When I was a young girl, influencers weren't prominent. I looked up to Disney Channel stars and longed to look like popular celebrities. Occasionally, I begged my mother for the money to subscribe to a one-year subscription to a fashion magazine. But today, I have the opportunity to log onto a platform that provides attractive superior beings influencing me into purchasing the next big thing. Social media influencers can reach million-dollar careers. A social media influencer, from what I've gathered, is an appealing person who achieves social media status through their ability to advertise a product on their social media account. There are a plethora of influencer genres like food, lifestyle, and fashion, to name a few. Jaslyn Garza is a San Antonio lifestyle influencer and blogger who utilizes her platform to spread love, positivity, and great deals. Some of her partnerships have included collaborations with Aveeno, HEB, Smile Brilliant, JustFab, Shoe Dazzle, and, most recently, Kendra Scott! Jaslyn embraces her Latino roots through her Mexican, Spaniard, and Portuguese origins. This is her experience as a Latina social media influencer. Like many descendants of immigrants, Jaslyn works. A lot. She has a day job, where she is the assistant project manager of a successful local contracting company. One would never suspect that she also maintains other vocations in photography, blogging, and social media influencing. Admittedly, though, she expresses that her need to work as much as she does comes from an innate need to provide for her and her family. As I interviewed Jaslyn, I was reminded that no two Latino experiences in America are alike. I asked her what she thought about Latino stereotypes and if she ever played into them. She firmly believed she didn't fit into any. I found this portion of the interview to be ironic and fascinating. “I’ve always felt pushed away from them,” she expressed as she began to share some of her experiences within the Mexican American community she grew up in. She brought light to an uncommon dilemma. When around Latinos of Mexican descent, she found herself outcasted for looking too caucasian, but among Caucasians, she felt displaced for acting too Mexican. Because despite being light complected and having hazel brown eyes, Jaslyn’s mannerisms and personality attributes are heavily influenced by her Mexican roots. Not a day goes by where I don't find a tweet stained with racial struggle, so I had to know. I asked if she felt that her ethnicity played a role in her success. Jaslyn, again, declined. She never felt robbed of job opportunities based on her ethnicity. However, she admitted to occasionally questioning whether her ethnicity played a role in the amount of pay she received because she felt that perhaps her Mexican roots implied to employers that any payment would be "good enough." Jaslyn has spread her love for the Latino culture by participating in Latino pride driven organizations. She was once the president of a collegiate organization named "Latinos in UTSA" where she led a group of various Latino students in career opportunities, human connections, and philanthropy. She has partnered with many popular brands to bring her followers closer to life-enriching products, but her biggest goal in influencing is to create a sense of community. Jaslyn enjoys sharing her life with other women, so they can embrace themselves fully. Her transparency online is meant to be relatable and genuine. As she creates memories through her content, she continues to hope her journey will inspire others to create and embrace their own. If you would like to learn more about Jaslyn, you can check out her blog here.
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