This was my first commentary video ever.
We could laugh at the terrible mic audio, the shy voice, and the fact that only 200
people cared enough to watch it, but that’s irreverent.
It’s nowhere near perfect, but it did help me get to where I am today.
The reason why I created this video was to pursue a dream, no matter how distant it felt
at the time.
5 years later, the success of this YouTube channel is definitely that dream manifested.
However, I can tell you now it’s not all rainbows and butterflies, like my 17 year
old self thought it would be.
There are mentally challenging parts about being a YouTuber that often get overlooked.
The things people don’t talk about: The time it takes to finish editing a video, the
strategy of creating different types of thumbnails, the patience to put up with the unpredictable
algorithm, the ability to ignore the trolls, and hate comments,
and hardest of all, staying committed even when it gets lonely, or frustrating at
times.
It’s so easy to visualize the good parts of the dream life, but what we often fail
to realize is there is a dark side to every dream.
No path is perfect, there is always a consequence, a price to pay, and that’s fine if one is
willing to take the good with the bad, but the problem is some of us use this as an excuse
to not do anything at all, to avoid potential pain, or conflict.
And that’s exactly what Steven does in Steven Universe episode: Future Vision.
This episode revolves around the main character, Steven, and this character named Garnet.
Early in the story, Garnet reveals to Steven she has the ability to see possible outcomes
to future events.
So she uses this power as a way to warn Steven about any action he considers taking throughout
the episode.
For instance, he might want to eat lunch but that would involve the possibility of him
choking to death.
He might want to walk down the sidewalk, but there is a possibility he might fall down
a sewer hole, and even if he decided to simply stand still, there is a possibility he could
get a really bad sunburn and die.
If I were to compare this to the real world, on one hand, this is true, you could die in
the stupidest way at any moment, but on the other hand it’s like “really?”
Is an evil alien cat really going to be the cause of your death?
I know that’s just a dumb example from this cartoon, but many fears that we have in life
are that ridiculous, and most likely won’t happen.
Plus, it’s obvious Garnet is just messing with him.
These disturbing “what if” scenarios frightens Steven to the point where he starts looking
at everything as a potential threat to his survival.
Garnet reassures him he has control of his outcomes, but then warns him to not go on
the roof, to avoid another possible conflict, but the anxiety is too much for him to handle,
so he decides to go on the roof anyway, as an attempt to “face his fears head on, and
to accept "the horrible thing that’s going to happen to him”.
Garnet runs out, yelling at him to get off.
It is at this point where she regrets telling him about her power to predict possible outcomes
of the future.
She then gives him a bit more clarification to his situation.
I was nervous to upload my first commentary
video 5 years ago.
I knew there were risks involved, such as: What if nobody watches my videos, what if
people make fun of me, and what if it doesn’t work out in general?
All of these were realistic possibilities at the time, but imagine if I never would
have started.
Chances are, I would still be working a job I wasn’t passionate about, I would not have
gone on to help millions of people, and I would have been lost trying to find meaning
in my life.
A Laker legend once said, “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”
You don’t find satisfaction in life by your dreams simply being handed to you, the satisfaction
comes from all the hard work, and dedication finally paying off, a chance you take being
properly rewarded.
It’s like going on a scary roller coaster.
The fears immediately pop in, “why am I doing this?” and then when the ride is over
you go, “Oh my God, I can’t believe I just did that.”
That is where true satisfaction is found.
Sure, anything can happen, at any moment.
You never know when your life will be over, so you should make the most of it, but you
should do it out of love, and not out of fear.
Those that are living their best life aren’t worried about the small amount of bad things
that could happen, they’re too busy focusing on the infinite amount of good things that
could happen, and as a result, they attract positive outcomes for their future.
So unlike Steven, we shouldn’t stress about making the wrong decision, we should just
make a decision and make the most out of it.
We shouldn’t let our fears destroy us since the Universe is not against us.
The Universe is with us, helping us.
I’ll watch out for myself from now on.