How much of our inner child ramblings are we willing to listen to?

Much of who we are as children gets lost in the woes and worries of adulthood. The moment we step out of childhood, we start rushing into becoming adults, throwing away our action figures and pretending to know what it means to be grown-up. We swap our tamagotchis for cellphones and don suits instead of hoodies. And we probably create an image that conforms to what we think everyone else in society says is an adult.

But what if that’s not the only way to live? What if we can unlearn what adulthood means and have child-like curiosity and enthusiasm about whatever it is we’re pursuing in life? What if it’s actually possible to lean on childish things and find fulfillment in them?

That’s just part of what we learned from speaking with Raco Ruiz.

Raco, known as Racobell on TikTok, posts skits of characters that go through funny and relatable scenarios inspired by real-life situations. He also creates parodies of the Nickelodeon show Spongebob, where he acts as “conyo” versions of beloved characters, among other skits. Most recently, he also completed his second solo visual arts exhibition at Secret Fresh, with all of his works being sold out.

In this episode of Teach Me, Senpai, we chat with Raco to find out what made him leave a stable job in advertising so he could pursue creating art and skits online, and what he has given up and done to make sure he keeps on thriving. We ask him what it’s like to have a platform on TikTok, be identified as a “conyo” comedian, and pursue visual arts as an interest and even a source of income.

He talks about how much of what he’s pursuing now are things that were influenced by his childhood, and how he has learned to embrace the cringe so that he can keep on creating.

The episode goes live on Sunday, September 24, at 7 pm. Bookmark this page so you don’t miss it! – Rappler.com