From 17 to 160: A Beginner's 30-Day Journey on TikTok

I had 17 followers and zero confidence.

I’d never edited a video, never shown my face on camera.

But on May 13th, 2025, I hit “publish” for the first time on TikTok.

30 days later, 158 strangers had hit “follow.”

Not a huge number, I know.

But to me, it meant everything.

🎬 Act One: Lighting a Spark in a Desert of 17 Followers

On May 13,2025, I posted my very first video on TikTok

My fingers trembled slightly behind the camera. My editing app was a graveyard of failed drafts.

Thirty days later, 158 strangers had tapped the “Follow” button — like tiny lighthouses blinking in the dark, just for me.

That number may seem small, but to me, it marked a transformation:

From someone afraid to express herself… to someone brave enough to show up, every single day.

🌱 Why I Started: Planting a Seed for Medium

The original goal was simple — I wanted to rehearse for my future writing on Medium.

With no editing background and zero experience showing my face online, I challenged myself to try “doing just one small thing every day” — to test my endurance and answer this question:

If I create something every day, no matter how small, what will happen in 30 days?

X. A Beginner’s Routine: A 15-Second Video Took Me All Afternoon

Every video in the beginning felt like walking blindfolded.

How do I use CapCut? How do I crop footage, layer music, adjust colors, add subtitles?

None of it came easy. Even adding a filter felt like learning a new language.

One 15-second video could take me the whole afternoon to finish. Every time I hit “publish,” it felt like pinning a clumsy but sincere little sketch onto my personal creative wall.

“Done is better than perfect” — that was the first lesson I learned.

And somewhere along the way, I realized: creating isn’t just about the work itself — it’s a mindset.

💔 The Dip: Shadowbans, Templates, and Wanting to Quit

Of course, the journey wasn’t smooth.

Just as I was about to hit 100 followers, I tried using a trending video template.

The result? My growth flatlined.

The next day, I took a break to rethink my content — and suddenly, my videos were getting zero views. TikTok had shadowbanned me.

I was crushed.

“Why am I doing this?” I asked myself.

“It takes me hours to make a single short video. Is this even worth it?”

“Should I just focus on Medium instead? TikTok is too fast, too competitive…”

But then it hit me:

If I gave up now, wouldn’t I just be running away again — just on a different platform?

So I deleted the templated videos and started over.

I shot my own footage, wrote my own captions, edited and colored every frame myself.

That was the moment I understood: growth doesn’t look like a rocket launch — it looks like choosing to begin again, again and again.

🕊️ I Made It Through — Not Because I’m Talented, But Because I Didn’t Quit

Now that a full month has passed, I’m still not a “viral creator” by any means.

But here’s what I do have:

159 real followers

Over 40 videos I edited by myself

A creative path I carved out one small step at a time

Looking back, those moments that nearly broke me ended up becoming the most valuable parts of the journey.

None of the effort was wasted — not a single hour.

And more importantly, I’m no longer afraid of starting from zero. I’m beginning to believe that I can create content that is soft, honest, and beautiful — in my own voice.

Now, when I open a blank Medium document, I no longer fear that first sentence.

Because I’ve learned: every great universe of content begins with a single particle — one small act of creation.

🌿 The Ending (That’s Actually a Beginning): Just Keep Going — That’s the Whole Point

The reason I wanted to write about this experience on Medium is simple:

There are so many people out there like me —

People with lots of ideas but too scared to start.

People who quit during the first dip and never get to see what day 30 feels like.

So if you’re standing at the starting line, hesitating…

Here’s a small note I wrote for you, with everything I’ve learned from my 30-day trial:

1️⃣ The 70% Rule: Let yourself publish work that’s “just okay.” Save perfection for the future you.

2️⃣ Surviving the Dip: When the algorithm feels cold, stay warm — be real, and speak like a human.

3️⃣ Tiny Habits Win: Creating for 10 minutes a day beats burning out for 10 hours once a month.

This world doesn’t need more flash-in-the-pan content.

It needs quiet fires that keep burning.

You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to have it all figured out.

You just need to start.

Even if it’s just one 15-second video. One small piece of practice.

That’s enough to unlock a whole new world.

Like I said in the title: this was just a beginner’s 30-day practice.

But it was enough to open up a creative path that finally feels like mine.

Right now, my 45th video is rendering.

What about yours :))?

(Im grateful you made it to the end. 🌿 If my words meant something to you, feel free to support me with a little coffee: 👉 https://coff.ee/thelumi )

(You can also find me on TikTok for more cozy videos:👉 https://www.tiktok.com/@thenikistylee?_t=ZP-8xF5MMMPYJb&_r=1 )

Thank you again for reading. If you're also quietly figuring things out on your creative path — I'm cheering for you.

Let me know in the comments if you're starting something new too:))