By Monika Gerges
On Halloween, senior Jacqueline Nguyen filmed and posted a video on the popular social media app TikTok at FVHS. She had no idea that this video would reach almost a million views and would be the start of her TikTok career. With over 46 thousand followers on the app, Nguyen is able to be creative and share content based on popular TikTok trends, dances or simply whatever she feels like posting.
“My content is really random where it fits to all different types of people and just posting who you are or the things you think of will draw attention because people like to see genuine and original things,” said Nguyen.
Like many of us, Nguyen downloaded TikTok and other social media apps just to understand what their appeal was but found herself to be attached fairly quickly. Soon enough, she began creating content of her own which sparked attention from hundreds of thousands of viewers.
Her Instagram also started to get notable recognition, reaching almost three thousand followers. Nguyen relates her growth in followers to both her progress in her social life but also incorporating strategies to make her photos better quality.
“I became nicer as a person and overall more social, my Instagram also improved a lot,” said Nguyen. “I also started to think more about angles, how to pose, and how to connect my personality through a camera.”
Although she has gained a large presence on social media, Nguyen still thinks of TikTok and Instagram as hobbies. In the future, she hopes to continue to make the same content but have a separate career.
“I just know that my biggest dream is to get paid to travel and collab with other content creators,” said Nguyen.
Even with her regularly posted content, Nguyen still manages to keep up with everything else in her life, including her schoolwork.
“I don’t think I’m ‘famous’ or anything where it has interfered with my studies and usually I only post on social media when I’m bored, Nguyen wrote.
Above all else, Nguyen has stayed true to herself and only posts the content she enjoys making. She doesn’t let the followers get to her and encourages others on the road to social media stardom to do the same.
“Try to be original as possible, don’t compare yourself to others, and make your content something that you’re proud of no matter how many likes or followers you get!”
This story was originally published in the 2020 RED Magazine.
