It has been some time since I’ve last made a blog post. Today I’d like to share a small story after doing some reflection over the past few days. :3
Here’s a photo of baby me during an academic awarding ceremony with questionable fashion choices…
I’ve wanted to be a YouTuber ever since I was in middle school, which was about fifteen to sixteen years ago.
Initially, I wanted to “make it” as a vocalist that focused on recording covers of songs. I thought to myself, “If the people I watch can do it with little to no formal training, then with enough practice and some self-taught lessons, I should be able to too.”
So I half-heartedly tried. I did vocal warm-ups, I sang with my friends, and I tried to record covers, but I felt that I lacked any sort of talent. So I gave up. Funnily enough, I didn’t even put anything on YouTube, I only published one video and it was on Facebook. I gave up on that idea and moved on.
In hindsight, it was a smart move for me because I would be embarrassed to see the silly things I’d upload and listen to the dumb things a pre-teen would say hahahahahaha. With today’s social media climate, it’s best to practice being a wallflower…
That brings us to today, rather, the past year where I’ve been posting my own content to YouTube/social media.
With the Rise of TikTok™, I’ve become familiar with speaking in front of a camera and planning, recording, and editing my videos. I’ve been transitioning from short-form content to longer videos and writing English subtitles as well. With all the planning, preparation, editing, and double-checking, it is truly a time-consuming hobby.
Was social media the path I planned to pursue? Not at all, especially being an introvert with a dry way of speaking. Honestly, this was actually a way to keep me on track with all my projects and a way to record all my progress.
It surprisingly helped… until it didn’t because I fell out of the habit hahahahahahahaha. The algorithm has been working against me as well so I’ve elected to take a break.
(Sorry, this is a screenshot of a video, not an actual video.)
Lately, it feels like I’ve reverted back to my middle-school self: my hair is the same style, my hobbies are the same, and even my dream of becoming a YouTuber has been slowly flourishing (thanks to a small group of family and friends who have been nothing but supportive). I wonder, if I had continued this path, how much growth would I have seen…
At times, I felt that my disposition has hindered me and that my efforts to force myself to change have done more bad than good. As a result, I came to be full of regrets and embarrassment… and cringe. I wish I knew better back then, but it’s a learned mistake that I’ve since grown from and have come to terms with it.
What are my realizations?
- I already know how stubborn I am, but I didn’t expect this level of tenacity. To think that after fifteen years, I’d come back full circle to a dream I had when I was a child.
- Record. Always record. As much as I hate to admit it (and to my older siblings’ dismay hahahaha), I am getting old and not remembering as much as I used to, with some memories completely disappearing.
- Any skill gets better with time and practice, and shooting and editing are no different. I try not to edit my videos too much and do RAW as much as possible, but sometimes I will do simple color balancing and exposure corrections when the footage looks too dull.
- Lenses do make a difference. I recently bought new lenses and they’re soooo nice. I’ve decided to fully invest in my camera and buy lenses/accessories as necessary.
- Social media managing is hard. :( Staying online 24/7 is a terrible design.
- Writing subtitles and localizing is an incredibly time-consuming and dull task. This is why my goal is to make my videos 12 minutes or less.
- Content creation is hard!!! The best thing to do is to see what other people have done and repurpose it based on your branding and your content focus.
- Fun can be fun. It can be shallow. There doesn’t have to be a “deeper issue” to examine. Fun can exist in and of itself.
- Dreams don’t have to die.
- There are evil people that spread negativity for their own joy despite you not doing anything to warrant it. Fight back because you don’t deserve to be treated that way.
I think that’s all. Until next time,
AVDLR
SUMBI STUDIO 