I'm a YouTuber.
It's kind of a funny thing to say. Sometimes I feel weird about using that term, but it's accurate.
So, what makes Youtube so great and why did I decide to join it as a creator?
I create videos, specifically music covers, on Youtube and from the beginning, it has given me the opportunity to escape reality and enter the world of sound. That is a completely different world than the average world you and I experience for most of the day or even for the complete day.
I'm a drummer who has fallen in love with thousands of artists and bands over the years and this platform has allowed me to connect my hobby directly to the songs I can't seem to get out of my head.
It's kind of strange, but I decided to start Youtube originally to track my progress back in 2014. As a girl, I was getting a lot of mixed feedback from people about being a female drummer and also revolving around my skill level. People constantly felt the need to compare me to boys playing in bands who were years older than me and that only pushed me to want to be a better drummer. I soon realized that videotaping my drumming was the best idea because I could easily compare my technique and skills from one video to the next.
It was always fun and something I thoroughly enjoyed doing. I surprisingly began getting comments and people were subscribing; I didn't know how to react and originally ignored it.
However, after a few months, it became something a lot more important and greater than tracking progress. This whole separate world I originally spoke about kind of just emotionally appeared and provided me with so much more.
I started to realize that I was inspiring people with my drumming and musicianship. I began receiving messages and emails from people of all ages and backgrounds from all over the world and the one thing we had in common was our passion for music. It didn't matter that I was five years older than them or 20 years younger than them. We both appreciated drumming, either as drummers or viewers, and that simply caused a domino effect that I haven't been able to forget about ever since.
As I began posting more drum covers, other female drummers began Youtube channels, although they originally feared the criticism they would receive. Others genuinely appreciated my passion for drumming and let me know that I inspired them to do other things they feared. These things were anything from starting a makeup channel, drumming or even playing a different instrument.
Youtube started becoming a way for me to express myself and positively influence others. I was immediately addicted to that cause and effect reaction and I fell in love with this platform more than any other.
From collaborating with other artists to having a mutual support system with viewers and other creators, Youtube has opened me to whole other world as a creator and that is why I have remained loyal to it.
I've taken breaks, changed my posting schedule and even had some starstruck moments relating back to my covers, but I'll never get tired of creating videos revolving around my greatest passion and connecting with others.
Thank you, YouTube.