Today we’d like to introduce you to Aisha Chaudhri.
Aisha, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It all started with me getting married and moving out to NJ. My sister would call me almost daily asking me about how to do certain makeup ie. smokey eye or how to get the perfect liquid liner. After a couple of months of this happening, I thought let’s make a YouTube channel that she can just go and watch as many times as she needs to learn. That kicked off my Youtube journey. I ended up stopping after I got pregnant with my first baby. After having him, I became a stay at home mom and needed a creative outlook. Something that was just for me, that made me happy and sane. So, I turned back to Youtube and it has been absolutely amazing.
Then, a friend of mine told me about this new thing called Instagram. Slowly, I got onto that and that has taken my brand to a whole new level. Don’t get me wrong its twice as much work if not more but it’s so nice to connect with people from all over the world in a different way.
That was about four years ago. All that has led me to where I am today.
Has it been a smooth road?
I don’t think anything goes as planned. What’s that saying, If you wanna make God laugh, tell him your plans. It was something like that for me. When I got pregnant, I thought I would just continue to make content and be all happy and just have it all. Sadly, after having my first and second baby, I ended up getting very bag postpartum along with horrible crippling anxiety and depression to the point I could no longer make my video or take pictures. I couldn’t do anything that previously made me happy.
I ended up “quitting” for two or three months. At that time in my head, I was just quitting and it made me so so sad. I felt guilty for leaving my followers who had been with me from the beginning. But I knew if I wasn’t healthy, then I wouldn’t be putting out good content. So, I had to let it go.
Thankfully, the bad times always pass and I was able to get help and with the support of my family get back on track and be myself again. The biggest advice I can give to anyone who’s starting out is to no give up. It’s hard seeing other people with huge accounts and giant numbers but it will happen for you. It just takes time and that’s ok!
Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
The official term would be a “social media influencer” or “lifestyle blogger”. I make makeup tutorials, outfit videos, fashion hauls, life vlogs, hair tutorials, and so much more. I make the type of videos I want to see. Being a south Asian woman, it was so hard to find fellow brown girls on social media so I decided to start myself. I get so many messages from a woman of color especially women of south Asian descent saying its finally so nice to see a brown girl do her thing.
I love being able to show women and girls of color that “hey, brown girls can do it too”. We don’t have to be so afraid to step outside of our comfort zones and if you want it then just go for it!
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
I was such a super shy quiet kid. I say this often and no one believes me but if you knew me back in high school and I was sitting right next to you, you wouldn’t even know I was there. That’s how quiet and timid I was. I got picked on a lot as well. I think going through all that honestly made me stronger. It gave me thicker skin. Just because we’re adults now, doesn’t mean the bullying has stopped. It’s just changed form and turned into cyberbullying. I get loads of comments and messages full of hate but I’ve learned and chosen to ignore that and move past it.
If it weren’t for my previous experiences, I don’t think I would have been ready or known how curl this world and social media can be sometimes.
Contact Info:
- Email: askaishacvirk@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aishacvirk/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/aishachaudhri
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