           I’m confident that I am not alone in seeing an exponential increase in my hours spent on Tiktok during these last few months of nightmare world. Optimistically, however, there are some real benefits to scrolling through so many of these 60 second videos. Healthcare professionals, including mental health experts, have taken to the site to share tips. News of protests, good deeds, and cancellations of celebrities spread like wildfire. And of course, everyone who has regressed into their middle school loves of Twilight, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, etc. is constantly surrounded with up-to-date, lively content. But most applicable to today’s article is the group of amateur and aspiring filmmakers that use the platform to make short films, aesthetic b-rolls, and other wonderful creations. My bookmarked tiktoks are full of these little dashes of inspiration, reminders of ways in which the world (at least usually) is beautiful.
           One of these bookmarks is a video titled “how I’d live if I had nine lives” by @candycane.s. In classic TikTok form, the video shifts into a flurry of images attempting to convey a lifestyle/aesthetic. She lists careers and dream locations… painter in southern France, video game designer in Tokyo, Korean café owner, etc. There’s a part two to this video as well. It went viral, I think, because all of us have a yearning desire to live a variety of lives that try to pull us into following their paths. Of course, some of those paths are not mutually exclusive, one could paint in southern France before retiring at a café in Korea. However, more often than not, we want what we cannot have, or at least, can’t have at the same time as other things we want. We have to make choices, and dreaming of the choices we didn’t make is an inherently human struggle. In honor of the life I don’t feel I’m living to the fullest given current circumstances, and the lives I’d like to lead, here is “how I’d live if I had nine lives.”
- Art Curator in New York
- Hotel Owner in Greece
- Botanist in Thailand
- Archaeologist in Egypt
- Fisherperson in Iceland
- Bookstore owner in Paris
- RAF Pilot in 40s London
- Cafe owner in Boston
- Farmer in Ireland
How would you live if you had nine lives?