People often ask me how I blew up on TikTok. Well, this is the story...

Growing up, I loved performing card tricks to people. Seeing their astounished faces when they witnessed something so seemingly impossible become reality right before their own eyes gave me confidence.

For context, English isn't my first language. When I first immigrated to Georgia from Taiwan, I was insecure of my accent. Through performing magic tricks, I met a lot of people, which made me comfortable with public speaking.

I created magic clubs in middle school and high school. During the weekly meetings, I taught members simple magic tricks. On weekends, other magicians from the club and I would perform at events in my community like nursing homes and local elementary schools.

But then in 2020, Covid hit. I lost access to my audience, so I decided to showcase my passion online on TikTok. Without much thought, I started posting videos of my tricks 2 to 5 times a day. However, the views and engagement on my account were low. It went on like this for 3 months. I was impatient and frustrated because I hadn't achieved what I wanted. It was then, while scrolling on TikTok, I unexpectedly found a video by Gary Vaynerchuk. He had started out owning a wine business then later followed his love for influencing and motivational lectures. In his video, I remember so clearly him saying,

"Passion is priceless and does not feel like work. Without hustle, talent will only get you so far."

It hit me hard. I started researching algorithms and experimenting with different lengths of videos, formats, settings, and types of videos. In addition to magic tricks, I diversified my content. I started filming skits, comedy, POV videos, even Python and OOP tutorials. I continued to experiment with different video topics I enjoyed and that my audiences would enjoy as well.

I never had expected my social media passion to turn out this great. I often reminded myself to not worry about the number of views, likes, or any harsh comments I would get. Instead of letting outside world's perspective negatively affect me, I made sure I was trusting my own intuition and feelings. After months of trials and errors, sending over 100 DMs to successful influencers, my social media presence started to shine. Within 2 years of consistent posting, I had gained 1.6 million followers on TikTok and received multiple sponsorships with companies and groups like Vincero Watches, Team Wang, FaZe Clan & x-shot collab, and more.

I've since stopped posting, which many of my friends often ask me why. Mental health was definitely a factor. A simple 15 second video online actually took hours of filming and editing. There are so many factors that come into play, and any small details can affect the outcome of a video. Filming had started to feel like a task, and I began losing the enjoyment and the satisfaction. In 2022, I had decided that it was time for me to move on from social media and try something else. I wanted to explore new hobbies that sparked the same energy I had for filming when I first started in August of 2020. Since starting college, I found new passions like badminton and traveling.

I am 21 years old and currently studying computer science at Georgia Tech. I did not grow up with much of a technical background, but I realized that Georgia Tech is the perfect place for me to strengthen my technical skills. That same hunger and drive I once had to grow on social media is now what I bring into my career path. Whether it’s contributing to big tech, joining a startup, or even building one of my own, I want to keep pushing myself with that same determination to succeed.

I have a feeling I'll be back on social media soon, and when I do, I'll be sure to update this page :)