Hannah Jarrah: An Influencer Building a Balanced Relationship With Food
One Tik Tok video. That’s all it took for me to decide I liked Hannah Jarrah’s energy. I paused my doom scrolling on the app and quickly switched over to her Instagram. There, I found deliciously well-balanced recipes, daily affirmations, and even an IUD story, all coming from a fellow 20-year-old.
What surprised me the most was the sense of comfort I felt as I scrolled through her account and watched her YouTube videos. That unshakable habit of comparing myself to the person on my screen was nowhere to be found. Instead, I felt that I could come as I was; that was the vibe.
I attribute this to the fact that Hannah appeared to have found what many of us are still searching for: balance. Especially balance with food. “I think a lot of us have negative, limiting beliefs when it comes to our food,” she says, “It isn’t about good food or bad food because there’s really no such thing. It’s also important to live!”
This is how Hannah has fostered a healthy relationship with food—by accepting that perfection is often impossible. If friends are going out for pizza or ice cream, she will join them. Embracing that flexibility with food is natural; “don’t be so hard on yourself.”
While it came as a relief to find out the key to balance is accepting the ebbs and flows of everyday life, that can be easier said than done. As a student, it’s challenging to juggle classes, a social life, quality time with family, internships, hobbies… the list goes on. How does one also maintain a balanced and nutritious diet?
Hannah has achieved this in true Gen Z fashion—through some heavy influence by the people she follows on social media. For years now, she’s followed content creators who focus on health and wellness, such as Ellen Fisher, who promotes a realistic, healthy, plant-based lifestyle. “Following people who inspire you and who are in [the health and wellness industry], posting [quality] recipes, I think that's a super good way to get some meal inspo.”
I agree, after all, that’s one of the reasons I followed Hannah in the first place; I wanted to emulate her healthy habits.
Health. The word comes up a lot during our conversation. Definitions vary but to Hannah, “it means eating foods that make [her] feel energized, that contribute to [her] health and wellbeing.”
In addition to fuelling foods, movement and mindfulness are important aspects of Hannah’s every day that contribute to her happiness. She has found that setting aside a portion of her day (it can be as little as five to ten minutes) to focus on herself works wonders. This sacred “me time” usually takes place in the morning, when Hannah has established a routine.
“I'll wake up and I'll just do some stretches… just kind of be alone with my thoughts,” she explains. She also tries to stay off her phone as soon as she wakes up. Some days she reads, other days she listens to inspiring podcasts or energizing music. I recall her story highlight titled “song mood otd” and make a mental note to jam out later.
As she recommends some of her favorite podcasts (“Manifestation Babe”, “Happy Hour with Gretchen Geraghty,” and “The Health Code Daily” come up), Hannah shares a recent epiphany with me. She’s heard that, to some extent, you become the five people that you hang around with the most. Upon learning this, she reflected not just on her in-person relationships but also on her online relationships. The people we follow on social media have the power to influence our behavior and mindsets. It’s important to be conscious of who we’re giving that power to.
“[They start] to become a part of your own identity, which is super dope,” Hannah says of the channels she engages with. “I never thought something like a podcast could impact my life so much, but just listening to [them] for like 20 minutes a day has made such an improvement on my mental health. It's crazy.”
As we continue thinking about the influence that content creators have on our lives, I am aware of the influence Hannah herself has. On Instagram alone, she’s amassed over 92,000 followers. I ask her whether she’s ever wanted to differentiate herself from other social media personalities, as well as what she has learned from sharing a substantial amount of her life online.
“Showing the good and showing the bad is what I really wanted to do to differentiate myself [from] everyone,” she responds, “just so young girls have that relatable figure.”
This desire to be authentic and vulnerable online essentially stemmed from a lack of this content online currently. To this day, most influencers only share the best side of themselves, which can cause young viewers to feel discouraged and insecure about their normal lives. Hannah has been in this position before.
“Oh my gosh, what is wrong with me?” she used to ask herself. “Why can't I be like these girls who are having a seemingly perfect life?”
As she grew her own following, she realized this was simply not true. These “perfect” influencers were filtering out the hardships in their lives, and that is something Hannah has actively worked against.
“I made it such a priority of mine to show my real and raw self. So if I'm in a good mood, my followers are the first to know that. If I'm going through it, they're also the first to know that.”
For Hannah, being vulnerable on Instagram was a personal choice. Everyone deserves agency over their truths and personal information; in Hannah’s case, this meant sharing her IUD experience via Instagram stories.
“Have u ever gotten a copper IUD & what was ur experience w it??” she asked her followers. These honest and genuine conversations create a new layer of trust between her and her followers.
“It’s so nice to have that older sister figure on the internet that [has] no filter, can talk to you about anything… from her own experience… That's what I try to do with my followers,” she explains. “I'm so, so thankful to have all of them. It's awesome.”
Personally, I’m relieved that this generation appreciates transparency—it’s refreshing. Just like having a healthy relationship with food, however, being candid online is not always easy. It can be intimidating to share ups and downs, especially at such a young age. You have no way of knowing how others will react to you just being you.
At first, others’ opinions really affected Hannah, especially if they were people she knew or looked up to. She would take comments to heart right away. Today, she has learned to be less affected by hate, instead championing the idea of “being your own hype man.” She says, “Be [the] pep talk in your head. When everyone is saying you can't, find that voice in your head saying, yes, I can.”
“I think that’s the best tip I [can] give for finding your independence: [listen] to yourself or someone who inspires you.”
I have a feeling Hannah has more hard-hitting affirmations to share, so I ask her what mottos she lives by. Here are a few:
“You're under no obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.” - Alan Watts
“It's okay to outgrow the people in your life. Growth isn't linear. You have highs and you have lows, but it's a journey and you need to respect the journey and honor yourself the whole way.”
“If you look at the people in your circle and you don’t get inspired, then you don’t have a circle. You have a cage.” - Nipsey Hussle
“Again, you become the five people you're around the most. [Ask yourself] are these people serving my highest good? Are they adding value to my life? Or are they draining the energy out of me? Just really [become] selfish of who you give your energy to.”
Nobody's judging you as hard as you're judging yourself.
“I think it's easy for us to think that everybody is thinking about us when we're walking somewhere or whatever, but, in reality, everyone is so preoccupied with themselves in their own head that they're not even thinking about you.”
While thinking about the future can be daunting, especially during uncertain times such as these, I wanted us to do some manifesting—speak things into existence if you will. I wondered what Hannah’s aspirations are, and how her online presence fits into her future.
As it turns out, Hannah plans to use social media as “a tool to document [her] growth.” She sees herself starting her own business, being her own boss.
“I want to have a job where I can be creative… making a direct impact on other people's lives and empowering them to be the best person that they can be.”
Through leading by example, Hannah has been able to inspire young people to be themselves. It’s safe to say that Hannah is already on a promising path.
STORY ANA SOFIA ERATH
PHOTOS HANNAH JARRAH