I totally get where you’re coming from. It sounds like you’re in the perfect position to create something really meaningful! The vulnerability you feel about sharing your life is something many people can relate to, and your experience as a European in the US is unique. Remember, imperfection can actually make your content feel more authentic and real. You don’t need the “perfect” setup or life to start—just film what you can with what you have. A small moment, like grocery shopping in the US or trying something new, can be super interesting to people. Plus, your story is your strength. The struggles, the cultural differences, even your doubts—those are the things that will resonate with others. Focus more on editing and storytelling, and the vibe you give off will make a bigger impact than any perfect shot. Think of it as a way to connect with others, not to be judged. The right audience will appreciate your honesty, and the rest won’t matter. Just take it one step at a time and enjoy the process! :) good luck! I’ll subscribe
Jan 14, 2025
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So I have a teeny tiny channel but it is one I am proud of and I had a similar issue as you are struggling with so I hope this helps:
1) Stop imagining what your hypothetical audience wants. I know if you have looked at advice online it seems counterintuitive because everyone tells you to fulfill a need etc. But something that I noticed when my channel got enough reach to sometimes get comments or reach 1k+ views is that there are many needs and desires in content that you haven't even thought of. I cannot tell you how many of the comments I get are glad to receive something that I made out of my own interest and assumed no one would ever watch.
2) Get someone you know to follow you. My sisters were amongst my first subscribers and when I first started my channel I considered not telling them because I was embarassed to be seen trying, and I thought that despite my interest in making video essays being an extension of my hobbies as opposed to a pursuit of fame, I thought it would look like I had shallow reasons for doing it. And then that made it feel more embarassing because I was just starting to learn how to use software, I am still figuring out my style in the context of the youtube space etc. But then I told them, and I didn't receive the judgement or assumptions that I feared, I got people cheering me on who would listen to me discuss what I figured out about software, and empathised with me when my laptop froze and lost everything (literally happened today)
3)Watch the earliest videos available of youtubers you like. You're holding yourself to an impossible standard that your own favourite creatives likely don't meet. For some of them you won't even find older videos because they privated them all. You are allowed to learn in public. And if you don't like something it doesn't have to stay up forever. Just enough time for you to learn to engage with your creation of it with kindness instead of shame.
4)You are a person not an object to consume. Remember that. You are allowed to figure out what parts of yourself to share. You are allowed to fumble finding how to communicate what you want to your audiences. And you are allowed to lead a life that you may deem imperfect instead of one that people consume and aspire to. And you are allowed to have hopes about where you hope to end up. But you don't need to be aspirational, you need to be you.
5)Do NOT check the stats. And if you enjoy similar work to what you create you need a break if you find yourself looking at their stats. Despite my lack of interest in being an influencer, I was surprised to find how invested I got in numbers and what they might mean. I put in effort and so I was very distressed about if I was coming across "right" to audiences, if I was affable enough, interesting enough. Having my sisters follow me prevented me from trying to mimic what worked for other people because they know my interests and in the grand scheme of things because it wasn't a career path for me it was whatever and yet there I was looking at numbers. Who watched, from where, how old, what is the view duration etc. And that coupled with my discomfort about being visible was toxic. Until you can make videos, be happy with them and continue to be happy with them regardless of how "successful" they are do not ever open the stats. Do not look at what others are doing. Do anything but that.
Finally
6)Start small. You don't need the perfect posting schedule or the perfect weather, you need to build the muscle of being seen without it striking your heart with fear. Youtube was built off of people taping films on their tv and 144p videos they took of their day on their laptop. The audience that loves the raw, the real, the authentic hasn't gone anywhere. You just need to put yourself out there so that they can find you. Right now someone is lamenting that they cannot find anyone who speaks about being euro in the states and vlogs everyday things. It could be you, if only you will decide that what you want to share is more valuable than the impossible standards that you see.
Best of luck, everything you need is already within you <3
Feb 1, 2025
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Not really a revolutionary sentiment; this is something people talk about a lot. But it leads to people living their lives as if they’re on a stage in a literal sense where their homes become set dressing for the aspirational lifestyle they want to project with the purpose of creating monetized content that’s palatable to an audience and to advertisers. Tiktok seemed to democratize this landscape quite a bit to where people who didn’t fit the narrower expectations set on Instagram and YouTube were able to carve out niches for themselves, but these niches were still subject to specific visual languages, trends, and “rules.” And now that it’s almost certainly on death’s doorstep, it should be interesting to see how this evolves.
If you want to share your authentic life you should do it authentically—it’s scary to bravely offer yourself up in such an unfiltered way but it’s where you currently are and it’s part of your story. You may not be happy with the way your house looks now but viewers might enjoy seeing your journey of becoming and the way the space you live in evolves with that! Sometimes you don’t have to feel ready or confident enough to do something; the confidence can come with practice and familiarity. The hardest part is showing up! 💌
Jan 14, 2025
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Before I get started... my friend Charlie's advice is better than mine, do what they say.
1. I think candid photography is fantastic. If you can train yourself to really pretend the camera isn't there, that's great.
2. Barring that, my goal is not to do some stiff rigid power pose (I do gravitate to some poses that tend to work, but I'm not as consistent about it as Charlie is), but to be comfortable and make people think I was born on camera, and that I'm equally natural and charming in person. Of course, I'm an awkward mess in person, so that leads me to...
3. Embracing goofiness. Taking photos of yourself is a little bit dumb, so let it be a little bit dumb. I write about fun poses here, in the context of menswear, but I think it's relevant to people who want to take photos. Eat on camera. Dance on camera. Interview a teddy bear on camera. Live your life well, and capture that, with every unusal beat it carries.
Feb 26, 2024
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Something cool I learnt recently is the theory of social thermoregulation. It’s a concept that suggests warmth, whether physical or social, can influence our feelings of connection and emotional well-being. The theory, in essence, proposes that our brains are wired to perceive warmth as a form of social comfort. When we feel physically warm—like when we’re holding a hot cup of tea—our brains associate that sensation with social closeness and feelings of security, even if we’re by ourselves.
Next time you’re feeling a bit lonely or disconnected, consider reaching for a cup of tea—not just for the taste or the comfort it offers, but for the warmth that could scientifically be helping your brain feel less isolated.
Jan 14, 2025
Jan 14, 2025
I think I’m obsessed with the way people talk after sex. The rawness of it, the unraveling. Not sex itself—no, sex is almost always… not what you think it’ll be. It’s not what movies promised or what your own mind built it up to be. It’s hands and limbs and sometimes good, sometimes okay, sometimes you’re just waiting for it to end. But, the moments after.
It’s messy, but not in the way sex is messy. It’s messy in the way people are messy, when their guard drops and the words spill out in no particular order. The room smells like skin and warmth and whatever happened before, and somehow, this feels more intimate than the act itself.
They’ll say something random, like how their mom used to burn toast every morning, or they’ll ask you about a scar you forgot you even had. They’ll let a sentence fall out that feels so tender, so unguarded, and you just know they didn’t mean to share it—but now it’s yours. And maybe you say something back, maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re just lying there wondering how you ended up in this moment with this person you thought you knew but didn’t, not really.
Jan 28, 2025