British Instagram model Demi Rose Mawby marked the end of 2020 by reflecting on her growth in the past year. The 25-year-old included a collection of poolside photos from her trip to Tanzania in East Africa. Mawby also shared a long message in her Instagram Story about the importance of being happy.
“New year, more knowledge, more strength. I love how far I have [come] and I’m so ready for what’s to come this next year. I love you guys so much. Wishing you all blessings,” Mawby wrote. She also tagged photographer Jay Rich. Mawby has shared several photos from her Tanzania trip, going back to Dec. 11. She also stopped in Kenya during her trip to Africa.
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In her Instagram Story, Mawby also published a long statement about being happy. “To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny’s author. It is to cross deserts, yet to be able to find an oasis in the depths of our soul. It is to thank God for every morning, for the miracle of life,” the message reads in part. “Being happy is not being afraid of your feelings’ It’s to be able to talk about you. It is having the courage to hear a ‘no.’” The message concludes, “Never give up. Never give up on people who love you. Never give up on happiness, for life is an incredible show.”
Although the message’s meaning may strike a chord, the statement is not an original work from Mawby. It has been circulating on the web for several years and was once attributed to Pope Francis when it hit social media. However, in 2016, Inquirer.net debunked this. The “Being Happy” message is a translation of a Portuguese text called “Palco de vida” (Stages of Life), attributed to the late poet Fernando Pessoa. Some scholars dismissed the Pessoa attribution though since it is different from his style and there are no actual manuscripts of the poem. Inquirer.net notes the poem may have spread on Portuguese websites. In September 2015, a Kenya-based Catholic group shared it on Facebook in English and attributed it to Pope Francis, even though he did not say this.
Mawby has over 15 million Instagram followers. She was born in Birmingham, England, but now calls Ibiza, Spain home. In an interview with the Evening Standard, Mawby said she moved to the island during the coronavirus lockdown. She called it “one of the best choices I ever made,” adding, “I have loads of friends out here, the weather is nice and it is a perfect backdrop for my modeling work. And the connections I have made through living here have introduced me to the wonderful team who are behind this video.”
