Vanessa Sirius was part of what she has dubbed the TikTok boom of 2020.

Since then, she has amassed a community of hundreds of thousands.

She managed to do that after getting laid off

during the pandemic and living with her mom

before getting the opportunity to create for BuzzFeed.

We talked about that big leap,

the difference between creating for others

and creating for yourself,

and why even social media stars

need social media breaks.

Vanessa, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you so much for inviting me.

Vanessa, you're born in Miami.

You then move back to Nicaragua. You're there for five years. What do you remember about returning to the U.S.? It was such a different environment for me. I was raised by a single mom, so it came

from, you know, like being surrounded by a lot of family to

it just being me and her here in Miami against the world. There was like a lot of economic

challenges. So it was very different than my life back home and learning a new language, going to

school and not really understanding anything at all.

So I remember that and slowly picking up the language and the school system here.

For those of us who follow you now, who are members of your community, it's kind of shocking

that you are a shy person and you were a shy kid.

So I think of you in your room performing and you weren't just performing for yourself.

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