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╭━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━╮
𝑌 / 𝑁 ━━━━
"Hey!" my best friend calls out from the living room. "Do you remember that reality show I signed you up for?"
"No, not really," I reply, fixing my mascara. Today marks a milestone in my social media career—I've finally achieved 100 million followers. People have always told me that being a social media influencer isn't a career, but quite frankly, I'm proud of how far I've come. It's more than making thirst traps on Tik Tok—like some other 'influencers' I know.
"Well, they're asking for you to join their show. They're filming in Buenos Aires."
I whip my head in her direction. "What's the name of the show?" I finish putting on the strawberry lip gloss I was gifted and pop my lips.
She shrugs. "Let me check. Go ahead and do your video thing in the meantime."
"It's called going live, Pieck," I laugh, setting up my phone on the tripod. As soon as everything is in place, I press the button to go live, immediately broadcasting myself for the world to see.
When I first started making videos, I was recording on my iPad in my parent's basement, hoping to one day make it big—but everyone has similar ambitions when they're young. It was a stroke of luck when one of my videos suddenly blew up, turning my two followers into 1,000. Now, that number tanks in comparison to my current following, but as an eight-year-old, I was on cloud nine.
Soon enough, I hear the familiar ping of users joining, instantly commenting, and sending likes my way.
"Hi everyone," I eagerly say, smiling brightly at the camera. I've learned over the past few years the do's and don'ts of social media—and there are a lot.
Many people write nice comments about my makeup, while others compliment me on reaching 100 million—there were really no negative comments.
I've dealt with plenty of negative remarks and bullies throughout grade school, so when people troll and say hateful things about me online, I simply delete their words from my page. I'm still getting paid, regardless of what the comment says.
As I ramble on about my day, one comment, in particular, catches my attention.
koolaide: I heard you're going to be a part of some new reality show.
How do people find these things out before me? "I actually just found out the same thing from my friend. I'm not sure if I'm going to do it yet, but it seems exciting!" I smile.
