Parents' Guide to Obviously: Stories from My Timeline

OBVIOUSLY: STORIES FROM MY TIMELINE begins in the small town in Kentucky where Hughes grew up as the daughter of an absent father and a supportive and encouraging mother who worked two jobs. Deemed "gifted and talented," she often found herself the only African American student in her class. She yearned to be a cheerleader (a dream never realized) but instead was a spelling bee champion who constantly battled weight and body image issues. She faced racism from a teacher and writes about making the painful decision to walk away after a close friend adopted the racist beliefs of her boyfriend. Hughes began making comedic YouTube videos during college and dreamed of being as famous as Oprah. After graduation and a few going-nowhere-she-wanted-to-go jobs, she moved back home and found yet another job she really hated. What she wanted was "an opportunity to really compete," and for Hughes that meant moving to New York City. It was a bit of a rocky start, as she discovered "my clothes suck," and there were some embarrassing and sometimes hilarious encounters with celebrities. A failed relationship with a White boyfriend gave her a first taste of success when she turned it into a YouTube hit called "Meet Your First Black Girlfriend." Hughes began producing videos for major outlets like MTV, Oxygen, and Essence, and as this timeline ends, she's working on writing and starring in her own projects.