fiona
digital content creator.
brisbane, queensland, australia.
un-script-ed.com
Fiona Byarugaba created her blog Unscripted in 2018 and manages it while working full-time in marketing and raising her two children with her partner Anthony.
An outline of Africa hangs on the wall of Fiona’s Brisbane apartment, a shout-out to the continent in which she was born and raised. Fiona proudly rocks her African influence with color, style, and by sharing her story vulnerably. Her blog, Unscripted, is a collection of her own authentic experiences in life and motherhood, podcast recommendations, and things that inspire her (must read: Fiona's musings on music). Fiona shows how the world benefits when you share your experiences, and provides a reminder about originality that we often need to hear.
home is anywhere you can grow.
Fiona, the youngest of four, spent most of her childhood in Uganda before her mother took a job in Swaziland, in South Africa. She was homeschooled here for a number of years by a missionary family. Reflecting on her childhood: “The experience opened me up to new things -- new cultures, new friends.” Fiona and her family moved to Australia in 2015, and she found herself again adjusting to life in a new country, one very different to the one she once called home. Living in different places informs how she relates to people from all backgrounds and cultures. She empathizes with others who share similar experiences. “There’s no manual for these things, you have to build the road as you walk on it.”
own the responsibility to share your experience.
Drawing from rich life experience gained across multiple countries, Fiona decided she needed to share her knowledge, creating her blog Unscripted in 2018. In a search for information to help her and her family navigate the move from Uganda to Australia, she couldn’t find the kind of resources she desired. She had a thought: “Why don’t you share your experience, so that someone out there like you can have a manual, and use it to manage how they navigate these waters. Why not be the source of information that people are looking for? I wanted to find a place for all of this to live online, and people can pick and choose the golden nuggets that work for them.” Fiona categorized her thoughts in a way that she felt was personal to her experience. “I felt an immense responsibility to share what I knew, my experiences, because keeping in everything I’d learnt till that point made me feel like I was selfish.”
"what makes an idea different is someone hearing it in your voice"
creative inspiration is all around you.
“Inspiration comes from everywhere in my life – on the train, walking to buy bread, listening to a podcast, looking at a bottle that’s a specific color.” She reads quotes from others and colors those words with her own experiences. Music is, to Fiona, “simply genius.” Music allows her to channel her emotions or express herself in a way that feels authentic, whether it’s rap, Gospel, instrumental, or African. “When I’m listening to songs, I’ll write down what I’m thinking, an idea for a title, or blog idea.” Fiona feels inspired knowing that her words and experiences make an impact. “When someone says: ‘I’ve always struggled with this, and I’ve never heard anyone say it the way you just did, and I’m so glad you did.’ That inspires me to keep thinking. It challenges me to not be asleep, to be alert to all of these things that stimulate the creative process. Even if it’s one person, that’s enough for me. That’s why you do it.”
the idea doesn’t have to be big; it just has to be yours.
“I have an insecurity about being original, no idea out there is original,” Fiona says of the creative struggle. When generating ideas for content and new blog posts, this feels daunting. “What makes an idea different is someone hearing it in your voice, in the way you’ve chosen to share it. When I doubt this, I think about water. How many companies make water? Spring water, sparkling water, alkaline water. It’s all water, and yet people find a way to market it differently. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours.”
