‘I had a full university scholarship to study law but ditched it to be a TikTok star‘
A social media star has revealed she gave up a full university scholarship to study law in order to pursue a career making TikTok videos – and, incredibly, it has paid off.
Megan Nutt has over 12 million followers on the video-sharing app, and has enjoyed enormous success since posting her first video at just 17 years old.
Now 22, her page has gone from strength to strength, and become a full-time job for the aspiring actress.
Her content includes videos of her dancing and acting out ‘voice overs’ – but it’s a far cry from what she’d originally planned for her future.
“Growing up, I wanted to become a lawyer and always thought that was what I’d end up doing,” Megan, who also boasts 12m followers on TikTok @megnutt02, said.
“I’ve always enjoyed being able to solve complex problems using logic and reasoning in a changing world – so a career in law appealed to me.
“I had straight-A’s and a 4.0 GPA, so I was top of my class when applying to colleges.
“I was offered a full scholarship to Florida International University to study business – a full ride to the honours college.
“But by the time I was graduating high school, I was already doing well on TikTok.
The final nail in the coffin came when Megan realised the post-lockdown course would be taught primarily on Zoom – something she felt she was unsuited for.
She added: “When I committed to posting and growing my TikTok account, I had a gut feeling it would pay off.
“I’m a very all or nothing kind of person, and failure isn’t an option for me.
“Sometimes having a plan B stops you from getting plan A.
“So I saw the opportunity to pursue TikTok as a career and ran with it.
“I’m really glad I didn’t go to study instead.
“It’s crazy to think about how different my life would be if I had gone to study and become a lawyer.”
Instead of being fresh out of college and grappling with student loans, Megan has been able to purchase her own home and travel, including to her favourite destination Japan.
Megan added: “It’s hard to even imagine myself going to law school and following that career path now.
“I would have missed out on all the life experiences I’ve had over the last four years.
“I have absolutely no regrets.
“I have financial freedom and the opportunity to explore my creativity in a non-judgemental space.
“I am more financially stable than if I had gone to college, and I’m more financially stable than most 22-year-olds.”
The Florida-based creator has even been able to buy her first home – which she describes as “very exciting”.
She said: “I’d been looking for two years for the right house.
“It’s been cool to be able to live my life and record it, and make money that way.
“I feel so lucky.
“I know a lot of young people aren’t able to do this.”
Incredibly, Megan fell into the world of social media content creation accidentally when she was still a teenager.
She said: “I didn’t have social media because I was grounded during the summer that I was going into my final year of high school.
“But at 17, behind my parents back, I started posting TikToks of me in my garden during lockdown.
“One of them hit 10,000 views and my heart dropped – I freaked out.
“Now I get millions of likes, but back then it was a big deal.
“From that point on, I kept posting videos and they grew at a really rapid rate.
“I would make videos of me acting as a character I had come up with – like a school hall monitor – and they were really popular.
“Then when I was 18 I’d post myself dancing and I got so much hate – but I also got so many more followers.
“It wasn’t something I’d ever considered would be my career, but it became lucrative.”
Because she had been dabbling with TikTok for over a year, her parents weren’t surprised when she decided against going to university.
Megan added: “They are both supportive and just want me to be happy.”
But while she doesn’t let trolls get her down, Megan has faced her fair share of criticism over choosing to work in social media.
She said: “People judge me, but I think they’re just jealous.
“They feel like my job is easy and that anyone can do it.
“But I work 11 hours a day.
“You would think being your own boss would mean you have an easy work schedule, but I put in more hours every day than I would if I had a traditional job.”
Reflecting back on what life could otherwise have looked like for her, Megan added: “Everything turned out the way it was meant to.
“Life has worked out better than I could plan it.
“I don’t worry about the future because then I can’t enjoy the present moment and where I am right now.
“My motto is that everything always works out.
“I can’t even imagine myself doing anything else.”
