Short distance traveler. “I go to Barcelona a lot, because my best friend, whose name is Celopan and is also dedicated to networks, lives in Sitges, so I always do Madrid-BCN to go see him.” And also very long-haul: Russia, the United States, Japan and Thailand are among the destinations visited. “When you travel, you leave your comfort zone a little and get used to seeing and living other cultures. Traveling makes us all more empathetic.”
Precisely her content focused on travel, lifestyle and challenges made Rocío Romero (better known as Roenlared in the online universe) a true reference in the world of social networks back in 2011, when she began her adventure creating video blogs in a sector that still It had not gained the strength it boasts today. But it is another journey, the most personal of all and also the longest (11 years), the one that has marked her life. She managed to put an end to it when she overcame her anorexia nervosa.
“I have had to overcome something that I did not realize until I went to therapy. For many years, I normalized very toxic attitudes, behaviors, and thoughts toward myself. It wasn’t until I got over it that I realized that perfectionism, the feeling that I had to meet the highest expectations or even accept being treated badly, happened because I had a mental illness,” the YouTuber shares with journalist Joana Bonet in the series. of 12 interviews Women and Travelers of Renfe.
And, from his own experience, he sends a message to the people around him who may suffer from the disease. “You have to make that person feel understanding. Tell him: “I’m here, why don’t you talk to me and tell me your experience, I can listen to you.” And, little by little, encourage her to always ask for professional help.”
She couldn’t enjoy it, but the network content creator celebrates the abundance of references that exist today. Because, in her own words, “everything we have consumed since we were little counts.”
In her jacket, she focused on figures like Christina Aguilera and the Spice Girls, “wonderful divas who, when I was 11 years old, were the stereotype I wanted to reach in some way. Nobody told you: “this is not the only thing.” Now, I feel that there is more and more diversity in role models. More diversity and body acceptance. Before, the only goal was to be super thin and have the same tits and ass to be happy.” She knows well what she’s talking about.
And it is here, at this exact point, where the good part, and great contribution, of social networks lies. “For the first time, the message does not have to be disguised. There is no media agency, there is no one. A woman can appear in a video or take a photo and show you her stretch marks, just like that. Just as it is. After all, we all have stretch marks. Why would we spend a lifetime trying to eliminate them?”
Although you also know the worst part. “There is a certain addiction to screens and this is something that makes me think a lot. Sometimes my cousin goes to sleep at four in the morning watching Tik Tok. It seems like a very fun platform to me, but sleep is more important,” she advises.
On the other side of the screen, she has also learned to record a little to keep the rest of the experience to herself. “I had a vlogging channel with my ex-partner for 12 years, in which I uploaded content about my life almost daily. Now, with the perspective that my 33 years give me, I think that, if this idea occurs to me again, I will not do it again, because I want to keep a little bit to myself. I like to share things from my life and, above all, what can contribute something to whoever sees them, although I also like to reserve a little more for myself, for my private life.”
From this desire to contribute positively, their content on social networks is born. Those that she herself creates. “I like to generate content that can do some good for my followers. I have always felt that I needed role models a little different from those we saw in magazines or on TV. And my message has always been, or what I have always wanted to convey when creating, is that you do not have to meet expectations before anyone or before a society. Be yourself, enjoy yourself. For me, that is creating content,” details Roenlared.
And always valuing the work of her colleagues. Always supporting them. She doesn’t know about female competitiveness. “When you are little you are still in that competition between women, but the truth is that now I feel that all my classmates support each other a lot. That they have a show on Gran Vía? Well, there I go, I buy my ticket and I publish it on my networks. I think that the less we believe that we have to compete with each other, the more we will help each other and the better things will be for all of us,” she defends.
At the same time, it warns of the dangers of love understood as an obsession and not as a bond. “We have been educated in an idea of love that is too idealized and romantic, which is based on forever and ever. I think that beautiful love is healthy love, the one that is helping you at every moment, but that does not have to be with you all the time. Love should not be possessive. “Love doesn’t hurt.” That is why expressions like “I can’t live without you” or “together forever” are outside their vocabulary.