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My relationship with YouTube is a complicated one.
Like most people, watching YouTube videos has become a part of my regular media consumption regimen. I turn my TV on in the morning if no one else’s still asleep, load the app, and start going through my home screen to see what interesting fresh new content there is. I don’t defer naturally to my subscription box as some people do. Part of what makes the platform interesting to me is that I’m able to see what else is out there without having to make a concerted effort to find it. Since most of it isn’t serialized, and is in short-form, it allows me the comfort to settle upon a video, watch it, see if I like it and then hit the subscribe button; fully reserving the right to unsubscribe later if I lose interest.
I’ve always thought one of the most interesting and creative corners of YouTube has always been vlogging. What was internet’s craze in the past decade, in written form, has now taken on a life of its own. It started living, it started breathing, it started to walk and talk, and it spoke to me in ways I never thought were possible.
Four years ago, when mom and dad got a divorce, I was in a bit of an existential slump. I’d recently graduated high school, and was on…
