Sometimes celebrities aren't relateable. They seem to be on a pedestal that none of us can relate to. However, there is a subset of celebrities that exist within the Internet, called "YouTubers". These people communicate their true selves through a camera lens and are able to inspire and influence us in ways that we can't imagine. Here's a list of four YouTubers that have inspired many with their life stories.
Phil Lester (“AmazingPhil”)
Phil Lester, companion to Dan Howell, has one of the most common stories that anyone could relate to: bullying. Although Dan has also been bullied and has a similar story, Phil got bullied when he was in high school. Phil took some great steps to deal with the kid who was bullying him. The most important thing that he did was tell a teacher, and he wound up getting his classes switched around so he didn’t have to spend as much time with the kid during the day. Phil also lost a close friend when he attended university, and he has said that it took him a long time to get over, but he knew that his friend wouldn’t have wanted him to spend his life being sad, so he swapped the sadness for memories of happier times.
Dan Howell (“Danisnotonfire”)
Dan Howell had a similar experience with bullying like Phil did. His started earlier than Phil’s and started in Preschool where kids would push him and make fun of him for being a nice child. It got worse in high school, where kids would bully him still for being a nice guy, but in worse ways. Insults that got thrown at him were slurs such as “Gaylord” and “d*ckhead”, but in the end, he never retaliated to his bullies and wound up kind of being the bigger person, because he knew that they probably had issues of their own. Dan also realized at a young-ish age that you can change your path in life whenever you want to. He didn’t really handle that realization well, though. Dan went through kind of a quarter-life crisis where he was stuck in limbo trying to figure out what he really wanted to do. After dropping out of college and abandoning a law degree, Dan pursued what really made him happy and starting making YouTube videos full-time, and is still making videos today.
Ryan Higa (“NigaHiga”)
Ryan Higa was also bullied when he was in elementary school. After taking a placement test, he found out that he was able to skip a grade and got placed with older students. He thought it would be a good thing and that the other kids would think he was cool because he was smart, but it turned out that they called him a nerd and a loser. It got so bad that Ryan made excuses to his mother as to why he couldn’t go to school or why he wanted to change schools. In fact, Ryan had some darker thoughts while he was being bullied, but managed to overcome them by actually joking along with the bullies. If they made fun of him for being Hawaiian, then he would go along with it. When the kids realized that Ryan was actually funny, they stopped bullying him. He moved schools and left his friends, and got rejected by a girl. He thought he was less than everyone; his brother out shined him in a lot of aspects in life, he didn’t have many friends, and the girl who rejected him found another boyfriend. However, he joined the wrestling team, and persevered through the hard times. He found new friends, and started making videos for YouTube. After finding what made him happy, Ryan continued to make YouTube videos and still does today.
Mark Fischbach (“Markiplier”)
Mark was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on a military base and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio when his dad got a job working for a book publisher. Mark went through a lot of hardships, but one of the hardest things that Mark had to endure was his parents fighting and eventually divorcing. The worst part for him was watching his dad “cave in” and be sad all the time, along with the fact that they only had half of the money that they expected and lost their house. However, his father did find a new girlfriend that Mark and his brother could agree on. Unfortunately, Mark lost his father to cancer, and this event sent Mark into a spiral similar to Dan’s where he couldn’t figure out what he wanted to do. This event blindsided Mark, and what he really wanted to do was make games, but when he found out about his father’s cancer, he went to school for civil engineering, then biomedical engineering, then back to civil engineering, and then realized if he wanted to be happy then he would have to start making video games. Unfortunately, one year later, Mark held his father’s hand as he passed away. His last words to Mark were, “I love you. So much.” Astoundingly enough, Mark bears his life story in mind, and does what he does to help people in need. Mark regularly hosts gaming live-streams and if the viewers donate, all the proceeds go to a charity of his choice. Mark keeps his audience in his mind all the time, and he owes his happiness to his viewers because it is due to them that his career on YouTube grew so quickly.
YouTubers are extremely influential. They can use their platforms for charity, community building, or just giving people the opportunity to learn or have a good laugh. These people are some of the most inspiring people in the world, and need to be appreciated more often.
