AZZIE: A Different Kind of Success, A Different Kind of Teacher

By W.G. RAMIREZ

There's something fascinating about the people who unexpectedly enter our lives, especially when they come from different generations, different backgrounds and completely different walks of life.

Sometimes, the people who teach us the most are the ones we never imagined learning from.

And sometimes, they're nearly 27 years younger than we are.

I certainly never expected to find a teacher, a source of inspiration or someone I would come to admire on an app I never intended to download in the first place.

But then I met Azzie.

After encountering dozens upon dozens of personalities on TikTok, forming friendships with some and discovering the true colors of others, I've learned that success isn't always measured by accomplishments, bank accounts or popularity.

Sometimes, success is measured by the lives you touch without even realizing you're touching them.

And that's where Azzie has taught me something.

The Success I Almost Overlooked

I first met Azzie when I was still finding my footing on TikTok. We were introduced by another streamer who had started around the same time I did, but whose popularity took off almost immediately.

Meanwhile, I was doing what I still found myself doing yesterday, nine months later: struggling to establish an identity, find my audience and figure out where the hell I fit into this bizarre digital universe.

My intentions were simple. I wanted to bring two things I believed could make a difference on an oftentimes toxic platform: sports and mental health.

And let's be real. Everybody wants to make money. Nobody should apologize for that.

But somewhere between wanting to make a difference and trying to build an audience, I discovered just how difficult this livestreaming business can be.

To put things in perspective, during three separate livestreams the week I wrote this article, I spent a combined four hours and 16 minutes on the app, welcomed 790 views and saw 7.4 thousand diamonds come across my screen.

Now, here's where I can't help but smile.

My dear friend Azzie can accomplish all of that in roughly the first five minutes of her morning livestream, probably before she's finished saying hello to everyone, flashing that infectious smile or making somebody laugh.

And I absolutely love that about her.

Because the difference between our numbers isn't what impresses me. It's the beautiful reason behind hers.

People don't simply stumble into Azzie's room. They look forward to being there. They've made her part of their mornings, their routines and, in some cases, their emotional well-being.

And while I'm still trying to figure out how to build that kind of connection, I have the privilege of watching someone who makes it look so wonderfully effortless.

I couldn't be happier for her, and I couldn't be more grateful for what she's unknowingly teaching me.

She is, as we've come to lovingly say, AZ-MAZING.

What I failed to recognize when I first encountered Azzie was that I was looking at success through the wrong lens.

Her success wasn't about the numbers on an annual IRS form or how much money she'd earned during two years of streaming.

It was about something infinitely more valuable.

She had built a community.

Not simply an audience. Not a collection of people waiting to throw gifts at their phones.

A community.

People who begin their mornings depending on her laughter, her smile, her charm and that wonderfully unpredictable wit.

And, of course, the occasional handstand.

Let's not forget the lip-syncing performances that will forever occupy a special place in our collective memory bank.

I mean, this girl has me listening to Russ' "Best on Earth" about 17 times a day, and I'm not entirely sure whether I should thank her for introducing me to another song I can't get out of my head or send her the bill for the permanent space it's now renting in my brain.

Either way, every time I hear it, I can't help but smile and think of Azzie.

And somehow, that seems perfectly fitting.

Somewhere along the way, Azzie became more than someone people watched.

She became someone people needed.

The Prescription Nobody Knew They Needed

I've spoken openly about mental health and the darkness people sometimes endure behind smiles nobody thinks to question.

What I've learned is that relief doesn't always come from a prescription bottle or a therapist's office.

Sometimes, it comes from someone making you laugh when you've forgotten how.

Sometimes, it's a familiar voice that makes a difficult morning tolerable.

And sometimes, it's Azzie.

She possesses something that can't be manufactured, purchased or taught through an algorithm.

An ability to make people feel welcome.

I've watched how she navigates the app, supporting other streamers, visiting their rooms and spending genuine time in conversation rather than constantly chasing gifts.

And perhaps that's why people support her.

Not because she's demanding anything.

But because they've developed an affection for the person behind the screen.

She's not merely the star of some morning sitcom people tune into for entertainment.

She's someone whose light reaches places she may never realize were dark.

And having experienced some of those dark places myself, I can appreciate just how much that light might mean to someone who desperately needs it.

The Little Things That Mean Everything

I'll never forget the day Azzie invited me to participate in one of her scavenger hunts while I was still recuperating from one of the worst leg injuries imaginable.

There I was, barely able to get around my own home, hopping from room to room in search of a damn pair of scissors.

We all knew I wasn't going to win. Hell, I was lucky just to make it from one room to the next.

But Azzie cheered me on as if I were competing for an Olympic gold medal.

And here's what I'll never forget.

The following week, she couldn't stop talking about my effort. Not about how badly I'd lost or how ridiculous I probably looked hopping around my house.

She celebrated the fact that I'd tried.

She made me feel good about myself during a time when feeling good about anything wasn't particularly easy.

Think about that for a moment.

I have friends I've known for more than 30 years who knew exactly what I was going through, yet never bothered to reach out. Perhaps they were afraid I'd need a favor. Maybe helping someone through a difficult time simply wasn't convenient.

And then there's this young woman, thousands of miles away, who owed me absolutely nothing.

She didn't need to send money, offer to run errands or solve any of my problems.

She simply invited me to play a silly game, cheered me on and made sure I knew my effort mattered.

Azzie made me smile.

And during one of the darkest stretches of my life, that was worth more than she could possibly imagine.

The Classroom I Didn't Recognize

My biggest regret is that I didn't make a greater effort to develop our friendship when we first met.

Months passed before I truly began appreciating the person I was getting to know.

And here's something Azzie probably doesn't realize.

Sometimes, I enter her livestream not simply to be entertained, but to learn.

I watch how she communicates. How she welcomes people. How she makes her community feel important without making herself seem more important than anyone else.

There's a difference between commanding an audience and connecting with one.

Azzie understands that difference instinctively.

After decades in journalism, broadcasting and communicating with audiences, you'd think I would have figured all that shit out by now.

Apparently not.

Because this woman, nearly three decades younger than me, has become an unlikely teacher.

And there's absolutely no shame in admitting that.

In fact, I think there's something rather beautiful about it.

And while Azzie has taught me some genuinely valuable lessons about life, kindness and building a community, there's one other lesson this Jersey Girl has made abundantly clear.

I've learned that under any and all circumstances, regardless of who you are, where you're from or what anybody else tries to tell you...

IT'S PORK ROLL!

And apparently, that's not up for fucking debate.

The Woman Beyond the Screen

But what impresses me most about Azzie has nothing to do with TikTok.

It's who she is when the livestream ends.

She's a wife. A mother of two boys. A woman who openly acknowledges becoming a mother as a teenager and learning life's responsibilities while she was still growing into adulthood herself.

Think about that.

Learning how to become an adult while simultaneously learning how to raise another human being.

Then building a marriage, raising two boys and finding the energy to entertain thousands of people in a digital environment that isn't always kind.

That's not merely impressive.

That's extraordinary.

And perhaps I appreciate that accomplishment more than she might realize, because there's a personal connection to her story that makes me admire her even more.

My relationship with my son's mother ended the week of his first birthday. I never made it to the wedding part, never experienced raising multiple children and never had the opportunity to build the kind of family life Azzie has worked to create.

Instead, I became the predominant single parent, raising my son through the challenges, sacrifices and responsibilities that come with doing much of it on your own. Heck, I basically squandered away a promising career to be the best single father I could possibly be, because I vowed to give him the father I didn't have growing up.

And I wouldn't trade that experience, or the relationship my son and I have today, for anything in the world.

But I can still recognize something in Azzie's life that I wasn't able to achieve in mine.

A marriage. Two children. A family she's helped build while growing into the woman she is today.

And here's the irony that makes me smile.

My son is 30 years old.

So is Azzie.

Imagine that.

I've spent three decades being a father, offering guidance, sharing life lessons and trying to help my son navigate a world that doesn't always make sense.

And now, a woman his age is teaching me a few things about life.

Not because she's lived longer or experienced more, but because she's approached her responsibilities and opportunities in ways I genuinely admire.

There's something wonderfully humbling about that.

I admire people who embrace responsibility without pretending their journeys have been perfect.

And I admire someone who can balance family, marriage and an online community while still finding reasons to laugh, make others smile - and occasionally turn herself upside down for everyone's entertainment.

Azzie deserves recognition for that balance, not simply for what she accomplishes on a screen.

Because long after the livestream ends, the gifts stop coming and the rankings reset, the family she's raising remains her most important audience.

And from where I'm sitting, that's the accomplishment worth applauding the loudest.

A Success Worth Celebrating

I don't know whether Azzie fully appreciates what she's created or how many people she's helped through moments she knew nothing about.

Maybe she never will.

But I hope she understands that her value extends far beyond the gifts, rankings and financial rewards that TikTok encourages everyone to chase.

I came to this app hoping to make a difference in other people's lives.

What I didn't anticipate was finding people like Azzie who would make a difference in mine.

Someone younger. Someone living a completely different life. Someone whose professional world bears little resemblance to mine, yet whose values and instincts feel remarkably familiar.

Someone who has made me laugh, given me reasons to smile and reminded me that there are still genuinely good people to be found in unexpected places.

And someone who has taught me that wisdom doesn't come with an age requirement.

Azzie isn't successful because of what people give her.

She's successful because of what she gives people.

And if there's one thing I've learned from the TikTok classroom I never expected to enter, it's that the most meaningful success stories aren't always about the people who reach the top.

Sometimes, they're about the people who reach everyone else.

That's Azzie.

That's my friend.

And that's somebody worth celebrating.