Courtesy of Blair Leonard
Mason Life student finds confidence in her identity thanks to TikTok
BY MARY J. DEMARCO, OPINION EDITOR
Blair Leonard, a second-year Mason LIFE student, has amassed over twenty thousand likes on TikTok. This achievement is the result of a complex, emotional journey spanning over five years of creating content.
As a freshman in high school, Leonard struggled with feeling comfortable expressing that she had autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One day during lunch, her friends encouraged her to download a new and increasingly popular app: TikTok.
After just a few scrolls, Leonard found a community that made her feel seen, which allowed her to dive into the world of content creation. Anytime a new trend began, you could expect Leonard to be on top of it.
“When I was in my freshman year, I was afraid to express my disability,” Leonard said.
But seeing other people online openly discuss their disabilities helped Leonard feel comfortable enough to do the same. However, for the most part, Leonard’s content sticks to the current TikTok trends.
“Sometimes I like to do dance videos. Sometimes I like to do comedy. I like to post cap-cut edits. I like to do lip-syncing videos, fit checks, day-in-the-life videos, everything,” she said.
TikTok provided a space for Leonard to be comfortable and vulnerable in a way she had never experienced before. Looking back, she notes that still feels very confident in herself.
A day before the temporary TikTok ban, Leonard took to the app to express her feelings.
“I am scared about what’s gonna happen next Sunday, [Jan. 19]. I really hate when I talk about this because the more I think about it, the more anxiety I get. And I’m just worried about the future of my account,” Leonard said while addressing the ban. “You, [the U.S. government], can’t take away the one thing that brings me joy.”
Courtesy of Blair Leonard
Luckily for Leonard and the rest of American TikTok users, the app was back up and running again. For Leonard, this meant that the show could go on. She continues to create valuable content that uplifts her online community and others who have ASD.
In a recent TikTok, Leonard showed off her drawing of a character named Luna, originally created by a first-grade student. The student’s teacher saw the first-grader’s self-made fictional character and hoped it would receive support online. The teacher encouraged others to create a “fanart” of Luna, and Leonard happily took part.
So, that’s exactly what Leonard did. Leonard’s supportive nature shines through in her TikTok videos. In the future, she hopes to continue collaborating with her friends. She sees her videos as a time capsule of her life–starting from freshman year of high school and documenting her journey to college.
To her fans, Leonard shares a heartfelt message, “I love you guys so much and you guys are amazing.”
