TikTok Changed My Life Check

I was among the people who said they would never, ever, get a TikTok. I scoffed at the app and its past as Musical.ly. I thought, Wow, this is so dumb. Who would ever want to just watch people dance and lip sync? Judging by the title of this post, you know something must have changed. You are assuming correctly. 

I joined the bandwagon on Vine, the 7-seconds-of-pure-comedic-genius app much too late, like after-it-died late. Instead, I watched compilation videos on Youtube to satisfy my funny bone. After doing this for a long, long, long time, I started to see the same videos over and over again. As I was starting to get tired of these videos, suggestions of TikTok compilation videos titled “TikToks that remind me of Vine” came up on my account. Well, I gave in, still not caving completely. I hadn’t downloaded the app. Yet. 

Then a little thing called quarantine happened. Literally four days in, I couldn’t help myself. From the app store I hit download and created an account. Next thing I knew I was trying (emphasis on trying) to learn the dances, cracking up at the trends, even posting a #plankchallenge. Instead of embarrassment or regret, I felt pure joy. 

TikTok infiltrated every aspect of my life. I wrote my final paper in my college writing course about the app’s ability to connect people through music. I made my final video in my video production class about what had been taking up so much of my time. You guessed it: TikTok. I watched videos, taught my mom the dances, and even created a notes document on my phone dedicated to TikTok video ideas because, of course, I was now plotting how I would become TikTok famous. 

While my videos have not gotten much traction, I am lucky to get more than 15 likes, I am still having so much fun. I am learning, laughing, and learning some more because of the app. It sounds silly to be writing this, but I seriously enjoy it that much. 

This just goes to show that we can hold ourselves back from some really fun times if we let our pride get in the way. TikTok has seriously helped me get through quarantine and all of the hard things going on right now. It has taught me so much about other people’s experiences and cultures. It has shown me beauty in the world, whether it’s nature or an adorable child telling his mom thank you after she gives him food. It has given me a passion for dance, or rather trying to learn dances. 

I love this app with a passion, but I did not write this to get you to download it (although I think you should). Instead, I wrote this to show that things that we might judge other people for or carry “shame” about in ourselves can actually become a fabulous and joy-filled experience. You might be judging me right now reading this, if you made it this far. If you are, I get that it sounds a little crazy, me raving so much about an app, but it makes me happy. Find what makes you happy. It doesn’t have to be TikTok, but it could be. Don’t be afraid or too prideful to find out. Try something new and you might just have a “(Insert something here) changed my life check…” to go on and on about.