About a year ago, I decided to start posting videos on YouTube. I preferred this form of content sharing to the short form content on Instagram. I uploaded fairly regularly, except for the two months since my last video. I needed a break. I needed some time to think about how I wanted to continue this journey. Below I will give you some insights into my insights and the reason for the long break.
I knew from the beginning that I didn't want to share my personal life like other youtubers do. I knew it would be about my artistic journey, my life as a young illustrator and student. But I soon realised that sometimes it is hard to separate the two.
Each form of art has always been something that helps me process what I have experienced. Especially the videos were often inspired by specific events in my life. So there is always a very personal factor, and that is fine. It makes each project special and unique. But the question is how obvious and how specific the personal factors are woven into the work.
I graduated in the first week of July. I knew that I would share the fact that I had graduated because it will change my everyday life completely. It will change the business and school life that I have shared so far. I knew that I had a whole summer ahead of me without any homework or exams and I planned to do several creative projects. I had already planned all the videos and content I'd be doing over the summer. But as so often, things turned out differently.
After graduating, I realised I wasn't going to make the video I had planned and started editing. I thought about it for weeks. Do I upload it? Should I not? Is it too personal?
I realised that it was good for me to make the video because it helped me to say goodbye to my old life. It was beautiful to have captured a lot of everyday moments for the days to come when I will look back and reminisce about those days.
I was uncomfortable with the idea of sharing the whole video and decided to make a shorter form of it. Less text, less personal thoughts, just a look back.
The reason I haven't uploaded another video about my planned creative projects is that I massively overestimated the time I would have. The summer went by much faster than I thought. And some of the ongoing projects are not yet finished as I had planned.
But no matter what, all those thought processes have probably helped me figure out more about the direction I want to go. Inspiration comes from something inside you. Sometimes it is easy to create and share. And other times you create for yourself and keep it to yourself.
I have a vague idea of the kind of videos I'd like to make. I'm now ready to take the next steps in my filming skills.
So stay tuned for what comes next.