She is still lukewarm about the concept of being famous on social media, saying in an interview Sept. 3, she’s set her sights on being a professional dancer in Los Angeles, California, over being a social media star.
With the fleeting nature of social media in mind, Ms. Howell created a GoFundMe page to help support her journey of moving across the country to Los Angeles. With an initial goal of raising $25,000, Ms. Howell’s GoFundMe was at nearly $31,000 as of press time.
The donations will be put toward an apartment and possibly a car, according to the GoFundMe description.
Ms. Howell has a rare brain condition called pseudotumor cerebri, which occurs when high pressure inside the skull increases due to the buildup or poor absorption of fluids. The donations also will help pay for medications used to manage the disease until she has a job with good insurance.
Dancing too, Ms. Howell said, has a longer shelf life than social media.
“Dance is everywhere. It’s on TV, it’s in movies, it’s at award shows,” Ms. Howell said. “I don’t think dance is going anywhere. I’ll ride the social media while I can, but it’s not necessarily what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Ms. Howell was 16 years old when she originally uploaded the video of herself dancing that went viral. That video’s target audience was friends and family rather than a global one.
