Eli Rallo, otherwise known as @TheJarr, is truly iconic, and not even Zoom could dull her infectious sparkle. Trust me, she literally defies physics by glowing through her computer screen. Giving you New York City meets astrology girl meets camp counselor vibes, Eli is the TikTok big sister that we all need. She has the most sage advice, will hype you up on any day, and has the key to the best snacks. What more could we need?
Eli is a 22 year-old from Fairhaven, New Jersey, who is currently living in the city after earning her masters degree in journalism from Columbia University, and making TikTok content on the side for her loyal 248,000 followers. Her account initially gained traction with an innovative snack concept that has completely changed the TikTok game: The Jarr. This is basically a large, gallon sized jar that Eli’s family would fill with “an eclectic and slutty mix of snacks,” as Eli would put it. Not only was it satisfying to watch our favorite munchies fall into perfect harmony, but TikTok quickly fell in love with the Jarr maker herself, giving Eli the freedom to move away from Jarr content and come into her own. She still incorporates her love of food into her account, with plenty of charcuterie board reviews and oatmilk rants, but we also get a window into who she really is: her struggles with mental illness, her love of astrology, her adorable relationship that we can all live vicariously through, and her radiant, positive energy that brings joy to your For You Page. She’s also simply funny as fuck.
But why take my word for it when you could see for yourself? Come along with SHEESH! as we dish with Eli on the double-edged sword of influence, protecting your aura, and so much more.
How did The Jarr come to be? And what do you hope it becomes?
ELI RALLO: It’s so funny, but it was an accident. We always had one in our family home, and then my brother and I were just fooling around on TikTok and I posted the video to public instead of private by mistake. It just blew up. For a while we were just making Jarr videos and using that for the content, but when I left home to move to the city in August, I made a video saying that there would be less jar content. But we only got more followers, and it kind of just molded into something else. I would love to do content full time. But I’m also not pressuring myself to. I did just get this degree in journalism, and that’s what I’m following right now. So I just hope that this platform continues to grow and continues to be something that I love to do. Maybe one day I will just be doing content and freelancing, but I don’t think I’m ever going to stop writing.
How do you feel about having influence? Do you like it? Do you find it stressful? Somewhere in between?
ELI RALLO: Overall, I love it, and I’m so grateful. I think that’s something that all of us need to point out when we’re shedding light on the reality of it. Because I do love it, and I don’t ever want that to get mixed up in any way. But I think it’s definitely worth noting that it is kind of exhausting. It’s obviously a choice, but on some days when I just don’t feel like answering my DMs, or I’m really tired, or I don’t feel like giving advice, it never turns off. That hard work that you’ve put in to gain momentum will slow if you stop posting. I tend to forget that when I’m not on the app, it still exists. When I turn my phone off and I’m not on TikTok actively, it doesn’t stop going on people’s For You Pages. It doesn’t stop accumulating any less views, and it’s still very present in people’s minds.
You interact so much with your following, it makes us feel like we are all your best friends! What does it mean to have these fans that you can connect with, rant about milk to, and discuss theatre with?
ELI RALLO: It’s really special to me, because in my life, I’ve always been trying to connect to other people. I write poetry. I was a theater major in college. Everything I’ve loved to do has had to do with human connection and storytelling. I’ve always been the girl that had something to say, and I just didn’t have someone to say it to. My iPhone notes are just full of things I wanted to say out loud but didn’t have the right moment. The fact that people want to listen to me now is really cool, because I feel like I’ve always had so much to say. On the other side of that, other people have so much to say, too. You know when you’re a hostess at a restaurant, and you feel so comfortable telling your whole life story to the other girl that you work one shift with because she’s like an unbiased third party? I feel like I’m the hostess. My followers feel like they can trust me too, and that’s really exciting to me. I like being that person for people.
You radiate such a positive, happy and grounded energy. How do you take care of yourself, your body, and your aura in general?
ELI RALLO: I know my limits. I love to exercise. I love to go out and drink. I love to go out to eat, but I also like to cook. I know my limits in every sphere, so I know how to not over exercise, and I know how to not drink too much, or party too hard. I just know myself really well, and I think that’s necessary for taking care of yourself in general. I’m also very spiritual—I’m super grounded in the universe, and I’m really into Zodiac and crystals and how we can get our own faith from the natural things in the world. I think that sounds a little witchy. But finding the thing that makes you sing I think is really helpful, to have something that gives you hope, something to be faithful about. I feel like I’ve always been super spiritual, but I didn’t have an outlet for it before I found the general culture of spirituality which happened two years ago. Now I just feel like I really know how to lock in.
I’m sure everyone reading this is as invested in your relationship with Scorpio Boy as I am. Can you share a funny, little story from your relationship?
ELI RALLO: When we started dating, we went on a trip, and the first night that we were there, I made this whole issue that he was like star fishing the hotel bed, and I got mad. In the morning, I was like, “Sorry I yelled at you for star fishing, I was kind of being an ass.” The next day, we go out all day and then finally get back to the hotel. It’s now like two in the morning, and he goes to the bathroom. I lay down on the hotel bed, and I guess I passed out. But he took a picture of it because it’s the worst star fishing that one person could ever do. It’s a full bed full star, and I had no conceivable proof that he had done it the night before. No proof. He took several photos of me in the star, so that was just really funny.
You have been so generously open about your eating disorder and mental health struggles on TikTok. What has it been like sharing this story with your followers? Scary? Empowering?
ELI RALLO: It was kind of a no brainer. I was actually talking about this with Tinx when I met her for the first time about how there’s this split second where you decide that you’re going to actually go all in. If I had just never bridged away from The Jarr and my account was just snacks, there’s a level of anonymity there because you’re not sharing your whole life. But I think there’s a moment that you can decide that you’re actually going to share your whole life. For me, it was when somebody commented on a video that they wished that they could make a jar, but they worried it would trigger their eating problems. I remember just deciding to make a video replying, saying, “Don’t worry, I actually think it helps because I also have eating problems.” And I just remember from that point on being like well now I’m all in, and I’m going to share this because I want to.
What advice would you give to others who are struggling with mental illness?
ELI RALLO: I think my best advice is that the minute you stop treating any mental health diagnosis like something you have to get over, but rather something you have to maintain and manage, you’re going to feel so much better. You’re living with it baby, it’s here. I think that new people in my life come to understand that that’s just how I approach it, and I have my ways of managing it, but some days are going to be harder than others. And I think that’s a really empowering way to look at it too, because then I don’t have to be afraid of this thing and be running away from it.
Have you always felt comfortable being unapologetically yourself?
ELI RALLO: I was never the cool kid in high school. I always struggled, because I do have a big personality, and I do come on strong. When I went to college, I decided that I was just going to become the girl that everyone liked. I’m going to make myself quieter. I’m going to join a sorority. And I tried to do it, but at every turn, I found that I’m too much myself to try not to be. I was gatekeeping my Instagram my freshman year of college to be this fun, hot sorority girl with this boyfriend. And maybe I was a cute, fun sorority girl on paper, but I wasn’t really happy, and it wasn’t really who I am. At some point, I just realized that some people just won’t really like me. But if I’m my full self, and I celebrate that, then the people that want to stick around are gonna stick around, and then we can just proceed. I think that you have to have some sort of a struggle to free yourself. I don’t think you just randomly get to be free. And it’s exciting to me that people like the way that I proceed on the internet now, because it’s just exactly who I am.
If you were a cocktail, what would you be?
ELI RALLO: On looks, if you know me in person, probably a cosmo. But I love champagne, I love a celebration. I’ve been a romantic poet, and a party planner, and the CEO of having a good time since the literal 8th grade, so I think champagne is my drink. Champagne is my moon sign of cocktails. My rising would be a cosmo, because I do come off sort of New York City influencer, kind of sophisticated, and then my moon would be a shot of tequila. I keep it blunt, I keep it real.
What mantra do you live by?
If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger.
For more Eli, check out her TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and addicting podcast called Miss Congeniality.
