the hardest part is starting

so this is me starting because apparently i have even more to say

A cliché statement, yes, but a true one. The hardest part is, in fact, starting, and here I am doing it!

One of my simple joys in life is telling a story. Story telling was the main reason for starting my YouTube channel four years ago and now the main reason for creating this Substack. Don’t tell my videos this because I love all of my work equally, but every once in a while I crave an outlet to share my thoughts with no frills, aesthetics or background music (literally). Writing has been a cornerstone of my life over the past few years, but it has always been in tandem with the perfect shot, music, and editing. And while my writing will continue to be a part of my YouTube channel, I thought I would finally give it a space of it’s own. I have wanted to share my writing for years and although it has been a bit of a journey to get here— I have finally arrived!

Photos from Pinterest and taken by me ♡

A Backstory

I want to go back in time for a moment, so let me set the scene: it is March of 2022. I am sitting in my studio apartment that I moved into three months prior and I am staring at my laptop (very similarly to how I am right now). I recently hit 5,000 subscribers and am finally starting to feel like I have a voice on YouTube, so naturally I wanted more. I google “How to Start a Blog” and hit enter.

I have always loved writing from a young age. I loved writing for fun in class. I would write short stories on our family computer. I was even in Power of the Pen in middle school. (I just wrote this sentence and all of a sudden realized this may not be a nationwide thing and just a niche Ohio writing tournament for middle schoolers).

(Ok update: it is in fact a niche Ohio writing tournament for middle schoolers)

The point of the story is— I loved writing.

Somewhere along the way though, I fell out of it. I started finding other ways to express myself and be creative and I stopped giving myself permission to write for fun outside of a school setting.

It wasn’t until I started my YouTube channel that I started writing again. It started out small— a video idea here, a script there. Until all of a sudden I found myself writing full essays and turning them into videos. To this day, my favorite videos to create are video essays based on journal entries I write. Once I started making those, I got bit by the writing bug again.

Oh wait, back to the 2022 story.

So I typed “How to Start a Blog”, pressed enter and opened an entire can of worms into the world of blogging. Over the course of the next 72 hours, I attempted to learn as much as I possibly could about blogging. The logistics, the creative aspects, the growth. I wanted to know ALL of it and by the end of those 72 hours— I did. I took a course and decided on my content. I even made a logo. Now, the only thing left to do was start.

Then (to make a long story short) life got weird and busy. Three years went by without me starting and all of a sudden I woke up two days ago and decided I have to start writing again. Right. Now.

So, here we are! My very first Substack post. I am so excited writing this right now I have butterflies in my stomach. I have had that desire to write for the past three years, but the thought of taking this first step to actually start was terrifying. The biggest one being that starting an actual “blog” scared me. There were so many logistics, it felt so hard to get off the ground. I kept pushing it off, saying I needed to brush up on my knowledge and learn more before I started. There were so many technical aspects holding me back from actually just sitting down and writing.

It wasn’t until my wonderful manager said casually in conversation the other day, “Hey, maybe try Substack”.

This is the part where I point out that I am a bit stubborn. My manager had probably recommended getting into Substack one, two, maybe even three times at this point. But one thing about me, I will procrastinate even the simplest tasks for days and weeks until one day I wake up and, for no apparent reason, decide to just do it. So, in the past when she would recommend it, I would jot down “Substack” on some list to eventually get to and then a week later forget. (Sorry Morgan).

However, this most recent time…the timing could not be more perfect. A few days ago my spark for writing was reignited when pulling together some writing samples to submit to a potential job and I was feeling extremely optimistic about it. Flash forward to a day later on my quarterly meeting with my management team to go over my current goals. I mention I want to start writing again. Cue Morgan’s “Hey, maybe try Substack” and now I think we are all caught up to date.

I think this is going to be the perfect fit for what I want write and share with all of you. Which now brings me to my next point—

Why should you subscribe?

besides these reasons tbh

1. More details, more fun

If you are reading this right now, you most likely know I have a YouTube channel (assuming that is where you came from to get here). And if you don’t know— surprise I’m on YouTube too! I want to use this newsletter as a way to connect with you outside of my regularly scheduled videos. I have a LOT of topics I could expand upon that are sometimes cut to short on YouTube for the sake of time and the flow of the video. This is going to be a space for me to reflect and go into detail on all things regarding my life, my channel and performing with personal stories, essays and more!

2. Building a solid community

Community online is extremely important to me. I love being on the same page with you and being able to keep in touch. We are starting to see how unpredictable social media can be and I want to make sure no matter what I can always reach you! By subscribing you join my email list and become a more cemented part of our corner of the internet (yay)!

3. Behind the scenes

I am looking forward to sharing more behind the scenes with you regarding YouTube and being a full time content creator. I get a lot of questions regarding my channel, editing, brand deals, etc. and I hope to use this platform as a resource to dive into those topics even more and give you a behind the scenes look at my daily life.

4. I get to see you every week

I will be sending out a newsletter weekly, which means besides my typical YouTube schedule we will get to see even more of each other. Expect at least one newsletter per week, plus some extras if you become a paid subscriber.

I know what you might be thinking right now PAID? Don’t worry a portion of this Substack will always be free (and my YouTube is always free as well).

But, I am going to keep it real with you guys. I have decided to put up a paywall for certain things to make my content as sustainable as possible. For those who decide to become a paid subscriber, you can expect additional newsletters, access to my archives, and more of an input on what kind of content you want to see from me.

I want you to know your support does not go unnoticed and I appreciate each and every one of you who is a part of our community. Without you I would not be able to do this and because of that I want to make the best content I possibly can.

5. This will be fun!

This is the year for trying new things and I really hope you join me in that. I want to expand my creative endeavors and keep learning more. So here’s to a year of creativity and new beginnings!

I’m ready to write 🥹

Looking forward to more,

Alexis

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