We had the good fortune of connecting with Scarlet Astroza and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Scarlet, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Work-life balance can be different for each person and each situation. You have to set your priorities and decide what things you can completely give up or limit yourself to have a happy life. Over time I learned to organize myself better with my free time now that I am in this world of influencers and creating content constantly the best way I found was to take it as a second job but the dream job for me then I enjoy it because it doesn’t require schedules nor is it something I don’t enjoy doing I am my own boss , it is the perfect balance and that is one of the reasons I like living in a country like Canada, because I can have quality of life. Having a normal job with schedules and having my second dream job and also being able to enjoy little things like going out on a Tuesday for dinner or a drink.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Since I was very little I was always a dreamer, I knew that when I grew up I was not going to live in Chile (my country of origin) in my head there was always New York, I don’t know because maybe I saw it in a movie and I liked the city and I wanted to be a model so maybe that’s how I connected it. In school I was not the best student in the first places, but I was responsible and applied, I fulfilled what my parents demanded me, which were my grades, I never said when I grow up I want to be a doctor or a teacher, what little girls usually say, so my parents discarded the university for me. I was always different from all the children of my age and without fear of anything, when I turned 18 years old I went to live alone to the city at that time I lived with my parents in the south of Chile about 8 hours away by car. My desire to travel and see the world was so great that I thought how can I do it if I was not going to go to college that meant that I was not going to have a profession or the money to travel so I decided I wanted to be a flight crew member and then I studied that in an institute. When I finished I applied to the most popular airlines and I didn’t get the job because I was 19 years old and I didn’t have the money to travel.
I was 19 years old and had no work experience so my desire to travel was slowly disappearing and that’s when I started working with schedules to be able to support myself because I wanted to be independent and not go back to my parents’ house because it was like going backwards. A couple of years passed and I was called to participate in a beauty pageant “miss world chile” at that time I had no experience in modeling I did not know how to walk with high shoes really was a challenge that I did not believe it, but I accepted it and thank god my family and friends at that time supported me unconditionally all accepted the challenge with me and it was an incredible experience that I enjoyed and I discovered a Scarlet I did not know existed, in that contest I did not get first place, but I had gained experience and many more job opportunities opened up for me! But everything took a 180° turn when a designer and director of a beauty pageant contacted me and told me that we saw you in Miss World Chile and we want you to be our representative in the “International Coffee Queen” which is in two more months in Colombia and you would go as our Miss Chile, at that moment I had only told my best friend to accompany me to an important meeting I had not told anyone else and at that moment I had to give them the answer because I had to start working and preparing myself from now on! My friend looked at me and said accept I will be with you you have nothing to lose, I call my mom and tell her “mom I’m going to Colombia in two months I will go to represent Chile do not worry I’m going with a team I will not be alone just trust me “and my mom in shock did not know if it was a joke or they were cheating me so the months passed I worked very hard and traveled alone, because they sent us alone with all the costumes ready all scheduled was the first time I left the country so it was a challenge and great experience. After that I decided to leave the world of beauty pageants because it was very demanding, exhausting, competitive and generated me a lot of anxiety so I got into the world of social networking at first it was a hobby where I could express myself, inspire, I was discovering my style and daring more because I was limited by the language, then I realized that brands wanted to work with me, that my art was reaching other people, that I was transmitting something and that I had to change the whole concept, take it seriously as a job, be more professional and leave my private life a little more for me and my close ones. With my boyfriend we have been together for 7 years we lived in Australia for almost two years and now for 4 years we live in Toronto, Canada where at the beginning everything was against us, the weather, the language, the work, we started literally from zero, but thanks to our love, perseverance and desire to move forward we managed to settle down and start enjoying this beautiful country where we hope to be for a long time more! And here is where the Scarlet of now 27 years old, much more mature, tells you that nothing is impossible, that dreams do come true, that you have to believe everything you have in your mind and heart. You have to be perseverant, never give up and have a lot of faith. I am still learning and working hard to be my best version and improve as a person I still do not get where I want to be and I have a long way to go, but very positive and persevering because life is not easy, being in a country alone away from family often vulnerable with real problems that what you see on social networks is only the nice thing we all want to show, but never lose focus and the north of life!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend would come to visit me I would take her for a weekend trip to Niagara Falls of course it is a great natural wonder where there is a whole world of entertainment, hotels, restaurants, games, casino, a girls weekend. The next days I would take her for a day of shopping to the most popular shopping in Toronto “Yorkdale” I would take her to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants “Casa Madera” where they have the best food and cocktails is a fusion between Mexico and the Mediterranean then we would go dancing at a night club! And the remaining days I would take her to the most emblematic and important places in the city like the CN TOWER, the aquarium, Distillery Historic District, The Art Gallery of Ontario, Casa Loma which is a real castle, Hockey Hall of Fame, the island where you can see the beautiful city at night having a glass of wine by the lake and I would also take her to tour the city on public transportation so she can get to know and mingle with the different cultures of this country.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Definitely my family especially my mom is the one who deserves this credit and great recognition, everyone says that her mom is the best but they have to meet the great woman who chose me as her daughter and has supported me unconditionally, we have a very good relationship.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/hypeslette?igshid=YTY2NzY3YTc=

Image Credits
All photos are from my cell phone and property authorized for publication.

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