videos/channels i enjoyed lately
Feeling like sharing some of my recent finds.
I've been checking up on Mochii's channel for quite a while now. She always inspires me to stay weird, silly and creative, and reminds me that you are still cherished and admired when you are different. I feel pushed to finally get deeper into my personal style :) The stuff she's saying might not be novel or can be a little bit naive due to age or lack of experiences, but I still enjoy watching it and thinking of my own reasons or thoughts. Her videos feel like early YouTube and very earnest and non-performative. Recent videos I loved were: The magic of reconnecting with your inner child, The purpose of the Muse in society, and Your lack of emotional boundaries is making you fear intimacy. The Muse video came at a good time, since I had recently scheduled an upcoming 'small thoughts' post that kinda deals with you clashing with the mental image others have of you in your head, specifically about kindness. You'll see.
I came across abracadeborah's channel two days ago and have been binging it. I love these sorts of art channels and at events that have them, I am glued to the artist alley, spending a lot of money on stickers <3 What specifically interested me were her videos on her art shop rebrand, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. I didn't seek this out, but once I saw one video, I wanted to know more. It has weirdly inspired me to try and make a brand kit some time, mainly for my other more professional website I haven't linked here, but maybe also for my matcha blog. I could also do one for fun for this blog, as a practice and intention. Don't worry, none of this blog is getting used as a portfolio or monetized1; I just like the creative aspect of being intentional about color palettes being used and how, you know? This blog started so casually and with tweaks here and there over the years, it's interesting to me to sit down and see what has stayed and became a staple - like my heart scribble underneath the title. I have always winged everything about its design, lots of it was on a whim or randomly picking a color until it "looked right", but I wanna see if I can retrospectively see some rules and trends in the way I design things.
I've been happy to see that D'Angelo is back. I was scared I wouldn't like his new format, but I've been liking it even more than his old stuff. I love how unapologetic he is about things and the nuance he brings to the discussion. It takes a lot nowadays to not letting the masses push you into very specific categories of opinion, especially in his position where thousands of people can yell at him in the comments. It's refreshing to see someone with clear boundaries, a clear view and approach to things that is not dancing around viewer/algorithm approval in the commentary space. It's been pointed out by many lately, but it can feel like all commentary YouTubers release the same video at the same time with the same opinions, and even when I disagree with D'Angelo sometimes, it's never sensationalized, never presented as the only truth, and it's well-reasoned. It feels calm and like a conversation in real life where all parties assume the best intent. It's an upgrade compared to his old content, especially after what happened to him before the break, when he tried his best to please a very difficult small part of his viewership that were unreasonable in their expectations. If a lot of eyes in a given space are directed at you, there's this pressure to accommodate everyone, bow to all demands, and be very neutral, very nice, forgiving and open to anything. The new D'Angelo reminds me that you don't have to do that. He has a bit of a spat going on with Caleb Hammer (an extremely toxic and disgusting person) at the moment, and at the end of one of the videos, he reacted (around 32:10) to Caleb backtracking his mean stuff and wanting to collaborate and directly talk with D'Angelo. And D'Angelo openly says that he doesn't wanna talk, and he accepts how that can be spun into him being seen as intolerant, and that he doesn't care and meant everything he said. Kudos to that. You cannot let people's (at times absurd) reactions dictate what you say or stand for.
I've been following Madisyn Brown for a while as well, and she has also shifted her content and approach lately. I'm glad she "graduated" from the commentary videos she did before. She seems happier, glowier, and I appreciate witnessing others pursuing their passions unironically, unashamedly and forcefully. I loved Stop waiting for life to give you permission because it comes at such a fitting time for me; trying to bruteforce all the doors open for me. Volunteering more, finishing my degree faster, doing extra work at work and networking with people and annoying leadership to get stuff done that I want to see2. :) Madisyn is very laser-focused on her music career and candid about everything she needs to do for it. What was especially healing to hear is the aspect of owning what you want to be, being upfront about it and not being afraid to call yourself what you are and want to be. There's this hesitancy for people to finally embrace a label - at what point can you call yourself a writer, an artist, a singer, a songwriter, a poet, a blogger, a privacy professional? We set up milestones for that that seem arbitrary at times and sometimes move the goalposts until we are finally a "real" (label). But you can't be afraid to step onto the scene and to introduce yourself like that. It helps tremendously to wake up in the morning and pretend you already are the person you want to be - privately, professionally, whatever. If you put in the work, you are that. You can't wait until a specific moment or until someone else calls you that or a permission slip to start doing that for yourself.
- Mikki C is an older trans woman sharing her journey around recently coming out and starting hormones. There's a lot said about the challenges around employment and family - she was fired for coming out, and her ex-wife is scared for how it will affect their daughter. But there are good moments too, like finding new work, finding support in the local theater club, and first changes in presentation. I am kind of invested in following the journey now :)
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I actually have a scheduled post that will go up in a while about how bothersome I find it that lots of the internet has to be monetized or be someone's portfolio or SaaS attempt. While writing it, I wondered: Am I a hypocrite, am I doing this here too? After all, I write more about data protection, a career I am working towards and already partially engage in, and I plan to host some DPO interviews. But I have no plans to ever link this blog in a CV, or to my professional presence, or put it on a business card. I try to act in a way that if an employer ever found this, it wouldn't harm them or me, but I would not intentionally make it known to them. An exception would be if they found me through my blog and wanted to hire me, I guess, but that is slim :) If you are personally passionate about a field, I guess it is bound to mix private and professional; but on here, I can talk about it way more casually and I try to break concepts down to laypeople, especially things that touch them (usually around social media and similar). Professionally, I'd love to work with health data, AI compliance, and potentially work in research, NGOs and government bodies. This blog is about engaging with the field as a hobby, which is different to what I would like to do with it as a job.↩
More about that in my path to data protection post (very long).↩