In Her Campus’ series Next Question, we rapid-fire interview emerging Gen Z talent about what it’s like to rule over the internet. This month, TikTok influencer and upcoming debut author Eli Rallo is in the hot seat to answer our burning questions.
Eli Rallo isn’t trying to be relatable. “It’s interesting how I can’t control other people’s perception of me,” she tells Her Campus. “You see criticism of content creators like, these people aren’t relatable and they’re claiming to be. A lot of times, the ‘relatable’ content creators have never claimed to be relatable. People just projected that onto them.” So while Rallo says she tries to make content that followers can connect to on a singular basis, when it comes to her overall online presence? “I try to not put that on myself.”
But even without that goal in mind, Rallo has found an audience who sees her as an older sister. Whether she’s filling up jars with sweets (hence her TikTok username, thejarr), sharing her rules for Halloweekend, or discussing her thoughts on Taylor Swift’s latest album, Rallo’s ability to talk to the camera like she’s chatting with a friend has paid off. She’s racked up over 500,000 followers on TikTok and more than 100,000 on Instagram, but she’s also got her sights set on a future beyond social media entirely.
With a book deal with HarperCollins set for release in 2023 (titled I Didn’t Know I Needed This) and a podcast, Miss Congeniality, Rallo is already farther along her career path than most other Zillennials. But that hasn’t stopped her drive for success at all. As she tells me about her plans and her passion for connecting with others, it’s clear she has a sharp eye for what her audience wants (and needs), and a genuine interest in making the world a better place.
“I’m gonna kind of let the wind take me,” she says about her future career. I have a feeling it’ll only take her to better places.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
WHAT’S ONE THING THE INTERNET DOESN’T KNOW ABOUT YOU THAT YOU WISH THEY DID?
The internet definitely knows me as someone that’s very secure and confident, and that’s something I’m really proud of. But they really don’t see the insecurities as much that come with the job in general. I have gotten hate comments about certain things before, and it impacts you in ways that I don’t think that you can really explain. I’ve seen other creators talking about this, but for example, if you get criticized one time about the way you dress, or your hair, then every single video, you’re gonna be overanalyzing it even if it was just one comment that had, like, 20 likes on it.
A lot of times, people think that who you are online is exactly how you are in real life, and I would say it’s as close as I possibly can be, but I call it a caricature. A caricature is an exaggerated picture of your face. And I’m not saying that I exaggerate in my content, I’m saying that my content is exaggerated. I’m sort of like a canonized version of myself, and I think everybody’s the same way, even when you’re trying to be as authentic as possible.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE GEN Z IN THREE WORDS?
The first one that came to mind was hungry. I feel like Gen Z is starved for action and they want to get things done.
Contemplative would be another one. I definitely see it a lot on TikTok, the way that we speak and the things that we can learn from our peers. Gen Z specifically grew up in a time of a lot of hardship — socioeconomically and politically — so that sort of contemplation can be negative or positive.
And then my last one would be stimulated. I feel like there’s a lot of energy, for better or for worse. We get the reputation of being the bearers of cancel culture, but we’re also the people that are calling people out and teaching them things, so again, I think it goes on both ends of the spectrum. We’re definitely a generation of trailblazers. I consider myself Gen Z — I was born in 1998, so I might be, like, Zillennial — but ultimately, I just think we’re definitely gonna make a lot of good, productive change.
WHICH ONLINE TREND ARE YOU TOTALLY OVER, AND WHICH IS HERE TO STAY?
“What I eat in a day” content should stop. A lot of people that are now against it are culprits of doing it — it’s really important to know that we can change our stance and our mind. I had made “what I eat in a day” content in the past, and probably ones that don’t really make people feel good, and I can acknowledge and recognize that. I just think that it’s generally a breeding ground for comparison. And for people who have past histories of eating problems, it can be triggering.
For a good trend, we should keep hyping people up in the comments section. I know that’s not really a trend, but it’s a known fact that the algorithms really prioritize privilege, whether that’s class privilege, white privilege, thin privilege. If you see content from a creator that doesn’t have the leg up that creators with privilege do have, give them some encouragement. You never know what someone’s going through, or how a compliment could make their day.
WHAT ARE YOU MANIFESTING FOR THE NEXT STAGE OF YOUR CAREER?
When I left my job full-time, I always knew I was gonna push for something else. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a content creator, but I need to keep busy. It was my lifelong dream to just write and use words as a means of connection between people. That’s the reason that I pursued playwriting in college, the reason I pursued theater, the reason I pursued journalism. All of those things deal with connection. That was always my passion. I always knew I wanted to write a book, and I just thought, I’m gonna work really hard at leveraging that.
I quit my job at the end of September 2021, and then I signed with my agents in January, and then we got the book deal in April, so it happened really fast. I’m definitely manifesting doing some writing work in the interim before release. My book was due on Oct. 15, and I’m hoping that in the time from then until it comes out that I can get a gig as a journalist, doing an advice column, writing. It would be a great show of my writing chops.
I also definitely want to do a live show or live recording of my podcast, and that’s in the works, which is really exciting. If I get bored or I need something else, I’ll also pick up tutoring or teaching creative writing, English, college writing — I can teach because I have a master’s degree.
I’m trying to take it one day at a time right now, and hopefully it’s all gonna work out how it should. I think it will, and I’m just really looking forward to seeing how things go.
WHAT ARE THE FIRST THREE SONGS ON YOUR SPOTIFY “ON REPEAT” PLAYLIST?
OK, I actually feel really good about them. “Alien Superstar” by Beyoncé, “In The Kitchen” by Reneé Rapp, and “Forget You (feat. Gwyneth Paltrow)” by the Glee cast.