My YouTube Journey

In 2012, my twin sister and I started a YouTube channel out of extreme boredom. We would both obsessively watch 2012 beauty gurus, which inspired us to try and create similar content. This was my first taste of content creation and, since then, my passion for content creation and social media has continued to grow.

When we first started our channel, it was mainly for our own entertainment - we weren’t even aware that people were able to make money from being a ‘YouTuber’. We created makeup tutorials, ‘outfit of the week’ videos (OOTWs), morning routines, night routines, trending TAG/Challenge videos, and more.

Eventually, we decided to add one of our best friends to the channel. With this friend, we would film OOTWs during lunchtime at school. These OOTWs changed everything for us. These OOTWs would get thousands of views, which led to thousands of subscribers. This is when we realized that YouTube was more than just a hobby - it was a job, it was something we could monetize.

Throughout high school, we continued to create beauty and lifestyle content. Eventually, our friend left the YouTube channel and it was left to just me and my twin sister. We continued to create video ideas based on trending content that others were doing, and we would repeat old concepts that worked well for us in the past. We continued this hobby into college. However, towards the end of college, we lost our inspiration to keep growing the channel. We decided it was time to put our priorities towards getting jobs and graduating college. We continues to upload, but it was more for memories and our own entertainment.

A decade of creating YouTube videos taught me so much. I learned about content creation, social media strategy, influencer strategy, brand sponsorships/partnerships, and how to engage with audiences. I learned how to work studio lighting; how to edit on Final Cut Pro X; how to upload videos with effective video elements; and how to promote content on other social media platforms. But most importantly, having years of experience taught me about the ever-changing nature of social media, and how to strategize new and effective tactics to stay relevant.

YouTube has led me to so many cool opportunities. I have met new people, worked with brands I love, and I was able to get my first “big girl” job because of my video editing experience. While I don’t seriously do YouTube for myself anymore, I am able to apply it to my job and it taught me tools that will forever benefit me in the social media and marketing industry.

If you want to see the content I created, I linked below my channel and a few of our most popular videos.