It’s no secret that YouTube is a media platform that allows you to spiral into another realm and three hours later you find yourself watching cat videos and conspiracy theories and are not even sure how you got there.

As I got older, I started to become extremely interested in makeup. I was, and still am, fascinated by the way that different makeup artists were able to apply their makeup with such artistry. I was mesmerized by every tutorial I watched on YouTube, and though I couldn’t mimic the looks on myself, I couldn’t help but continue to watch video after video.

I was constantly jealous of YouTubers that were sent PR packages full of free makeup that I could only dream of owning. If I said I never thought of starting my own channel with the goal of getting on a makeup company’s PR list, I would be lying. I never did make a video, though I definitely still consider it to this day.

Today, however, that passion has much less to do with free makeup and more with the love that I have found within the makeup industry.

I have said this a million times before, but I don’t want to be a makeup artist. While I do enjoy spending ridiculous amounts of time doing my own makeup, I don’t want to do other people’s makeup.

It has taken me a few years to realize that while I thought the talent of the YouTubers I was watching was incredible, I was so much more focused on the way that the products were presented and I truly cared about the reaction to each new product that was released.

I payed attention to how the products were advertised, how they performed versus how they claimed to perform, how viewpoints of products differed from each other and every other aspect of a products release.

I have always known that I wanted to work in public relations, and I was lucky enough to be able to gain some experience this summer at an incredible PR agency.

The problem was, however, that I never knew what I wanted to focus on within the industry. For the longest time I was under the misunderstanding that within the makeup industry, you can really only be either a makeup artist or do sales for the companies.

After a lot of consideration for the makeup industry and PR, I learned that I am interested in PR and influencer relations. If it weren’t for YouTube, however, I never would have come across the passion that I have had for years.

With that being said, I feel the need to say thank you to YouTube for helping me figure out what I want to do in life.