Be the best version of yourself

Being a YouTuber is something unconventional for us to hear, in this town, and at the same time is very exciting. Tell us how does it make life different for you, if it does?

It does make life different for me because being a digital content creator is an unconventional profession. If today, I decide to become a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer or a chartered accountant, no one will question me about my decision because not a lot of people are aware about this profession. Initially, people didn't validate my decision of being a YouTuber but once you earn from it and gain public attention, people start taking you seriously.

Certainly, it changed my life. I am happier. I never wanted to go to a 9 to 5 job and sit behind a desk and do clerical work. Not that there is something wrong with it, a lot of people want to do it so don't want to condemn them but being in this profession makes me happy because here I am doing something I always wanted to do- Entertainment.

How did you ever convince your parents for this?

In fact, I did not have to convince my parents, they were really supportive throughout the whole process. Also, my parents and I come from two totally different generations with completely different mindsets. They come from a different thought of school.  I believe that if you want to become something in your life then you need to be the best at it and obviously your results and your hard work will transform your parent's thought process. 

You call yourself a digital content creator, what comes along with it?

For me personally, it brings a great sense of responsibility because being in this profession your life is like a fish bowl. Everyone around you is keeping note of your actions and is constantly judging you. You are responsible for what you are creating. We do not realize that our words are like bullets. They are supremely powerful and you need to be very cautious with your words because they have a direct impact on your audience which could be good or bad. 

So you have 300k followers on YouTube, 13.8k on Instagram.  What is it like meeting one of them?

 So, Last year, I went to the YouTube Fanfest as a viewer but to my surprise I met a lot of my fans there and I was like 'finally it’s not just the comments I am reading but the real people I am meeting'.

I think meeting my viewers is the best part of being in this profession.

Do you have any stalkers? What do you do about it?

 Yes, I do (laughs). When people wish to communicate with me, they usually try to connect through social media and I being generous, usually create a problem for me. I get requests on social media from my followers who want to talk to me and I reply to some of them. I remember a funny story.  It was my parent's marriage anniversary and I was at the party when one of my fans tried video calling me and asked me to pick her up so that she could wish my mom and dad! It was kind of creepy!

What do you do with hate comments? How do you interact with your audience, and what about feedback and positive criticism?

 Every person in the public eye has criticisers. I feel, responding to hate comments is like giving dignity to a non-issue, which is not required. Rather, I’d like investing my energy into the people who are actually supportive to the content. I make sure I do not reply to hate comments, so that I do not encourage them, but also to discourage people, who think that by writing hate comments they will get  my attention, unless once in a blue moon I have a very savage reply. I don't mind receiving positive criticism because it helps me improve myself for good and it is something that constantly keeps me grounded. I also love to receive feedback. in fact, my parents are my biggest critics. They tell me what's wrong in my video before I upload it. People need to understand that there is a difference between- 'I didn't like the sound of this video' and 'you don't deserve to be on YouTube'. There is a very thin line between positive feedback and trolling.

What is the theme of your YouTube channel, and what do you want it to represent? What message do you want to give out to people?

The theme is a little bit of everything. I don't want to be stereotyped by being just a comedy creator/actor. I want this channel to open new avenues for me in acting or any other entertainment business for that matter. My YouTube channel has all kind of videos including motivational videos, vlogs, comedy videos, sketch comedy, sketch acting videos. I want my channel to represent anything and everything but not negativity. I want my videos to be uplifting, relatable, positive and family friendly.

You have a social media platform, which gives you a voice and access to a large responsibili? What is your take on it?

It's a content creators choice to make whatever kind of videos they like but personally when I started out, I had a couple of things I was very fixated on.  I wanted to stick to my ethics while working on my passion. I know a lot of people who look up to me what I say or act in my videos. It takes a lot of thought process.

How do you come up with the content and how do you decide what content you resonate with?  Also, what content reflects what your motto is?

I believe that when a person comes to my channel to watch my videos, then those videos should be an escape for them from the reality. Again, not completely because I discuss a lot of real-life issues as well. People should watch my videos and feel happy and should be motivated. I resonate with the content that keeps me happy and also motivates me to deal with the problems.

What words of wisdom will you give If somebody wants to be a professional blogger, or content creator and wants to know where to start, what strategies to adopt? What  kind of life skills does it require?

There are two schools of thought, first, where people come prepared with ten scripts and fully equipped and second, where people start making content and learn during their journey. I have been on the latter, my teachers were unconditionally supportive.  I took part in co-curricular activities like debates, stage performances and poem recitations. If anyone out there wants to become a YouTuber, my advice would be just start with it, do not wait for the right time because there isn't any. My first video took me an entire day, it took a hundred takes and it took me two days to edit that video. It takes practice and constant efforts to learn content creation and video editing, but once you get used to it, it is rhythmic.

What message do you want to give to your viewers?

 I want to say that life is too short to stress about things like 'Why didn't I get into a good college' or 'Why wasn't I able to score well in that test'. It's alright to fail and it's alright to be sad and it's not end of the world. Don't be like 'Iss problem se hum kabhi nahi nikal sakte' because you will not only get over it but you will get over it beautifully.

Parsidha XII C

Cambridge International School for Girls

2019-2020