January 30, 2023, I set up my phone and videoed myself for my first YouTube video. What prompted me was my age and a slight health scare. I had just turned sixty earlier in the month and I found a lump on my abdomen. I have already lost four of my brothers to death;Two to heart attacks, one to drowning, and the fourth to cancer. So, my mind was making up all kinds of scenarios. 

My husband preceded them in death and I longed to have a tangible way to see him and hear his voice. Except for VHS tapes and a few videos recorded on our old computer, I don’t have his voice recorded. Technology in the early 2000’s is now ancient. I do have a few videos of his on YouTube that he put on it for our church youth. When I long to hear him, I watch that one skit that he and I were in together, so I can hear his voice and his laugh. It is saved to my channel and is private. 

With all these thoughts in mind, I decided YouTube would be a place I could leave my memory if something happened to me. After all, social media seems to live forever. 

I set a goal for 365 videos in a year. That’s how innocent I was about making videos. I had no idea the work it takes to post a video, much less thinking about topics to film. I jumped in with both feet. All the advice channels for having a YouTube channel said, “You need a niche.” I don’t have one. 

The nice thing about documenting my life on video is looking back and watching some of my accomplishments. I videoed family, trips, and the mundane of life. I have enough shorts of my cat, Pippin, to laugh at. I started my ebay store and documented it. I videoed concerts I attended when I volunteer usher, and some general thoughts about my life around my home. 

I discovered I am way more introverted than I had previously thought. I repeat words and use ‘um’ and ‘so’ and ‘pretty’ more than anyone should, and learned I have a weird way of ending my laugh. It’s hard to watch an older version of myself on video. In my mind, I’m much younger. I’m intensely aware of the spots on the back of my hands. There I am in all my glory, laughing, traveling, and talking and I’m not ashamed of any of them. 

I’ve learned to edit videos. At the beginning, I simply hit record and publish. However, now I video and edit before I hit publish. I bought a camera, microphone, and lights to help with sound and lighting inside the house. Never before have I thought about copyrighted music playing in the background. 

My goal changed from simply documenting my life to having subscribers. I am no where near a great number of subscribers, and my views usually range somewhere between 10 to 150 views per video. I did have one viral video from when I went to a rodeo in town and filmed the rodeo clown. It has about 98 thousand views, which surprised the heck out of me! It was amazing to watch those numbers climb. It’s hard watching a video not get any views also. 

I thought since I was making the videos that I could earn income. I’m forever looking to add to my finances. I’m tired of living with strangers in my Airbnb home and have no desire to GrubHub anymore. I’m extremely aware of my upcoming retirement.  However, at this rate, it will take those two and a half years to talk people into subscribing to my channel. YouTube requires 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours to begin earning money through ads. 

My goal is still to be present in this world, after I pass, for my son and future grandchildren, should I be blessed with them. I now am. Today, I have one hundred forty-two videos published of my three hundred sixty-five (so silly) goal. For now, I will continue my documentation of another year. I’d like to be more transparent when I’m feeling low or have an opinion on something. It’s much easier to video a pleasant day than a rotten day. I’d like to document more substance and activities with friends, my work, and with my walk with my Savior.

I took the first step last year by merely hitting ‘record’ on my phone. This year my word is “consistency” and I plan on purely being that without a number in my mind. 

If you joined me in this walk last year, thank you. If you want to join me for the future year. Look for me on YouTube @BeccaContinues

Thank you my friends for reading. It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged and my words feel rusty.