Embracing self-love

Content creator Gayathri Iyengar has been climbing the success ladder with her content on social media. In a candid chat with The Pioneer, the young talent takes us through her journey, her inspiration behind her recent reel on imperfections, and much more.

K. Ramya Sree

Mix of beauty, style, and skills, content creator Gayathri Iyengar’s ‘Get Ready With Me’ reels are truly admired by her audience.

Her recent reel about self-love and embracing our imperfections sends out a great message for all the young girls brimming with insecurities about their bodies. We got in touch with the young content creator to know what made her create videos on self-love, its importance, and more, while we also spoke about her journey to content creation.

Beginning with her journey, the youngster told us, “I have always loved consuming content, and that made me fall in love with the process of knowing how it is made! I remember the time when I would record cute little makeup videos as a 11-year-old whose only makeup products were her mom’s makeup.

My mom often tells me that as a child, even then, I loved standing in front of my closet to decide what I wanted to wear for the day, and well, nothing has changed. It was definitely an intentional choice to become a content creator; I had a plan and everything. I love to capture and post everything I do, be it about fashion, my travels, or anything else that is going on with my life, and content creation gave me that opportunity to post about it.”

There are hoards of content creators these days. To make a name for yourself in this rat race, you and your content must be distinctive in order to stand out from the crowd.
Wondering how this youngster is managing to climb up the ladder? Hear it from her: “Let me tell you a secret, it is not a competition! There are so many talented creators, and we bring our own individuality to the table through our content. As for me, I try to create fun content about fashion and lifestyle, and if my content is your cup of tea, or coffee, I’d love to share it with you!”

Sharing with us her inspiration behind her recent reel, she said, “Oh, myself!” The youngster apparently grew up having various insecurities, and it’s only recently that she has started to practise acceptance and love. “However, I wish I could have had it sooner, and it is because of that wish that I want to see other young people of my age or younger do the same. I am not here to preach all of these things, to be honest, I am only here to say, let’s do it together,” said Gayathri, adding, “There is no particular routine that I follow each and every single day, but doing tiny acts of self-love like putting on my favourite moisturiser or drinking my morning coffee a little slower to savour that moment really changes my mood and how I look at my day.”

Laying emphasis on the importance of self-love, she said, “The level of self-love differs and is subjective to every person, however, I think we all agree to have some degree of self-love within us. Self-love goes a long way, and it can even make your mood way better. It’s like having that favourite chole kulche from your favourite shop, haha. You’ll feel so happy and fulfilled once you do that. For me, self-love makes my daily tasks flow in a way that gives me the energy to complete them.”

Lastly, we asked her about the kinds of activities one must invest in to love oneself more, and she answered, “I read this somewhere, and it went like, “You must perform at least one act of vacation every single day, any activity that will make you happy.”

This activity can be as simple as walking outside, sitting on your balcony to disconnect, or making your favourite snack. I believe it serves as a reminder for our bodies to slow down and be grateful for what we do. Detach and accept. Try to detach yourself from self-deprecating thoughts and replace them with self-appreciating ones instead. Also, we must not shy away from asking for professional help when the need arises. I think, as a society, we still haven’t quite progressed in understanding the need for a professional with our minds. It is important that we recognise when we need help from a mental health professional.”