[Intro music]
What's up, guys?
Hi
We have to be very quiet during this vlog
Because my friend, Leo...
...has passed out behind me
No, I can speak in normal volume
He gave me permission
And I don't think that anybody is able to disturb him when he's sleeping
Welcome to the very first Fanders video of 2015
Woo!
I haven't posted a vlog in over a ye...
Yeah... I'm not going to make that joke
That's... WAY overdone
First order of business
I have to bring this to your attention
Because it's amazing
One hundred, thousand subscribers?!
You guys...
That's amazing!
That's mindblowing!
I've seriously got to step up my game now
I've got a bunch of awesome people out there watching, and...
It's still a growing audience, so thank you so much
for putting your trust
and interest in this little vlog, that I've just now started
only... a few months ago
Thank you so much, and I've got lots to look forward to in the year 2015, so...
watch out you guys, it's gonna be awesome
Seriously, you guys make me so...freaking happy
And that brings us to the theme of THIS video
Which is...
Why am I so darn happy all the time?
I can't quite tell you how many questions I've gotten
regarding why I am always so positive
Why am I always so bubbly or peppy all the time
But it's a lot
It was a lot of questions
And I thought, okay, so... they need an answer
And I can't really type one out
so I just figured I would make a video and talk with you guys about it
What kind of things keep me so positive all the time
And you know, it's an ongoing thing
It's like, obviously I have my ups and my downs
I'm not a continuous cartoon character!
[Cartoon sound effects]
But I definitely...
try to look on the positive side of things
Now before I go into any sort of note on
my own positivity
this is not a 'how-to' book on how to be happy
There are a lot of people
that suffer from depression and unhappiness
and it's not something you can just point to them and say
Get happy!
It's not...that easy
It's really not that easy
This is stuff that
I've been able to just, kind of like, philosophize on myself
But for the people that suffer from depression
Those people, we need to be there for them,
and support them
and provide them distractions in life...
You know, just be there for them
I care so much about them
and it's an important thing for me
to kind of be there, as whatever sort of a distraction I can for those that need it
But again, this is just stuff that I look at
to make myself happy
and just keep myself on that positive side of things
since people have been asking me,
where all of this positivity comes from.
First thing that I should bring up
Counting my blessings
I try, very hard, each night, before I go to bed
to... say a little prayer
and within the prayer
I count what I am thankful for,
for that day.
Whether it's hanging out with my friends
or the food I got to eat that day
If I was able to
stop by a McDonalds
Or just being able to help somebody less fortunate
or being able to make somebody happy through a message online
Or... just, you know
Counting the things that made me feel good that day
Hanging out with my parents, or my friends, or relatives
I just try to make sure that I reflect on that
Before you go to bed...
Think about things that you were thankful for that day, that happened
And then you can even broaden that spectrum to
things that happened during that week, that you were thankful for,
things that happened for your year.
It's just important to really reflect
on what you should be happy on
and it helps me to focus on the good stuff
I mean, because it's very easy to focus on the bad
You have to push yourself to focus on the good
And... you then realise
There's actually a lot of good things that did happen
And I hope that that's the case
But it definitely, you know,
Even the smallest thing,
It's just nice to be
thankful for something and it helps to kind of
feel good that it happens.
The second thing I tend to do is...
Sing
A lot!
[Singing] "Don't stop!"
[Singing] "Those that stumble and tho..."
[Singing] "A whole ne..."
[Singing] "When you're a jet..."
[Singing] "I wanna see you..."
[Singing]
Even if you're not a good singer
I would recommend just trying to
belt out your favourite tune
wherever
In your house,
In the shower,
In the car,
On a sidewalk,
Whatever
Just, it's just fun to kind of express yourself
If you're not a big singer, if sports is more your thing
Express yourself through sports
Or...
video games
It's a great way to kind of focus your energy on something
and give it your all and you're good at that
and it's just a nice way to kind of like,
power through things
It's able to help me...
I don't know, it rejuvenates the soul!
Something that makes you happy to do
Do it! That's your thing!
That's something to help you
Third thing I try to do, is if nothing else,
I usually have a favourite show
Right now, I'm currently obsessed with "Parks and Recreation"
and "American Horror Story"
and "Orange Is The New Black"
These shows are just kind of my little escape
You know, when you just need to watch something
to keep yourself entertained
It's just fun, to kind of...
Escape into a world and know those characters
and have just a lot of fun
There's always going to be times, even in my life,
when you come across hardship
and whether through loss...
Whether through love...
Whether through family issues...
You're always going to come across some sort of hardships
and in those times...
It's always helpful for me,
to kind of visualize that as the tough chapter in your life's story
It's kind of sappy, I know
but that's just how I think about things
If I am the main character of my own story,
you're going to have some chapters that are rough weather
and that's great, because it makes for a great story
You just have to know, that you're going to come out better on the other side of that storm
Whatever it may be
And you're going to come out of it, wiser than when you started
So... I always just look at things as speed bumps
Rather than ending points
You know? If you look at a problem
and you think "This isn't the end"
This is just a rough patch that you have to get through
and learn from
For me, it just helps me kind of process through things
and not take things too, you know... heavy
That's how I've taken to it!
Another thing that always continues to drive me
in my happiness
is just my curiosity for things
I like seeing... other people's perspectives on things
and seeing what they can do
I love learning and that drive of
putting myself in other people's shoes
and, you know, everybody's a person
so... everybody has a story
and I want to learn those stories.
So... it's always just fun to talk with people
To talk with you guys
I'm on Tumblr all the time, talking with people
It's just fun to get to know somebody
and to understand where they're coming from
and learn their talents
So many people out there are so talented
So skilled...
and just... amazing artists
and they share that talent with the world
It's so good
I think it's fun for me, because I just... geek out at like, everything
I geek out at so many things
Disney...
and artistry...
and Steampunk
and... you know, all this great stuff
So it's just easy for me to kind of go off and explore
and find people with similar interests
and identify with those people
I mean, the internet can actually be a very...
...fun place, to connect with people of similar interests
and realise
"Oh my goodness, you like this thing too! It's so cool"
But yes... I would say, going out there
and learning other people's stories
and connecting through those stories
on another plane that you never thought possible
is, just so good for the heart
So good for the heart
And it's definitely been something
that has been even greater of a possibility for me now
because I get to talk with people from all over the world
and it's just...
It makes my heart so big!
[Laughs]
Still asleep, Leo?
He is just so darn cute!
[Laughs]
That brings me to my final source of my happiness
and it's...
You guys
It's been wonderful getting to know all of you guys
and helping you any way that I can
and making you guys smile in some way
some small way
It's just been such a blessing to me
Because, honestly...
I've always been kind of the kid clown,
in my elementary school,
and in middle school,
It always makes my heart sing to make somebody laugh
and so to be able to do that on a global scale
Once again, it's just fantastic
I was always that kid
that was like, my heart went out to
those cartoons with Eeyore...
He would always look so sad, I just wanted to give him a big old hug
Ugh... Eeyore...
Eeyore, let's go cloud painting together
It was... that was just... that was heartbreaking for me
I wanted to make him happy
So... even as a kid.
Yeah, it's just been my sort of, perspective to
be the one to make other people happy
I think that that maybe comes across as really weird to people
sometimes on the internet
because they're like, you couldn't possibly be...
this positive all the time
And of course,
I do have those ups and downs,
but you just have to put that right perspective in
and... at least for me
It's a matter of me, changing my gears
Knowing what to be thankful for
Having my little bit of distractions through TV
and the internet
and following my interests
And it's been a great source of optimism and happiness for me
And of course, like I said, it does not work for everybody
and this is not a cure-all
For those people having trouble with depression
and sadness
and peer pressure
and family at home
Those kids...
I am going to do what I can to help
provide as much happiness
as I can for you guys
You guys... we need to be there for them
We need to be there for support
and care for them
because... they are going through a lot
They shouldn't be just told to
"Hey! Get happy!"
It's not that easy
We need to be there for them
Because I love them and we all should love them
and make sure that they're doing okay
Those of you guys, throughout the video,
Might have seen that my ring fingers were painted pink
and that is for solidarity with Leela Alcorn
who recently...
we lost... due to the negative pressures put on her
because of her gender identity
These are the kind of kids
that we need to be there for
To support them
To show that we stand with them
To help them through this tough time
Because... we can't afford any more losses
of wonderful, wonderful teenagers like Leela
That's about it, guys!
A little order of business
I have hoodies now!
This is not it...
You can find it at
I hope you check it out, they look so cool!
I'm excited!
I'm so excited to have hoodies now!
This is... unreal!
So cool!
I hope you enjoyed this video
Got a little insight into my life
and you got to see Leo sleeping!
[Laughs]
Please like and subscribe
and, also!
Another Q&A video is coming up soon!
And I will put out an announcement on Vine
to use the hashtag...
... for more questions that I will answer
Thank you so much, you guys!
And please, please, please, I hope that you're all doing so well
this new year
New goals!
This is it, guys!
2015!
Let's be happy...
Together!
See you later, Fanders!
OUT!
[Outro music]