Why you should start a YouTube channel!

Lock down and being furloughed from my work has gotten me a bit bored to say the least. I am enjoying being off work and can have a lie in to watch endless amounts of movies. However, I feel as though I have watched and rewatched every movie and show Netflix and Amazon Prime has to offer me. I even got the Disney plus free week trial to have a nice week of animations and fairy tales, which I did thoroughly enjoy. It has now been nearly two months of constant TV shows and movies that I now feel as though I have no concentration left to really enjoy my favourite shows. To combat my lock down boredom and bring back my concentration, I have even taken up answering paid online surveys online.

One night, while on a three-hour survey binge I decided enough was enough and that I wanted to become more productive. I remembered my friend and I jokingly talking about how we should start a YouTube channel and become the new duo. I grew up watching YouTube and even now, still enjoy watching YouTube content. When I was younger, I always wanted to become a creator but was too scared of what others thought. A HUGE MISTAKE.

The next morning, I messaged my friend to say I was serious about the YouTube channel, she was game and that was it. The pact was made, and we decided to put our all into our channels. My friend and I decided we would post every Monday and Friday to keep us motivated. I thought two days a week was fair, I wanted to keep busy but not overkill so I would not lose my spark for it. That day, I pondered what to call myself and then created my very own channel.

Now I studied TV Production for a year in college, which gave me basic knowledge on set up and editing. I felt like the world was in my hands. This was all well and good, but the editing software I had used at college was not free and I only had an iPhone for a camera. However, this did not put me off and I was still feeling eager. So, I sat in my garden and with my phone in hand, I pressed record and off I went. I gave a little introduction on who I was, and I felt invincible. I edited a video of my cat into the video and up it went, I felt like a proud mother. I spammed every group of friends I had and begged them to like and subscribe to me. I felt the thrill as fifty people had viewed my very first video! They had viewed my creation! I was super happy that I had created something that people watched and liked! This was rewarding!

Honestly, I was expecting to make one video then give up, but this was not the case. I was super excited to create more videos and made my YouTube banner and thumbnail for my video! This channel was my creation and I wanted to be proud of it!

If you are pondering starting a channel or are just bored, I think you should make the leap and do it. It does not matter what equipment you have. If you have a phone or laptop and internet, then that is you sorted! I use iMovie and Inshot on my phone, which are great free apps if you wish to edit! I am only on my sixth video, but I am learning so much about editing and about myself. I am exploring the things I really enjoy and want to share with the world. I think that is empowering! You may worry about comments and trolls, but you can always turn comments off just as a safety blanket. If you want to unleash your creativity, recognise your confidence and be yourself (or someone else) then go for it!

Now, by no means am I expecting to become the next Zoella for instance but YouTube is giving me the motivation I need to get dressed in the morning (you know how it is in lock down). It gives me a reason to have creative personal goals. I plan to keep my YouTube channel going after lock down too. Creating content is fun and gives me a confidence I never thought I had. I post videos on what I like. I find this liberating! At college I loved filming but hated that I had to act in other people’s videos. YouTube has allowed me to be myself and have control on what I create! It has given me targets to reach and unleash a different creative side I never thought I had! I have control over what I post and can do it at my leisure as well. Those are my reasons why starting a YouTube channel was the best decision I made in lock down and why you should start your own YouTube channel. The freedom it brings is why I will continue to post more content for my 20 subscribers!

Shameless self-plug here but you can check out my channel and follow me on my YouTube journey! My name is ‘Ciara With a C’ on YouTube (creative I know). I am going to create fun videos about writing, film, music, and things I love. If you do decide to begin your creative journey, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!