Depths of Dan and Phil

Do you ever feel like you're obligated to know what you're doing in life the minute you turn 18? Have you ever been given the impression that you need to be extremely confident to be validated in life once you're an adult, and a struggle to have social skills like a "normal" person would just make you worthy of being shoved to the side like you're not worthy? Well, the dynamic duo that consists of Daniel Howell and Phil Lester are just the examples to prove to you that awkwardness and any types of struggles doesn't mean you aren't worry of current help/respect or a good future to look forward to.

First off, let's talk about Daniel Howell. He grew up with plenty of social struggles that have actually been expanded on just recently. He has had struggles making long-term friends let alone a best friend for the first 18 years of his life, and also had his fair share of bullies since he has grown up to be a good person and didn't see it in himself to fight back or turn to someone for help, basically. Due to the struggles with bullying, he eventually developed a hatred for the kind of person he was (nerd, loner, thespian, gay as he finds out later on, etc.) and has done his best use internalized oppression and, later, emo as a coping mechanism and escape from what he feels to be the source of his issues. Even when he has reasons to lash out throughout his school years and the teachers in his life didn't provide the help that he needed, he still found himself being a nice person or, as he puts it, "the human embodiment of Winnie the Pooh." As much as he wanted to be an actor, he changed his mind for some reason and took a gap year to raise money before going to into law school, which he would later drop out from after on after an emotional struggle that turned out to be an eye opener for him that he didn't want to be a lawyer after all. When he was in his college years, though, he eventually had someone and something he could turn to, other than being alone playing Runescape.

Now, remember when I said that Dan didn't have a best friend for the first 18 years of his life? Well, let me introduce you to Phil Lester. As one would hear a lot on the web, Phil is extremely sweet. Along with that, he is, like Dan, social awkward in his past and present and is a self proclaimed magnet that drew in weird people (probably because it takes one to find one). Along with the awkwardness, more experience with college, and messing around with a camera he won from a cereal box, he also had to deal with the death of a former best friend, but proceeded to be happy and take on more opportunities since he knew his friend wouldn't want him to be sad or shy away. Eventually, him messing around with the camera and, eventually, posting the videos on YouTube paid off as he got inspiration to improve on his skills making videos and eventually met friends through the power of YouTube, such as Chris Kendall, PJ Liguori, and, of course, Dan after bonding over similar interests, which included Muse and Youtube.

Phil actually inspired Dan to work on videos of his own, and was a piece of the help Dan needed as proof that things do get better in the future. They eventually moved into an apartment together and made videos where they expressed their weirdness and shared what went on in their minds that consisted of them revealing their awkward moments in the real world and the chemistry between each other that proved to be a combination of funny and cute (depending on who you ask). Their attention on the web caught the attention of BBC Radio 1 for several years and, while they left that part of their lives, there were more opportunities for them in the future, such as guest voice acting, working on videos with other youtubers, making two books together, going on two tours together, a few calendar shoots and even having a gaming channel together that, by the time of the uploading on this article, is still on a hiatus.

So, why am I making this article right now? Well, Daniel Howell has made a video of himself recently that, not only talked about his sexual orientation, but the struggles that he had to deal with growing up surrounded by bullies that loved to throw homophobic slurs at his face willy-nilly, even before he knew the meaning of the word "gay." As a wise, painful, and in-depth choice made by someone who is also an ambassador for mental health, of the topics he brought attention to was the fact that the impact of many external factors caused him to have the idea to attempt suicide. He has also brought attention to the fact that there can be help for people out there are a brighter future ahead for people when things get bleak (as well as leave in the description of said video the links to different charities and organizations that help people with their mental health, especially those within the LGBT community). He goes into depth of the battles he has gone through, his hopelessness he has felt. The attempts he made to try and feel accepted, and helpful messages for those who are watching (such as not demanding too many details of his personal life, don't pressure someone to come out when you don't know a lot about their circumstances, be aware that there are opportunities and people you'll miss out on if you end your life, so on and so forth).

Dan and Phil had their fair share of awkward moments in their youths and plenty that will keep coming, but the fact that they have walked through these experiences of social and mental hardships and survived to help people who are also dealing with such things says a lot about those of us who feel uncertain of ourselves due to not being socially perfect or being bullied and people around us preferring to be bystanders than potential victims. They may not have the answers to everything, but watching at least several of their videos might either give you a good laugh to make you feel better about yourselves, provide some advice to you that you might need, or maybe even both.

Be sure to share this and/or leave a tip if you wish and, until the next post, please enjoy the first video these two formerly emo soulmates (no matter the degree) have made together.