Beyond her personal experiences, Keeley boosts disabled and chronically ill-owned small businesses. As she explains, “a lot of girls who, are quite second hospital and run businesses.” Sharing these stories and organizations remains vital to her.

While inclusion of disabled creators has improved in recent years, ample room for further progress remains according to influencer Keeley K. In her assessment, “There’s not a lot of representation…it’s not enough.” The occasional visibility fails to reflect daily realities faced by many. Keeley has also encountered ostensible interest from brands unprepared to accommodate unique needs.

However, she acknowledges that over the past two years, the appetite to partner with disabled creators has grown. An emphasis on authentic collaborations prioritizing shared values over one-off partnerships for appearances seems on the rise.

Keeley’s passionate advocacy and visibility has helped propel her career. One shoot stood out in particular, partnering with a leading Northern Ireland cosmetics brand. Keeley was heartened that they featured her feeding tube and disabilities prominently. Shortly thereafter an opportunity materialized from digital fashion retailer Boohoo, a brand Keeley reminisces watching on TV ads as a child when such prospects remained unfathomable.

What’s Next for Keeley

Looking ahead, Keeley aims “to just keep trying to grow” in establishing herself further as a distinguished content creator and influencer. She hopes to continue expanding the breadth of brand partners on her “list of dream brands” to collaborate with. Authenticity remains centrally important – creating content aligning with her unique style and perspective.

Keeley also strives to drive expanded chronic illness advocacy through her platform. Ideas include spearheading research, support groups, and other initiatives alongside nonprofit organizations close to her. She notes limited existing infrastructure on these fronts currently where she resides in Northern Ireland.

For aspiring creators facing similar disabilities or health issues, Keeley stresses, “you can do everything, anything that you want to.” While each person’s path may differ, she urges self-belief it’s possible to accomplish your goals, regardless of others doubting or not understanding that path.

In Keeley’s words: “Just being disabled or having a feeding tube or, you know, having any type of disability doesn’t have to stop you. And it shouldn’t.” Managing symptoms poses undeniable challenges, but content creation and modeling still lie firmly within reach she affirms. Disabled creators equally deserve visibility and opportunities – on runways, in photoshoots and corporate campaigns. Keeley stands determined to blaze trails towards making such inclusive representation the norm.