Today we’d like to introduce you to Karla Rosario.
Karla, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Hello everybody! My name is Karla Rosario, and I am a 20-year-old makeup/fashion enthusiast and content creator born in the Dominican Republic but raised in Miami, Florida. My journey with social media started when I was 14. I was inspired by various beauty gurus to create content on YouTube leading me to choose my “SimplyKarla17” brand. Throughout high school, I never took YouTube seriously. I tried, but consistency, especially at a young age is difficult. At 15, I continued to create lifestyle/entertaining videos and ended up joining a collab channel with teens from all over the world, including NYC, LA, New Zealand, Canada, and England. We didn’t gain the exposure we wanted, but it was a fun experience that taught me a lot.
When I was 16, I started learning about makeup and experimenting with it. I would constantly watch videos and attempt different looks. After practicing for what seemed like a year, I decided it was time to start doing makeup professionally and began doing makeup for my classmates, and ultimately anyone I knew.
Education is something I value, and after my second year of college, I decided that I no longer wanted to pursue makeup as a career or a side job. I focused on my marketing career and gaining knowledge in different industries in business. On top of 5 classes, I had a part-time job in marketing and was president of a student organization. I put my hobbies to a pause and focused on my professional development.
When the coronavirus came and quarantine was issued, I had to work and study from home. I decided that it was time to get back to my roots and to continue to do the hobbies that make me happy. Throughout these months, I’ve learned more about myself and my style. Now, I’m trying to find a sweet spot between doing what I love, but also furthering my education in advertising and marketing.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ha! The road has NOT been smooth. I think as creators, there’s a challenge in learning to create content that YOU want, and that makes YOU happy. Comparison is the thief of joy and often, I find myself comparing my content to others. Growing up, I’ve dealt with issues of perfectionism and wanting to create “perfect” content, which led me to create no content. I had to learn what my identity was and to accept that everything’s not going to go my way. I had to force myself to come out with content and post it even if it was not up to my standard.
ALSO, mental health is so important. I’ve always been a high-functioning anxious person but this year I learned that if you don’t deal with your mental health issues at one point, it will break you and intrude with your work and will essentially put a halt to your life.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I specialize in creating avant-garde/editorial makeup looks. People know me online for makeup and honestly, my style in real life. As a creator, I am so proud of my journey and want to continue to create and put out more content. I’d say my discussions on mental health is what sets me apart from other beauty/fashion creators. I don’t see a lot of people in my community, speaking on mental health.
It’s so weird because it’s an unspoken thing that everyone goes through so why are we caught up in portraying a perfect life online when in reality, that is far from the truth. Being honest and vocalizing my experience with mental health has helped others and I hope to continue to not only get better myself but create a community where people feel comfortable discussing their mental health issues and helping each other.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Perseverance is something that is powerful for the success of anyone. We are all going to have really hard days but we’re also going to have good days and being tenacious is what’s going to help you succeed.
I attribute my success to God. Everything I’ve done and will do is because of him and having trust in him. Growing up, an immigrant family from the Dominican Republic, we have struggled. That struggle has inspired me to want to do big things and achieve big things for myself but also my family.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Simplykarla17
Image Credit:
Photo with pink background, pink hoodie + airforces shot by @Thealedoria Alejandro Doria
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