"Hey, hey guys! Welcome to the vlog..."
Every day around 3:30, my favorite YouTube celebrity Roman Atwood posts a video. Roman has two channels. On his main channel, he uploads prank videos as well as social experiments. On his second channel, he posts daily vlogs revolving around his life with his girlfriend Britney, sons Noah and Kane, dogs Zeus and Flash, and his family and friends. Some vlogs revolve him doing boring issues like business meetings or travel vlogs (videos taken within airports and planes). Others are fun and entertaining like sport car races with his father or building some sort of contraption for his family.
One day before I left for college, I was watching his vlog and my father came up behind me as I was watching and asked me, "Why would you watch someone recording their life?" I never thought of the answer. I always just watched his vlogs. I don't remember how I started watching them. I think I was watching one of his pranks and there was a behind the scenes video leading to his vlog channel. That was 2 years ago. I have been watching his vlogs for two years. Yet I never knew why I kept watching
The reason, I learned lately, is the message behind his vlogs. Several times, he expresses to his viewers, "If you're having a bad day, let's try to change that starting with this vlog." With the stress of college and social life, it is important to take a bit of time to find something to make you happy and calm down. Watching Roman Atwood daily has done that. He expresses a lot of positivity in his vlogs and is very relatable.
Roman expresses his daily struggles. He did not go to college, worked daily in his parent's factories and tried making comedy videos to no success. At the same time, his first wife (the mother of Noah) cheated on him and they filed for divorce. He hit a low until he met Britney and started the new life with his family.
Years later, he has over 15 million followers on YouTube on both channels, a popular clothing brand, a movie, and went on tour with fellow YouTuber Yousef Erakat (FouseyTube). So how did he do it? Simple answer: his slogan, Smile More.
Roman begins his video with the intro and ends his vlog with "Smile More." This is a simple, two-word phrase that expresses that regardless of what happens in your day, it is always important to brush the negativity away. He tells this to his followers during every vlog, no matter how crazy or boring the vlog is. He also owns his own business that sells products with the logo (I do own one of these shirts and have been stopped by fellow fans).
Roman is a big inspiration in my life. He makes me smile every day. His kids make me laugh. His girlfriend shows me what it means to be supportive. His family is incredible. I could never do what he does, but I try to apply it in my daily life.
I rely on a mission I started while at Marist College: Make one person smile every day. Whether it's a simple statement like "You look pretty," or treating a friend for a meal, I try to do the same that Roman does for his subscribers by uploading his daily vlog.
If Roman ever read this letter: all I would say to him is thank you. I would thank him for everything he does to make me smile when I'm having a bad day. I would thank his family as well for being a part of his life and make things enjoyable for him, his family, and his fans. I wish I had the opportunity to meet him and thank him in person for everything he does.
I know I went on a tirade with this article, but the underlying message is that he makes me smile and I thank him for everything he does. If you ever get a chance to watch his videos, please do. You'll see what I mean.
Thanks for reading and don't forget: Smile More
