In the middle of June, I was one of the many who decided to explore TikTok. I thought it was just for kids and teenagers who were creating short dance moves for others to follow. But I kept seeing funny and informative TikTok videos in the news, on Facebook, and on Instagram. Once I got on, I saw that people of different ages, backgrounds, cultures, and from different countries, had changed the landscape of the app. I spent hours scrolling through videos. I was impressed by the creativity of thought. Sometimes I was crying with laughter. Other times, I was crying at the images from protests across the country.
When I joined, it wasn't common for people to just join and not post anything. A TikTok was created addressing the people who choose not to create, and "who just like to watch." So, I felt the need to post something.
My first video was of a caterpillar crawling across the concrete. Then of trees swaying in the wind. Then a few of my cat. Finally, I posted a poem. Then the announcement came that TikTok might be no more.
During my time on TikTok, the people I interacted with were talented, kind, funny, imaginative, intelligent, and supportive. The thought that this new found community might be taken away did not make me happy. So I decided to create a public account on Instagram (Poetic_Gina).
I was not disappointed. Once again, I found a community. A community dominated by fellow poets, and authors. And at Instagram, we don't have to create funny videos of caterpillars or cats. Not that there's anything wrong with that. We could if we wanted to. And some will occasionally post something other than poetry. But the point is that we don't have to. We can just enjoy each other's work. Learn from each other. Inspire each other.
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