I've always been terrified of what people think of me.

There, I said it--not that it's that uncommon of a phrase.

Yes, I've worried about judgement since I was little, as I'm sure many of you do. For this reason, it has taken me nearly six years to start up an active YouTube channel, and now that I have, I've learned quite a bit!

My love for YouTube began to bud in my sixth grade year when I started watching channel called "balloonshop." It featured four college-age guys who simply made funny, ridiculous videos and I loved it. I would show them to my friends, and we would talk about making similar videos, though we never truly carried out our plans.

When I started high school, I took a film class that taught basic techniques in film production. It was during these hours of making goofy projects with my friends that I began to love creating videos. As I got older, I continued to be inspired by YouTubers, and I looked up to them as if they were close friends. By the time junior year hit, I was dying to create a vlog channel. I vloged to make funny videos, and post about my life as I had seen hundreds of YouTube personalities demonstrate. I truly loved the sense of community Youtube offered, and I desired to be a part of it.

So, what stopped me from creating my channel years ago? Fear. I was terrified students at my school would find it, and think my videos were stupid. I was scared people would think I wasn't pretty or funny enough to make personal videos. I was mortified that if my friends ever saw me filming or talking to the camera, they would think differently about me. Fear, fear, and more fear kept me from fulfilling my dreams.

Finally, I graduated high school and decided it was now or never for my channel. So, the very day I moved out of the house, I created my first vlog. It was a little strange to talk to the camera, and I didn't show my face at all due to long-embedded fears of judgement. However, I continued to make vlogs, even if they felt a bit rocky and awkward.

Now, a few months later, I am absolutely loving my choice to make a YouTube channel! It is easier to talk to the camera, and I have even posted a few songs I've sang as well. I feel more confident in myself, and my friends have wholeheartedly accepted my love for making videos. It's so fulfilling to finish a video, and see all the memories I've created with my friends and family, and they love to see them too. My only regret is that I wouldn't have let fear stunt my growth. Looking back, my worries were terribly unreasonable, and I wish I cold tell little Chelsea to make silly videos no matter what anyone thought.

If you take anything away from this story, I hope you are inspired to do what you've longed to do! If you are uneasy about the judgement of others, don't let that fear consume you, but rather be brave and fulfill your dreams despite your worries. When you're doing what you love, you will find that your loved ones will learn to accept your hobbies, and you will feel much better about yourself. Create things that make you happy, and I promise you'll never regret it!