What can be considered a ‘public diary’ turned into a social media phenomenon for founder, Koreen Odiney. An assemblage of poems, surveys on the story, and collections to break the man-made social stress are the basics of the account. With a following of about 2.8 million on the ‘We’re Not Really Strangers’ page and 108 thousand on her personal account, Koreen has successfully built a macroscale community of those who want to work on themselves and their relationships. Honesty is a policy for all of the work the WNRS team offers in order to alert everyone who clicks on their account that it is a safe place. Many could consider it their personal therapist or support group for all of life’s packages.
All flourishing from a card game and an Instagram, Forbes took the time to acknowledge her business venture. At just twenty-five years old, Koreen is signed with ‘The Society’ modelling agency and is involved with her goal to promote meaningful conversations. Despite her ever-growing platform, she humbly speaks on the overarching thought patterns for her brand. With a strenuous period of self isolation at hand, she took it in her own hands to release cards for others to maintain that necessary human connection. Deep, raw questions are hidden amongst the stack of cards for consumers to learn and love more. Odiney opens up saying that the reason she is entirely comfortable with being utterly vulnerable is simply due to her mindset. Recently she disclosed in a phone call interview with Vogue that “social media has become a place where I create meaningful connections, and I think it’s because I’ve been intentional, shared my real emotions, and the things I care about.” If it was not for her, many would feel lonely, uninterested, and confused.
As a young lady, she started to model to pay for her college tuition at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Ironically, her salary fueled the beginning of WNRS. Without her abilities to capture moments and the passion she had with photography, her game would have been nonexistent. With a job of making people feel comfortable in front of the camera, she found out quickly the importance of purposeful communication. One of which includes a stranger giving her the motivation to start the poetic road ahead following an intentional, real talk between the two. Now more than ever, Koreen wants others to experience the magic she did and does every single day. The idea of unanticipated conversations and interactions are part of Odiney’s ‘why’. Personal questions shuffled onto each card could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship between two or more human beings. This allows humans to realize not one single body or mind on this planet is perfect, actually quite far from it. The founder claims that is one of her favorite lessons from the project. In the middle of the works and to this day, she understands that “showing up imperfectly was better than not showing up at all, and just reaching out means so much more than being silent.” Powerful words from the entrepreneur transfix into the brains of millions. Evidently, decreasing the mental health stigma and increasing the well-being of her followers. A special combination of coups charges the creativity in Odiney’s poetry and other content.
If you have never seen the ‘We’re Not Really Strangers’ merch, you should take a minute to admire the work from 2018. Thousands have taken part in contributing back into her business by purchasing a sort of clothing. Sweatshirts, tee-shirts, and long sleeves are the options on the website, all of which affirm the foundation of her business idea. Ranging from $15 to $45, the clothing is a manageable and worthy expense. An aspect that creates a separation from other merchandise are the personal self-love notes inscribed into the latest sweatshirt. Embellished with words directly from her cards or Instagram, her cohesive brand is only climbing the latter.
An enveloped lesson you will learn from her teachings: we’re not really strangers.