Theresa
It started with recording memories. I used to do scrapbooking with a lot of cards and crafts, matching colors and putting a page together. For holidays, instead of buying gifts, I used to always make things. Growing up, I only lived with my mom. When holidays came, we didn’t feel any holiday spirit and didn’t have relatives around. I would invite my friends over and I would decorate the house in order for them to feel like it was worth coming to our house for a holiday. That's a passion of mine.
When I was planning for my wedding, I decorated and designed everything. I like helping friends with parties or themed events. When I’m doing it, I’m really happy. Sometimes my husband will say I have too much free time because I have a full time job and then I come home and am still working. But, it’s not working for me. I really enjoy it and could spend the whole night making something, and it makes friends and other people happy. It makes me happy.
I’ve been teaching for a while and that’s all I’ve ever done. I teach 1st and 2nd grade, but I find that I have a hard time with public speaking in front of my peers. The first thing I thought about was how people do YouTube videos and they’re really good at speaking. I thought of what I could record that would be interesting.
My initial shot at doing videography was a vlog, recording wherever I go. After that, I did a fall decor video of things you can make at home to spruce up your house during the fall. I made apple tart recipes and anything that you can make at home. I really enjoy doing handicrafts, anything DIY. The passion has always been there, but now I want to work on something that’s productive to me like public speaking, and putting that together with something I enjoy, which is craft.
Recording and editing take a long time. I do a lot of edits and retakes. It’s challenging, but it helps to practice speaking before doing it in front of a real audience. Because I’m a teacher at heart, people say that I’m always going to be a bit immature and the jokes I make will always be cheesy. So, my videos are kind of cheesy in that sense. In a way, doing these projects is like teaching too, just in a more creative outlet.
I’m an introvert so doing this is really hard for me, but I want to share my passion with people. I feel like a lot of introverts don’t get to share what they’re interested in. People think they’re just quiet and shy, and that they’re boring. But, I’m not boring! I can do stuff!
It’s important to have your own sense of self in what you’re doing. People will criticize you. Youtube is so public- anyone can say anything. After I got my first criticism, it was hurtful for a while because I worked so hard on it and did hours and hours of editing. But now, I’m at a better state, where I can take what you’re going to say and I’m still going to be doing this. It's important to have friends telling you that you should keep doing what you're doing. I understand why people aren't doing it- you're vulnerable. But, this ties back to faith. You know you're doing this because you love it and God gave you this craft or talent, and you should just go for it. It doesn't really matter what people think.