I have been watching Shane Dawson's videos for eight of my 20 years of living. I've sat through many funny skits, vlogs, short films, and I've also sat through many of his controversies and scandals. In more recent years, I've looked up to Shane as a role model as a creator and as a person who is happy with himself.

Ever since the start of his channel, Shane has been very open to his audience about his personal life and his family. He grew up with many weight problems as a kid through to his later teenage years, thus leading to self-esteem issues later on. This is one thing we have in common. As a teenager, I have always come across as confident because of my over-the-top nature, but that's just my personality. Deep down, I never thought of myself as a confident being. I was so scared and concerned with what people thought of me or what they may say about me. With Shane being a creator, he almost has to perpetually be concerned with what others (his audience) would think of him and his content.

From 2015 up until mid-2017, we can see that Shane fell into a downward spiral - creatively. He would post a video five out of seven days of the week, every week. He would post videos that were too similar to each other such as "testing girl products" or "trying life hacks." It wasn't until he stopped posting five out of seven days and decided to make a series about rekindling a relationship with his dad. This sparked something within him, obviously, as he continued to make different two and three-part videos where he would change lives with someone else or even help a fellow YouTuber who's in a creative rut like he was.

Watching Shane overcome his many hardships and struggles as a creator has inspired me in many ways. He taught me how to believe in myself and persevere through the hard parts. Watching him go through a few insane scandals has shown me his strength as a person; that he wouldn't sit back and let media outlets take his words and jokes out of context.

He has also shown me how to love and cherish those close to me. Watching how loving and compassionate Shane is towards his friends and family, all while cracking jokes and being shady (with love), it really shows me that I much cherish those around me and that love is shown in many different ways. Shane has taught me how to be selfless and generous. Shane has done plenty of two-part series' in which he helps out one of his fans who may have a special talent or who just struggle financially. Without question, Shane has gone out of his way to share his wealth and advice to help others.

To close, I wanted to thank Shane Dawson for teaching me how to be a better me indirectly. He doesn't know it, but I definitely give him some credit for helping shape the person I am today.