To be honest, YouTube is a little daunting. I don't ever want to get super famous, or be considered an "influencer" of any kind. I want my books to be widely read. I want my paintings hanging on walls. I do not want to be so recognisable that people will start coming up to me at the shops when I'm just trying to get my groceries.
I flatter myself that there's even the possibility that I'll get big enough there for that to happen...
Anyway, that's partly why I decided to limit my face on my channels (except for my gaming one, I suppose).
There is, of course, another potential problem that I foresee attempting this route. And that's sharing so much of myself and my life that there's nothing left for me. I do share a lot, rather brazenly. I am not shy talking about my demi-sexuality, or my depression, or the struggles of my creative journey. I honestly don't anticipate that changing.
I will always be an open book.
But there are some things I want just for me. Those things will not appear on any of my YouTube channels. The specifics of any relationships I may have (HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH! Ahem...), where I live (other than the city in which I live), days out with friends/ family, and the specifics of any troubles I have with specific people or situations will not be discussed. Certainly, I may feel moved to make a generalised video about certain things the events may drag up for me personally, but there will never be mention of the specific event or the specific people surrounding that event that brought up those feelings. That might be different if I'm attacked on the street. I would probably make/write something addressing that specifically.
I'm promising this to myself both to protect myself, my mental health and those near me.
So, if I fight with a friend, I will likely make a video about feeling alone and down, but not about the fight or the friend.
If I spend a glorious day with a friend, I will likely make a video about connection and love, but not about the day or the friend.
Hopefully I'll have all the safeguards in place to keep something of me just for me and for those I love most in the world. This is new ground for me, so I am likely to stumble. With luck, it won't be a travesty when I do.
I already have some videos up on my gaming channel, and one on my art channel. When I'm ready, I'll be posting one up on my life channel, but that one still needs a lot of cleaning up to do. For now, though, I'm off.
Ciao!