Hey YouTube World! It's me - Evelyn. Final video of 2014! There were a couple moment
there where I didn't know if I was gon' make it given recent events, in light of current
events.
[lip syncs Janelle Monae "Sally Ride"] ♫I'm packin' my space suit! And I'm taking my shit and movin' to the moon!♫
But all social and political monstrosities aside, I did want to take this time to reflect
on my year, little old me swirling through the cosmos, and extrapolate something from
my 2014. Can we do that? Are we ready? Let's go!
In my 2013 Year In Review video, I said that this year would all about building on what I've
learned, continuing to learn more, and just continuing to lay the foundation for the woman I want
to become and stuff.
And just by way of me being alive still, I feel like I've done that.
[Kenyan accent] I am growing!
But in my 2013 year in review video, I also gave a very concrete list of specific things
I wanted to accomplish in 2014. Be more disciplined, be less triflin. So, let's see how I did.
Read one book a month.
[laughs into infinity and beyond] [chokes with laughter]
No. I didn't -- no.
Entertain at my house more.
My apartment was the place to come to for Shondaland Thursdays. Grey's Anatomy, Scandal,
How To Get Away With Muder. Granted, I don't think I ever offered not nan one snack or
beverage, but I'm still going to count it as entertaining.
Publish more of my writing.
I actually published less this year.
Remember at the beginning of the video where I was talking about being less trifling?
Well I was A LOT triflin' in 2014.
My time management, and fear of emails. And so I need to work on building up those relationships
again.
Travel to the Motherland.
[Kenyan accent] We didn't have a chance to go, but my mother and father said - laughs
- But my mother and father said in 2015 we will go.
It's been about a decade since I've been to Kenya, and that sucks!
Although I didn't make it to the motherland, I did make a video about my racial and ethnic
identity as a first generation American.
And I think you should watch that video, I think you'll find it interesting.
Travel to the Colonizer's Land.
Like the way my monies is stacked?! Like the way the coins are aligned...is just NO.
Nope. But I did get a care package of UK goodies from former college roomate who's going to
grad school in Manchester. I made a video of my unboxing, so you can watch that too!
Dye my hair blue.
[uproarious applause]
My hair's still blue, actually. It's kinda dusty. It's a nice gray - it's a nice ashen
blue right now, but I did spend the majority of 2014 with blue hair.
Cut my hair off.
[background music plays]
[kids screaming YAY!]
Run 5 miles without stopping.
[eats a delicious pastry from my local Korean bakery]
Have someone permanently draw on my body.
[buzzing of the needle]
I don't know if you can see it.
Do more collaborations.
This is kind of a long one.
Youtuber lesliefoundhergrail invited me to be part of her collaborative storytelling
series "One Time", where youtubers are given a theme and we tell you about the one time that
thing happened.
Cristina helped me film my prettiest DIY video to date.
Jouelzy gave me the gift of eyebrows and we talked about racial and ethnic identies among
Africans and Black Americans.
GoziTV here on YouTube became my newest real life friend here in Austin. Ngozi's actually
the one who encouraged me to start doing these weekend vlogs and I played the role of the
The Sensible Black Girl in "Why Black Girls Aren't in Horror Movies Pt. 3"
Foolish White Girl: A Ouiji Board!
Ngozi: What? Why????
Me: Yup, it's about that time.
Ngozi: What time?!!!
Me and Sensible Black Guy: TIME TO GO.
Cheyenne invited me on her YouTube channel to sing about the woes of people asking to touch
my hair. We did a parody song, and it was featuring Akilah and MilesJai.
Trudy, the creator of 4CHairChick.com invited me amd my friend Hallease to create a 4 episode
web series over on the 4C Hair Chick YouTube channel. And it was just a really fun and really silly
natural hair Q&A series.
Doyin and I had the idea to create a web series together. Because that's what baes do. Austin,
Texas is a city that's experiencing rapid growth, and yet we are the only racial demograhic
that is actually decreasing in size. Meaning we're LEAVING the city just when everybody
else is flocking to the city. So "Austin While Black" will be a web series that focuses on
the black faces and spaces that are part of the Austin community.
I'm going to Nigeria! My cousin-slash-forcibly adopted big sister Ngozi Odita invited me
to be part of her team for the 3rd annual Social Media Week Lagos conference. So we've
started planning the conference, and I will be in Lagos come February.
Through Design Essentials and NaturallyCurly.com, I went to New Orleans for Essence Fest. Then
Alabama at the Natural Hair and Health Expo. Where I talked on a panel! On a stage!
I went to New York City with NaturallyCurly and Dark and Lovely Au Naturale to launch
a new product and finish up our web series, The Grow Out Diaries. Which me and my team
at NaturallyCurly.com directed and produced and...did everything - it was - wow I did
that!
Roshini and I swapped presents and squealed!
My Haitian cousin TastyKeish dropped some knowledge on you all the way from Caribbean
Flatbush.
Keisha: Do not get likes twisted for payment. Stay committed to yourself.
Because you can't eat likes.
[I bust out laughing]
And my proudest collaboration of 2014 was teaming up with Myleik Teele and CurlBox to
collectively raise over $18,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Take the GRE.
[guffaws]
No..! No!
Eat more waffles.
I think I threw this one in there just so I could have an easy one, you feel what I'm
saying, like I just have a resolution I knew I could achieve.
Find more Internet cousins!
I vlogged every day in April.
It's a great chance to interact with you at home. I've actually never really looked at
my channel's analytics???
So,
I just did, and it's telling me - what it's telling me is that I gained over 10,000 internet cousins in 2014!!!!
Thank you so much for entertaining my shenanigans.
WHAT?!?!?! Alright!!!!!!
So overall, how do you think I did?
In the comments below, tell me your proudest moment of 2014. Anything at all. Take this
time to brag. The floor is yours.
And if you're commenting that means #1 you're alive and #2 you have an internet connection,
both of which are a blessing.
I look forward to reading your comments, and God willing I will see you in 2015 on the
internet somewhere. Bye!
[lip syncs Marvin Sapp "Never Would Have Made It"]
♫Never woulda made it! Never coulda made it!♫