Known as the Vlogbrothers on YouTube, John and Hank Green have made online content for the better part of eight years. Their channel has over seven million subscribers and over a thousand videos. But because their fan-base has grown so rapidly after the success of Hank's convention, VidCon, and the adaptation of John's books ("The Fault In Our Stars" and "Paper Towns") to film, the brothers have been able to expand their channels and produce other content. Along with CrashCourse, SciShow, The Art Assignment, and The Brain Scoop, Hank and John have joined together to produce a channel that shows young adults how do things we never learned in school: How To Adult.
The videos are hosted by Emma Mills and Mike Martin who are occasionally joined by Hank Green and other YouTubers who explain things in ways that connect with young adults. I have found this channel especially helpful when I need to know something that I feel I should already know but which, of course, was never taught to me. Here are a few videos that might be helpful:
1. "How to Write a Cover Letter"
Whether you're writing a cover letter for practice, for an internship, or for an actual job, this video explains the formatting and purpose of a cover letter. And it helps that Emma is such a big "Sherlock" fan and uses the detective as a potential employer to walk you through the process.
2. "How To Get Your Dream Job"
This video is hosted by Emily Graslie, who also hosts The Brain Scoop. Emily works at the Field Museum in Chicago, and the premise of her own channel is that she shows people what she does from day to day with the animals and parts of the museum. But how she got such an amazing job that she loves is a different story, and she uses her own experiences to help give some tips on how to get your own dream job.
3. "How to Do Your Taxes EXPLAINED!"
Once you've written your amazing cover letter for your resume and gotten that dream job, you'll have to do something many Americans dread: taxes. But Mike of the How To Adult crew does his best to explain tax forms that most people will have to file as an employee at a company. He explains everything that you should have learned in Personal Finance class but have undoubtedly forgotten.
4. "6 Simple Steps to Opening a Bank Account!"
As someone who is still using the savings and bank accounts that were set up for her by her parents, I can tell that soon this video will come in handy. Especially if that cover letter actually lands me my dream job, and I wind up needing somewhere to put my money. This is something that you may not think about, but that is important to know. And admit it: it's easier to watch a three minute video at home than to listen to someone at the bank talk your ear off for an hour because you don't know what you need to do.
5. "How To Make a Kitchen From Scratch"
After you do your taxes and hopefully get some money back, you can use this video to buy things for your new kitchen. There are things in this video that I never would have thought about. After all, I've been using a fully furnished kitchen for 19 years. It's hard to imagine some of the weird things you might need when starting from scratch, like a colander.
Be sure to check out the How To Adult channel on YouTube. They update every week with a new video and continue to find ways to answer questions you may not know to ask.
