During her initial days at a popular online community for women, Shraddha Gurung spent considerable time in exploring the blogging industry. Her hustle began right in college when she was majoring in English Literature from Delhi University and soon, she started out her own label of Lil Miss Gurung with an emphasis on body positivity and sustainable make-up trends. Recently, Shraddha was chosen as the winner of YouTube NextUp for beauty creators which is a motivational event for YouTubers who can rise in the future and benefit themselves & YouTube as well. Her recent series called “We Need To Talk” stood out as remarkable production and helped her cross over a million views in a short span of time. Shraddha has already collaborated with beauty brands like L’oreal Paris, Maybelline India, Rimmel, OPI Nail Paints, etc. Furthermore, she has been the face for fashion labels like ONLY, Lifestyle, Forever 21 along with brands that cater to millennial needs like Bumble. Shraddha engaged in an interesting exclusive conversation with IWMBuzz to share her insights on blogging and body positivity. Read to know more –
Shraddha, when was the first time you were really impressed with the concept of blogging and you felt you want to take it forward in your own career?
It was the summer after I graduated from school. When I came across Bethany Mota’s videos on YouTube, it opened up the entire world of blogging and content creation for me. I was mesmerised by the storytelling of something as close to my heart as fashion and beauty. I could relate to her content, the way she talked, and how much meaning beauty and fashion had in her life and there has been no looking back for me ever since.
Although the society is on a move, there’s still a section of the society who believes in body shaming and practice it unfortunately thereby shattering the confidence of many. How do you think we can stop that?
I genuinely feel that people don’t understand the concept of body shaming and it’s something that’s been ingrained in us by society and that’s not something that can change overnight. The only way to move forward is to have healthier conversations with each and every individual we meet. As content creators, we are very privileged as we have a set of audience that listens to us and care about our opinion. We just have to start there and open up a conversation. Every single conversation can help us take a step in the right direction and right now, that’s all we can do. This is a change in a very strong set mentality and so it’s crucial to accept that it’s going to happen slowly and it’s going to take time. We just have to keep doing our parts!
How did you personally get over bullying incidents in life and how did it change the way you look towards your life?
I realised it pretty quick that other people’s opinions or any kind of bullying didn’t really have a lot to do with me. I always felt that people project their own insecurities on people so it’s a reflection of who they are and not us. My mother has instilled some very strong opinions in me and also made me a very confident kid. I work hard on my skills and try to be a better person every day so that I never do that to anyone else, knowingly or unknowingly. All of us need a little love and empathy and I believe in giving it away freely!
How much do you feel the person you are today is because of all the things you had to suffer in the early years of your life and how does it feel to be a body positivity and mental health icon for so many people?
Those experiences have taught me things, made me better at my job and as a person, and have also opened up a world outside my own little world and that has been the most eye opening experience ever. I don’t know if I can be called an ‘icon’ but positive body image and mental health are things that are actually so simple. They would’ve never even been a problem had it not been for people trying to create demand for insecurities that didn’t even exist and for social media creating a warped sense of body image. It feels extremely rewarding to not have my beliefs shaken by any of these things and to be able to share my thoughts, experiences, and feelings to find out that many people are actually and genuinely listening to me. I feel like I am impacting change which is my driving force in life.
Lastly, a message for all your fans and followers as to how they can keep calm and sane during the Covid-19 period so that we can overall lessen or totally eradicate the number of self harm and suicide cases which we hear about often?
Self harm and suicide are very complicated, emotional mental states so I’m not sure if I’m going to be the best person to comment on that. Plus, they’re widely misunderstood. I’d just like to say that accepting what’s happening around the world and in our country is going to pave the way for our lives moving forward. Instead of blind positivity, it’s crucial to be practical. It’s crucial to be mindful of your choices and it’s crucial to stop. We’re so obsessed with running to meet the next goal in our lives that we forget how important it is to rest and recharge. We’re in the middle of a pandemic and so it’s only normal to not feel too great or have fluctuating emotions. Focusing on just today is the only way to keep yourself sane. None of us can tell what’s going to happen in the future so why worry yourself for something you obviously can’t control? Why not focus on what you have? Today!
