YouTube is something that I’m sure everyone has experienced before. You more often than not start up watching a funny animal video or a makeup tutorial and pretty soon find yourself watching video after video and slowly shifting away from the first video’s topic. This is how I found Zoe Sugg.

I can’t really remember what I started to watch that day, but I remember eventually coming across a makeup tutorial done by a girl who I instantly fell in love with. I loved her fun and outgoing personality and the way that she seemed to connect with her viewers. She was very inviting and I wanted to know more. That’s when I started to watch her vlogs.

Over the years, I have struggled with low self esteem, and to this day I still do. I’ve sometimes felt that I wasn’t pretty enough or that I was too shy to make friends. I find myself feeling uncomfortable in new situations and often I just feel too awkward. Watching Zoe has taught me a lot about overcoming those feelings. She suffers from panic attacks and even though it may be hard, she always tries to prove both to herself and to her viewers that you can do anything you put your mind to. Traveling isn’t an easy task for her and she still manages on occasion to overcome her anxiety and adventure to new places, if only just for a vacation with family.

What a lot of people don’t understand when I speak about YouTube is the impact it has not only on my life, but on many others as well. It is people like Zoe that make me feel as though anything is possible in life, no matter who you are, what you struggle with, or where you come from. Just recently, Zoe has received the diamond YouTube play button for having 10 million subscribers on her main channel. This has only been done by one other female in the UK: Adele. To say that Zoe is the only other female in the UK to share this honor along with Adele is absolutely the kind of recognition that this YouTuber deserves. Along with being a success on YouTube, Zoe has also published what is about to be three books, writes a successful blog and has put out a beauty line. Even after all of this, she remains true to herself and more humble than even people I know.

Zoe is never afraid to be herself and I think that even with all that she’s done, that’s what I most admire about her. She’s never ashamed to bust out into song in public or to pull crazy silly faces in her vlogs. She uploads her life and never hides any of who she is from her viewers. No makeup, hair in a sloppy bun, all cozy in Christmas pajamas and cuddled up on the couch with her dog Nala and boyfriend Alfie Deyes. To be that comfortable in my own skin and to not fear judgment from others is something I aspire to be able to do one day.

Zoe also does something that I don't think a lot of people realize. We younger girls are so quick to try and change who we are in order to find love, only to realize too late that it can cause more harm than good. She found a partner in Alfie not because she pretends to be someone else, but because she never falters in being who she really is. Someone fell in love with her for that and it just goes to show that you should never have to be someone else for people to like you. She sets such an amazing example for people my age to never get too caught up in dating someone to the point of losing who you are.

Positivity means a lot to her as well. She constantly gives little speeches in her vlogs that I absolutely love to listen to. Her most recent vlog involved positivity vs. negativity and the effect it can have on people. She encourages her viewers to surround themselves with positive people and I believe that’s why I always love to watch her YouTube videos. She always tries her hardest to put positive vibes in the content she creates. She never complains about something and never puts others down. She stays true to herself and lives by the advice she gives her viewers.

Love who you are and never regret one second of it. Be the best version of you. Just say yes. Zoe has taught me a lot about how to deal with life’s obstacles and to never give up on something that I care about. She always manages to put a smile on my face no matter what kind of day I’m having. Finding Zoe Sugg has to be the best accidental YouTube run-in I’ve ever had. Thank you, Zoe -- for everything.