A few years ago, I tried my hand at making videos on YouTube. After a year of doing it, I felt bored, burnt out, and out of ideas. On top of that, I really wasn't happy with my work (a lot of this came from simply putting too much pressure myself). Plus, shooting and editing videos started to consume a lot more time than I wanted it to. What started out as something fun that I wanted to dabble in, all of a sudden turned into a chore.
I've got to admit, I didn't really know what I was doing back then. I was just "testing the waters", as to say. I was just experimenting. I didn't really know what my voice was (which really just means what you stand for). But after a long break, some more studying, a lot of reflection, and plenty of personal growth, I feel like I've finally found my voice - something that will be crucial for the development of my personal brand. That means that I'm ready to give it another shot.
Something I've been wanting to do for a long time is to be a lifestyle type of vlogger. I want to document my life in a captivating way - with storytelling. I would have to say that my biggest mistake was suppressing that desire. But at the same time, I didn't know what I was doing, which means that I didn't know how to go at it, so I probably shouldn't be too hard on myself. Not only that, but I also felt like I had to find a niche and felt a lot of pressure to conform to a genre. That proved to be detrimental, in my case.
I personally find stuff like genres and niches to be restraining (this applies to pretty much everything: music, videos, blogs, etc.). I prefer something much more holistic and open-ended. I feel as if genres, niches, and such lead to burn-out. I tried it back when I was experimenting with YouTube and got burnt-out in the end (although I will admit that that wasn't the only reason - the other reason would have to be putting too much pressure on myself). Its just not my thing. But the thing is, I'm seeing this with others as well.
With genres & niches, I feel like you're pigeon-holed and aren't allowed to be flexible. Its filled with a lot of pressure - that pressure being following a formula. I would have to say that that's the danger of genres and niches. But then again, maybe that's just me because I personally prefer flexibility and lots of freedom and independence. I have a variety of interests and projects and taking on, and ultimately, I want to create a place where I can share all of those things and create an on-going dialogue and memoir.
My goal with this new vlog endeavor of mine is to do just that. But this is not going to be soley about me. This is also a way for me to encourage people to pursue their interests and live their lives on their own terms - and just enjoy life, in general. I want to create a community where people who don't "fit in" in one way or another can gather and have a place where they feel safe to be themselves.
In the end, I don't want to be or be known as a music/news/political/educational/tech/whatever vlogger…I just wanna be me, be known as me, and most importantly, motivate and inspire others.