YouTube Channel

I'm one of those people that's almost constantly on YouTube watching video game playthroughs, podcasts, and craft channels - mostly as background company while I do something else. During the pandemic I started streaming on Twitch under the name Simmerena, I would edit the VODs and upload them to a YouTube channel. Once life opened up to return to markets and leaving the house, I struggled to balance this new passion and it fell by the wayside. I always missed that community though. In the past year, I rebranded my stream personality to 'Auntie V' and worked on my setup to get back into it. And I did for a while, loving every second of it, but as always something derailed my routine and I lost that momentum.

Starting is the hardest part of everything.

I don't know about you, but I find starting anything is the hardest part of doing it. Stopping halfway through is also a huge project killer, and then starting again is the hardest thing to do. This is why it takes me months or years to get anything done. Some days I wake up with all the energy and get a week's worth of tasks around the house done, with some self-care for bonus, and other days I'm planted on the couch internally screaming at myself for being a waste of life and resources for 14hrs straight. This is the war of my brain for my entire adult life.

I am not in control of when I get those days or how often they happen. What I do have is autonomy - the ability to do whatever I desire - yet my brain is wired to forget that fact at almost every single possible moment.

Of course, life has it's responsibilities, which makes it that much harder to just do what you want and live a happy carefree existence. They say money doesn't buy happiness, but I think that's a load of bollocks because I know for a fact I would have a happier existence if money wasn't a problem!

Anyway, I've been battling with my brain about finding time to stream again and those self-rot days have become more frequent. In an effort to be kinder to myself and just try something, I've decided to forget livestreaming for now and play with recording instead.

Done is better than perfect.

So I want to introduce you to the Auntie_Vee channel and the new series I've started that takes advantage of the set I've built at Lincs Dark Side. This is a reading series, nice and cosy, where I read aloud short stories or novels a chapter at a time. I can record these easily when I feel a pocket of time becomes available, as it's a really simple format. The recording quality isn't perfect, but it's a start and can be improved over time. Everything has to start somewhere.

I'd appreciate it if you checked it out, get involved in the conversation, and subscribe to the channel if you'd like to follow the series. Click on the image below to go straight to the video.

What else will be on the channel?

I'd really like to get back into playing video games with an online community, I miss it terribly and it's a great escape from the horrors of everyday life. To tackle the hurdles in my head keeping me from starting up on Twitch again, I'm instead going to simply record sessions of playing games I enjoy or am new to and upload them with no editing, as though they were livestreamed at some point. This will shorten the overall process for me, making it much more accessible and fun for my brain rather than work. Personally, I prefer watching this format over a fast-paced edited YouTube video and often stick a 6hr Sims VOD on the TV while I work on my laptop.

Don't get it twisted, I'm not expecting to become some famous YouTube personality with a million subscribers or make any money from this, it's not about that. This is about engaging my worker-programmed brain to engage in hobbies for self-care and develop a social network in an otherwise isolated and stressful life. If I stop enjoying it I will just stop doing it. But I also miss you and want to share the things we mutually enjoy together so let me know what you think and be an active part of the space we create.

K, Love Ya, Bye!

V x