Hey everyone I know it’s been a long time since I last posted a blog here and I want to apologize for that, I’ve had so much on my mind and work has been wearing me down lately. Now that I have some time, I want to take a moment to reflect on how far my YouTube channel Tostemac has come and what it means to me. At first it was just something fun to do with my brother Thomas. We would play some games, record the footage, add funny edits and then post them online. Later on as I added Autism videos to the mix I noticed that the channel started to change, evolve. The viewers who watched the content started to praise the content I created, ask questions and even share their own personal experience with the subject in question.
Of course I did not write my brother out of the channel, he still appears on the videos when he is able to and we even created a Twitch channel under the same name so that we can still stream video games for fun. As the years went on, I began to collaborate with fellow content creators for important topics like Autism and Dating as well as how Autism is portrayed in the media thus further expanding our respective networks. Moreover, I found myself always looking for ways to improve the content making them more visually appealing but also shorter and straight to the point, and eventually ended up doing something I never thought I would do. . . start a tradition.
The month of April is usually Autism Awareness and Acceptance month where people come together to promote Autism. However for someone like me who does Autism content all the time it felt kind of repetitive so instead I made a tradition where during the month of April I would challenge myself to try something new be it either making a heavily edited video of me and Thomas playing a childrens’ card game with visual effects, addressing the covid-19 pandemic and giving useful tips, spend an entire month going over advice on getting a job in the adult world or the more recent one create podcasts for people to listen to during their down time.
These April videos might not get too many views at first, but the views are not the point, that comes later. The point of the April tradition for me is to challenge myself to look beyond the usual routine, push the boundaries of what is possible for me and become a better content creator and person than I was before. Will other people try this tradition to take the month of April and try something new? I honestly don’t know, it would be awesome if other people give it a try, nevertheless I am enjoying this tradition because of how it is helping me grow. With my YouTube channel many doors have opened to me. I have been a part of radio interviews and podcasts, I met several amazing organizations that believe in my work, and I have helped people find answers to their questions and feel better about themselves.
Throughout the years Tostemac has evolved into something I can proudly show as a professional portfolio to the world. It has become my greatest creation, my personal legacy and in some cases my coping mechanism. Recent years have not been kind with plans being altered drastically due to the pandemic as well as how difficult it can be at my workplace. After long days of work that leave me exhausted and drained it can feel so good to check on my YouTube channel and see so many people appreciative of the content I make. I hope to keep working on this project of mine for years to come as it has made such a positive impact on my life. What about you? Have you ever worked on a personal project that changed your life for the better? Let me know!
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