I learned something valuable by shit-posting on TikTok
Expression is an effort.
On Monday, I posted 5 TikToks in one day—the most I’ve uploaded in a single day on the platform.
Granted, it was only 5 videos but in the grand scheme of things it was a big deal for me and the first time I’ve ever posted that much.
Throughout the process, I ran into a familiar frustration. It’s one I’ve encountered previously and it has often stopped me from posting TikToks in the past.
The issue I run into is how long it takes me to film a TikTok. I’m not setting up lighting and a specific camera angle, or getting dressed and made up for the camera. I do just hit record whenever I feel up to talking.
And that is where my struggle lies—figuring out how to talk on TikTok.
I would redo takes or record an entire video over and over again trying to fit it into the time frame I wanted while saying exactly what I wanted. I would
I have to change the way I talk in order to fit the format of the platform.
Some of this comes down to practice—and I’ll admit, I’m just not very practiced at all—and as a result, I become frustrated and end up not posting as much content.
But, I am starting to care less about these frustrations and today, while I was decompressing from my day of unintentionally working my ass off on TikTok, I realized something.
I am a writer. And any writer knows it takes more than just physically writing to actually write.
It’s a process that includes staring at the wall fully disassociating, rewriting a sentence ten different ways, spending a lengthy bit of time googling synonyms for words. It involves not looking at your draft for a few days or weeks or months before returning to it.
You can’t just sit down and just write and call it a day.
It’s the same thing with TikTok or other forms of media or art and whatever it is—you don’t just sit down and do the thing and you’re done.
More often than not, when it comes to expressing yourself, you have to have the inspiration to have a thought, then gather your thoughts, then figure out how you want to present them, and then present those mulled over thoughts in a way that conformed to the medium you are using to express those thoughts—and make sure it makes sense and you being more or less happy with it.
It takes effort to form your expression, whether that be an essay or a song or a TikTok or a tweet.
Will I get better at making TikToks the more I make them? Yeah, absolutely.
But will I stop having times where I do a take over and over again or refilm a TikTok over and over again so I can get my point across in the way I want to?
No, I don't think that will ever go away.
I think that's where some of us, if not all of us, at some point, have gotten into trouble on the internet.
We don't take the time to refine our thoughts and think about the expression we are making and how we want to express it. And, how that expression will potentially be received and communicated through the medium in which we are sending it.
It's okay to take a while to get one TikTok out. It took me an hour to film one video and then I had to move on with my day.
But the key is to remember that it's a process and it's important to take the time to refine our thoughts and expressions.
Part of the process is realizing how much evolution comes with through the journey of expression.
So let’s be like 2016 Kylie and realized the shit out of things.
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