By Isabella Burnette
She once was a student and track star at Coronado High School. Three years later, she has 2.3 million followers on Instagram and pursues her dream career. The life of Charly Jordan, a model and DJ, was forever changed her senior year when her Instagram modeling career took off.
“Instagram is my entire career!” Jordan said. “Completely self made, I built my portfolio to what it is today by collaborating with people from all over the world.”
Starting with only her ambitions, Jordan grew her Instagram and overall image. Jordan went from a normal teenage girl living with six younger siblings in Las Vegas to traveling around the world managing her own career all on social media. Being a lifestyle photography model, she doesn’t focus much on high fashion or advertisement of clothes.
“My knowledge of modeling and photography has helped me beyond belief to create inspiring images that the photographer and I create together,” Jordan said. “I also always try to keep things positive.”
Jordan not only models, but she also is the brain behind the camera. She helps create the ideas for her own pictures. With help from photographers, she plans her own photoshoots creating the photos that millions view on her Instagram. While in the Dominican Republic, she took photos to bring awareness to her followers of what it’s like to live in a third world country.
“Everyone loved Charly in high school because she has such a kind and outgoing personality,” Former Coronado student, Sophia Burnette said. “I’m not surprised by how successful she has become with modeling and everything else.”
Jordan believes that what makes her different is she actually loves being in front of and behind the camera. Even though she planned on being an obstetrician when she was a child, Jordan always enjoyed taking photos. Ever since she was old enough to own a camera, she’d go out with friends to capture the picture perfect moment. Jordan began editing her own images soon after and a long lasting passion of hers turned into a career.
“The love that I feel for what I do transpired through my pictures, and I think people can feel that,” Jordan said. “I look at the camera like its my first love.”
Although Jordan tries to live in the moment, she does have plans for the future. Not only does she want to keep modeling, but she wants to keep DJing. Music is another big passion of hers that she turned into a career on her own. One of her proudest achievements was DJing at her first music festival, Pal Norte, which is one of the most popular music festivals in Latin America. Along with festivals, she DJs at parties and special events. With the money from these two careers and future business she takes part in, Jordan wants to give back to her community.
“I hope to be happy in ten years, settled into a successful music and modeling career,” Jordan said. “I’d also love to establish charity ties to whatever long term business I do.”
Although she loves being an influencer, Jordan wishes social media wasn’t the biggest part of it. She dislikes the separation that it creates in her life and career. It has become harder for her to connect and relate with people, but through her photos and captions, she manages to still send inspiring messages. Even though there are downsides to her career, Jordan stays positive and aspires to be a role model to many fans with her inspirational photos. She brings awareness to things like animal poaching, pollution, and third world poverty.
“I’m trying to do everything, be everything, and experience as much as I can while I still have this lifetime,” Jordan said. “As long as you’re doing what makes you happy and involving yourself in things you are truly passionate about that’s really all that matters.”
Jordan’s life would not be the same without social media. It changed her life from a normal highschool girl to a powerful influencer with millions of fans, but it did not change her. She not only uses her love for photography on her instagram to convey her authentic modeling photos, but also to show support to those in the world facing problems.
