<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[DeSinaasappelen]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://desinaasappelen.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Kathryn]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://desinaasappelen.wordpress.com/author/desinaasappelen/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[My YouTube Story: Taking a step&nbsp;back&#8230;]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><img data-attachment-id="258" data-permalink="https://desinaasappelen.wordpress.com/the-future/" data-orig-file="https://desinaasappelen.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/the-future.jpg?w=730&#038;h=487" data-orig-size="730,487" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="the future" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://desinaasappelen.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/the-future.jpg?w=730&#038;h=487?w=300" data-large-file="https://desinaasappelen.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/the-future.jpg?w=730&#038;h=487?w=730" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-258" src="https://desinaasappelen.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/the-future.jpg?w=730&#038;h=487" alt="the future.jpg" width="730" height="487" srcset="https://desinaasappelen.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/the-future.jpg 730w, https://desinaasappelen.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/the-future.jpg?w=150&amp;h=100 150w, https://desinaasappelen.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/the-future.jpg?w=300&amp;h=200 300w" sizes="(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px" /></p>
<p>What&#8217;s next?  &lt;&#8212; That question plagues me. Every second of every minuet each day, I ask myself that question.  I&#8217;ve pondered it and despite that, I still don&#8217;t know the answer.</p>
<h1 style="text-align:center;">Here is What I Know</h1>
<h2 style="text-align:center;">Youtube is Fun</h2>
<p>I&#8217;m surprised with myself that I&#8217;m still doing YouTube. I can be flaky. I easily get big ideas, imagine greatness, and then never follow through.  Creating videos involves a lot of work. I stress about it, but it is very enjoyable. I push myself to new level to get videos out. Even when I was sick I managed at least 1 per week.</p>
<p>I feel great doing youtube. BUT there is a part of me that is scared that I am wasting my time. I spend hours creating videos and I wonders if it is possible to turn this into something. That thought is paralyzing because I don&#8217;t know what I can or want to turn it into?!</p>
<h2 style="text-align:center;">Youtube Takes Time</h2>
<p>It takes time to create the videos. I put a lot of things on the back burner because I want to make them.</p>
<p>It takes time to build an audience. I have a 5 year plan for this channel.  That is a long time to commit to something, especially when you don&#8217;t know what or if there will be a payout in the end.</p>
<h2 style="text-align:center;">What Do I Want From My Channel</h2>
<ol>
<li>I want my channel to be my author platform</li>
<li>I don&#8217;t want to just talk about writing</li>
<li>I want to share fun expat experiences</li>
<li>I want to document certain aspects of my life</li>
<li>Beer!</li>
</ol>
<h2 style="text-align:center;">A New Path</h2>
<p>I think everything happen when it happen because it is suppose to be that way.</p>
<p>I wanted to be a YouTuber for years. I didn&#8217;t start my channel because I was scared of failure. The what-ifs paralized my actions.</p>
<p>Then I moved to Belgium. I mentally prepared myself for all the things the could happen. I had experience moving to a foreign country, so I was confident in my preparation. Except life never works out the way you plan.</p>
<p>All the problems I had in France, I still have in Belgium, but in different ways.  The language barrier was always an issue when I lived in France. I&#8217;m mostly fluent in it, but there would be situations where I didn&#8217;t have the vocab to communicate.</p>
<p>Once I got kidneys stones. The pain was so bad I drove to the hospital. When I arrived they asked me what was wrong. I didn&#8217;t know the word for kidney or stones, and the woman didn&#8217;t speak English.  I got through it, and survived, but it was difficult.</p>
<p>My lingual problems in Belgium revolve around effectively speaking the language. People speak English, so there isn&#8217;t that adapt or die mentality that I had in France. If they don&#8217;t speak English, they know French, and if they don&#8217;t know either, my Dutch is good enough to understand what they say.</p>
<p>None of this is useful if you are looking for a job. I need to speak Dutch. I&#8217;m in a catch 22 of being in language classes that take up my time and I hate, or getting a dead end job that will eat up my time, where I may or may not improve my lingual skill. I&#8217;ll be making money though.</p>
<p>If I am honest, that is the reason I started YouTube. Sure I might crash and burn, but If I am successful my future looks a lot nicer. I think that is why I was able to push through the fear and get in front of the camera.</p>
<p>I got through it and it wasn&#8217;t that scary. Right now I feel like I&#8217;m at the edge of a cliff.</p>
<p>I want to be a published author.</p>
<p>I see YouTube as a stepping stone. It helped me connect to other creators, writers, book lovers, and amazing people. It might lead to great opportunity, or it could lead to a dead end.  I guess we will have to wait and see.</p>
<p>However I realize now that if I want to be a published author, than writing need to be my priority. Which means Youtube is taking the back seat for awhile. There is a part of me that feels sad, and terrified, because I don&#8217;t know if this is going to make my channel suffer. At the same time, I know I don&#8217;t want to be a film maker, as much as I like making videos.</p>
<h2 style="text-align:center;">Small Goals and Steps</h2>
<p>The month of February I am going to let YouTube take a back seat, while I work on CIS. I&#8217;m stepping out of my comfort zone, and trying a bunch of new things. I&#8217;m scared, but also excited.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m trying to look at the possible failure as trails that I know don&#8217;t lead to success. Detours are always pretty. All I will need to do it turn around and find the main road.<br />
<strong>Random Question:</strong> What is your favorite expression?</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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<p>DeSinaasappelen</p>
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