Why Every Young Woman Needs to Follow Her
I was never a TikTok girl and could not name a single podcast. And then, I discovered Eli Rallo.
My first exposure was through her “rules” series, narrated on her TikTok account (@thejarr). From “Rules for a Monday” to “Rules for December,” simple advice such as “Buy Yourself Coffee on Friday” offers simple yet valuable ways to elevate your everyday life.
Where I really began to connect with Eli, however, was when she detailed the process of securing a book deal and writing the first draft of her podcast, “Miss Congeniality with Eli Rallo.”
I love to write, but I never considered myself a writer. That was the path for English majors, for people with blogs and connections and who write, for real. Only, as I listened to Rallo’s podcast, I realized that I’d never considered what, exactly, makes some people’s writing “more real” than others.
As Eli explains, her dream was always to write a book. She attended the University of Michigan as a Theater and Creative Writing major before being accepted into Colombia’s Masters of Journalism program. After graduating, Rallo published pieces and then accepted a job writing articles about insurance – a subject that, admittedly, wasn’t satisfying her creative mind.
Where I take inspiration from this story is the part after college. I think it’s common to see every step we take as somehow interconnected in obvious ways. If we go to graduate school to become a journalist – then we become a journalist. If our first job out of college is working in a corporate environment – then we work in a corporate environment. And if we don’t, then we have taken a wrong turn and must backtrack, unraveling where we “went wrong.”
As Eli details her story, however, I found a different lesson. For Eli, the job writing insurance content – one that, on the surface level, would conflict with her dream of writing her own novel – wasn’t a wrong turn. In fact, it wasn’t even a detour. Instead, this job left Eli with the creative juices needed to come home and develop her own writing. Eventually, it led to the creation of her TikTok account, the “rules list,” a podcast, and then her very own book deal with Harper Collins.
What I admire about Eli and others is the way they allow life to work with them rather than against them, never losing sight of who they are and what they really, truly are meant to do. The things we do on the side that inspire joy – these are what we are, and I think in college it can become all too easy to forgo these joys in pursuit of a “career”. In reality, however, these hobbies and hidden joys might be the key to what we’re meant to do. If we give them the time they deserve – the time they’re worthy of, as Eli exemplified – we never know where they may lead us.
I’ve always loved to write. For me, it’s fun and therapeutic. When I’m struggling to write an essay for school, I open a blank Google Doc and start writing for fun as a way to kick-start my brain. This is how I’ve always described this hobby in college – “a way to kick-start my brain.”
When discussing my creative pursuits in college, I have the habit of regulating them as “side gigs,” things that I can’t rely on to truly sustain myself. Instead, I’ll work for a nonprofit. I’ll be a journalist. As I near the second semester of my junior year, however, I’ve been forced to think more seriously about my future career. I’ve scrolled through LinkedIn and Idealist, looking at job listings for what I’m “supposed to do.” And…none of it sounds all that exciting to me.
I’m at a crossroads right now, figuring out how, if, and when to go all-in on the things that have always been at the heart of what I love: creating, making art, and making connections through words. And ultimately – I still have no idea. But what I do know is that if you’re having a similar existential crisis, it’s time you put your headphones in and let the wisdom of Eli Rallo enlighten you.
It might not bring you answers, but I promise it’ll offer you comfort and laughs, making the whole “figuring your life out” act seem far less serious. This is the big sister role I’ve always imagined for myself, and it’s the one Eli Rallo has filled for me.