I usually don’t like writing about other people, because I am a terrible biographer and I tend to have a biased view of that specific person, but I need to share this story about KevJumba.
I know every single Asian person reading this article, right now, knows who KevJumba is. And if you don’t, search him on Youtube right now, and watch his oldest video. So to give context, KevJumba (his actual name is Kevin Wu) is a very famous Youtuber and is one of the original Asian Youtubers. He is a true OG. I’m talking about 2007. KevJuma is a Throwback Thursday Youtube filmmaker.
I remember watching his terribly edited videos on Youtube as a naïve Asian 6th grader, confused about what life actually was for me. KevJumba’s Windows Movie Maker edited videos were the epitome of my childhood. I watched all of them because I could relate so well. He was a scrawny Asian kid that didn’t really fit in anywhere in his social life so he just decided to create videos making fun of his awkward life. That was my life as a middle schooler. KevJumba was funny. Really funny. And the best part of it all is that his dad looks and acts just like my dad.
KevJumba, or Kevin, started a fund called the JumbaFund. It was a new Youtube channel that Kevin created to make money off Youtube advertisements and he used that money to donate to specific charities. Win-win situation for both his audience and charities; the money wasn’t from donations, it was from Youtube advertisements so all people had to do was watch his new content. More views meant more money. JumbaFund exploded. Everyone loved the idea and supported it greatly. Kevin would make about $2,000 every month and would donate it to a charity voted by, again, his Youtube audience. And that was in 2009! Who was doing that at that time period, especially with such a large audience? KevJumba was killing the game.
But this article isn’t about KevJumba’s past success. It is 2015, anyone can be successful through Youtube. It’s his actions that really shocked me. Last week, I was laying in my bed feeling nostalgic. So I decided to watch all my favorite Youtube videos during my high school and middle school era. Boy that was bittersweet because I came across one of my favorite videos on Youtube.
It is called Put it in Purse and it features KevJumba and his mother. And then I realized his last video on Youtube was made 2 years ago. Two years! A person who has almost 3 million subscribers on Youtube is not active!? What in the world is going on? Then I looked at the comments of his videos and there was my answer: Go on his Instagram.
Here is what happened to KevJumba. He basically gave up all of his Youtube and film aspirations. He stopped making videos and he stopped going on the Internet. Then he moved to Kenya to build a high school named Kev Jumba High School. Kevin also became a monk and began searching for his self-identity and his true passion: making the world a better place.
That is crazy.
When I went through his Instagram, every picture was a selfie of him in Kenya with his high school students. And every picture was Kevin, smiling, cheesing from cheek to cheek. 
I couldn’t help but smile because KevJumba, once a famous Youtuber with millions of subscribers, found true happiness. You’d expect him to enjoy the virtues of Internet fame, because believe me, it is a great asset to have, but Kevin didn’t. He didn’t take advantage of the money. He didn’t take advantage of the fame. Instead, he did the right thing. He went out of his way to take the Youtube money and invest it in his passions. He took that money and threw it all to charity. He went out of his way to go through self-actualization and I respect that so much.
As I laid in bed, I was shocked. But I was happy. I was happy that someone, who essentially impacted my life as an Asian American trying to adjust to America’s culture, is out there changing the world. It really gives me hope and motivation to find and do what I truly love. Maybe I won’t be the next KevJumba and going out of my way to make this world a better place. But Kevin’s story and passions really inspires me to become a better person. He inspires me to become a person that I truly will respect and love. A person that people will look up to as an aspiring individual.
Because if KevJumba can do it, so can I. It’s all about the effort and ambition.
