Should I drop out of college and become an influencer?

Being a college student and contemplating that seven-figure, attending the Met Gala, and multiple Netflix deal lifestyle

Taylor DeGuzman / Editor-in-Chief / The USD Vista

I’m gonna set the scene; (POV) it’s Wednesday, I’m finally coming home from a 12-hour day at school, where I spent seven hours running from class to class to three hour class, from meeting to meeting to a 15-minute grab-n-go lunch in between meetings, and to my on-campus job where I earn roughly $14 an hour. 

Though life feels like a lot right now, I am happy. But, as I wind down, after a 12-hour day – which by the way, I only allowed myself three hours of sleep for – and I begin to scroll social media mindlessly, I can’t help but let the green-eyed monster pay me a visit (Alexa, play “Jealousy, Jealousy” by Olivia Rodrigo). I can’t help but stand in awe of people, who are my age, namely social media influencers, who so seamlessly drop out of college, and have (almost) all their problems solved by their seven-figure jobs. Yes, I said that, seven-figures. 

At this point, I can’t help but ask myself: should I drop out of school and become an influencer? 

Honestly, I’ve been weighing my options. 

Seeing these young influencers at The Met Gala and the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) this year, and seeing Tik Tok influencers seamlessly transition into acting or music careers, makes me take a step back and look at my life, then theirs, then back at my own. 

Everyone knows who 20-year-old, Tik Tok influencer, Addison Rae is. It’s crazy to think that nearly a year ago, no one did. Rae was a 19-year old college student, attending Louisiana State University (LSU) in the fall of 2019, studying broadcast journalism. However, after three months at LSU, Rae decided to leave college and move to LA, where her life did a complete 180. 

After three months at LSU, and nearly a year later, Rae became the no.1 Tik Tok Influencer on Forbes’ 2020 “TikTok’s 7 Highest-Earning Stars” list. Rae’s estimated earnings was $5 million. 

It’s been more than a year since the Forbes article came out and Rae has dipped her toes into basically every industry in Hollywood. This year, she was the star in Netflix’s reboot of “She’s All That” titled “He’s All That,” she released her first single “Obsessed” in March and was set to perform at the iHeartRadio Music Festival on Sept. 18. She launched her own cruelty-free makeup line “Item Beauty” and continues to add to her list of successful brand deals like American Eagle, Fashion Nova, and more.   

If I had the opportunity to do all of this, I would. I would love to live that lifestyle of traveling the world for work, meeting and making so many friends,  and attending big, prestigious events that people famously watch on television. When I begin to compare, what can feel like a monotonous school schedule with the glitz and the glamour of being a college drop-out, social media influencer, there’s no question which one I would choose. But, it’s easy to assume that a certain lifestyle is ideal when all I see are the highlight reels, the dollar signs, the Met Gala invitations, and the fame. 

I get so blinded by the lights (Alexa play “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd) that I forget to take a step back, log off social media, and look at the life I have. 

I don’t have to worry about hate comments or the awful, nasty things people say behind a screen – my biggest worries in life include whether or not I’ll find parking at school, or if I’ll have enough money to support weekly Trader Joe’s hauls. 

I don’t worry about paparazzi following my every move, or the world watching every single thing I say or do; I make mistakes, I learn, sometimes I don’t think before I speak because I’m human, something we forget that influencers and famous people are too. 

The next four years of my life aren’t planned out to a tee, bound by contracts and deals; I find peace where I am, doing things that a 21-year-old does, and spontaneously going out, planning adventures and experiences while I can in this stage of life. 

And it’s here that I ground myself in gratefulness, that I stop comparing my life to others’ lives who I will never truly be able to understand. Because, I am so grateful for the life I live. Every day, I get to wake up in a beautiful home with four of my best friends. I get to experience life with them: booking random concert tickets, casually running to the beach after school, staying up way too late, having to get up way too early, and talking about nothing and everything altogether at once. 

I might not be attending the Met Gala or the VMA’s and I might not be earning seven figures or signing contracts with Netflix; but, I realize that there are unforgettable memories I’ve made during college, that there are friendships and relationships I’ll forever hold on to, and a diploma with my name on it next year, that neither the Met Gala nor seven figures could ever replace. 

So I ask myself once more: should I drop out of college and become an influencer? 

To which I respond: I wouldn’t trade my 12-hour day at school, where I spend seven hours running from class to class to three hour class, from meeting to meeting to a 15-minute lunch in between meetings, and to my on-campus job where I earn roughly $14 an hour, for the whole world. I am more than happy here. I could never drop out of college and become an influencer.