"Note to Self" was a book I've been curious about for a few months, after seeing the reviews in the Amazon Book Store. After finishing a few other books on my to-read list, I saw it in another chain bookstore and decided to pick up.

Prior to reading it, I had no idea who Connor Franta was or the kind of following and accomplishments he had achieved. Fortunately, you do not need to be a fan of his to appreciate and understand the book. In fact, it's only after completing the book that I've looked online at his brands and would consider watching his YouTube videos.

For those as unfamiliar as I was, Connor Franta is an American YouTuber, entrepreneur, entertainer, and writer. His brand involvement includes various entrepreneurial enterprises, including a clothing line, music curation, as well as a coffee and lifestyle brand named Common Culture.

Within the last three years, he has come out as being gay on his YouTube channel. His book, "Note To Self", talks about the experiences he has encountered internally before and after coming out. While LGBTQ+ identity is a key motif in this book, it is much more.

The book also speaks about his first hand experiences with past mental health issues, such as depression and social anxiety, going on to encourage readers whom according to him "may need to read this", to go on and seek help themselves, talking about all the positive impacts of doing so in attempts to remove the negative stigma around "getting help."

Another motif in the book emphasizes the act of making genuine emotional connections with real people - without technology. He constantly advocates for taking a mindful break from technology, and instead of moving the connection with others to a medium of discussion of universal feelings and experiences.

The book is intended to serve the purpose a diary or journal might. It is a collection of poems, essays, open letters, and photography. He is able to use these ways to express his thoughts, fears, feelings, dreams, life lessons, and more. When put together, the reader is able to weave a short story about coming out of the closet, experiencing heartbreak, struggling with depression - and eventually learning to live with it, or in spite of it.

Ultimately, it is apparent he wrote this book as a means to better understand himself, along with aiding his readers to better understand the world around them, as well as what we all may have in common.

One of the biggest takeaways is that Franta encourages and inspires his readers - despite being a fan of his work or not - to look at both themselves and how they will choose to face the challenges along with the joys of early adulthood.

While his messages may seem obvious, apparent, or even cliche, his writing style portrays these messages very eloquently. His photography is superb, and the book overall can serve as being thought-provoking or encourage readers towards the act of reflection and introspection. Despite its journalistic intentions, the book reads a bit like a blog might. Maybe this is due to Franta's abundant social media presence, but it very much reminded me of a stereotypical young adult Tumblr blog, complete with Tumblr-esque poems interspersed throughout.

That being said, Franta is able to do what any social media presence should be able to accomplish - foster a sense of community and let readers know that they are not the only ones going through whatever may be plaguing them. Furthermore, he constantly re-enforces that these experiences and conditions do not define him as person, nor should they for the reader.