Hello everyone!
My name is Todd, but here in internetland, I go by the name UndoneCatalyst. I've been a member of Freedom! since September 2014. I've never posted on here before now because I didn't feel like I had anything to contribute to the community. I'm looking to try and change that and hopefully meet some new people along the way.
Since this is the "Introduce yourself" section I should probably tell you about myself, huh? I usually don't talk about my life much, but I'll try my best to include only the things that are relevant. Alright, here goes nothing...
I've been making YouTube videos since February 2008, my 15th birthday to be exact. I started out posting Guitar Hero videos of all things because I felt like it was the only thing I was half decent at. I didn't have many friends, so gaming videos seemed to be the best route for me. This was around the time that my father was diagnosed with ALS. Within a year, his condition had worsened. It was around that time that I started taking YouTube more seriously. I used it as a distraction from my personal life. I took my Dad's illness pretty hard. It affected my schoolwork, my personality, everything. I was already suffering from a mild case of depression, I just didn't know it at the time. Growing up I had a rough childhood. I was bullied, I didn't have many friends, generally just wasn't very well liked. Most of my family treated me poorly on top of all of that. The only person that I really felt cared was my Dad, so to find out that the one person that I truly loved and cared about was dying definitely took a toll on me. I had to transfer schools because of how hard a time I was having. Nobody really seemed to care. In late 2009, my father had passed after about a 2 year battle with the disease. That was around the time that I took up an acting class in my new school. I really enjoyed that class because it allowed me to forget about how bad my life was. I had aspired to be a professional actor after that, so after high school I moved to California to try to pursue the dream. I was living with my brother at the time, and the whole time I was out there he treated me like I was worthless. Like nothing I would ever do would amount to anything. He spent all the money that I had saved up (about $7K) and then after 2 months told me I couldn't live there anymore. I was forced to come back to a family that I was trying to get away from. After that was when my depression became more prominent. I felt like everything that has happened in my life was just one bad thing after another. Through all that, I was still dedicated to making videos. That was the one thing that made me happy, the one thing I actually enjoyed. That's why for me, YouTube is more than just a hobby. It's my life. Without it, I would have nothing. I'm very passionate about what I do. So much so that my Mom's threatening to throw me out because all I want to do is YouTube. I'm hoping that with enough support, I can finally prove her wrong.
The purpose of this story was not to garner pity and have people feel sorry for me. It was merely a description of my life experiences. If there's anyone that has had a similar experience, then definitely post it here. I would love to read it. Thank You for those of you that actually read this whole post and for allowing me to share. I think this is a fantastic community, and I am very grateful to be a part of it
My name is Todd, but here in internetland, I go by the name UndoneCatalyst. I've been a member of Freedom! since September 2014. I've never posted on here before now because I didn't feel like I had anything to contribute to the community. I'm looking to try and change that and hopefully meet some new people along the way.
Since this is the "Introduce yourself" section I should probably tell you about myself, huh? I usually don't talk about my life much, but I'll try my best to include only the things that are relevant. Alright, here goes nothing...
I've been making YouTube videos since February 2008, my 15th birthday to be exact. I started out posting Guitar Hero videos of all things because I felt like it was the only thing I was half decent at. I didn't have many friends, so gaming videos seemed to be the best route for me. This was around the time that my father was diagnosed with ALS. Within a year, his condition had worsened. It was around that time that I started taking YouTube more seriously. I used it as a distraction from my personal life. I took my Dad's illness pretty hard. It affected my schoolwork, my personality, everything. I was already suffering from a mild case of depression, I just didn't know it at the time. Growing up I had a rough childhood. I was bullied, I didn't have many friends, generally just wasn't very well liked. Most of my family treated me poorly on top of all of that. The only person that I really felt cared was my Dad, so to find out that the one person that I truly loved and cared about was dying definitely took a toll on me. I had to transfer schools because of how hard a time I was having. Nobody really seemed to care. In late 2009, my father had passed after about a 2 year battle with the disease. That was around the time that I took up an acting class in my new school. I really enjoyed that class because it allowed me to forget about how bad my life was. I had aspired to be a professional actor after that, so after high school I moved to California to try to pursue the dream. I was living with my brother at the time, and the whole time I was out there he treated me like I was worthless. Like nothing I would ever do would amount to anything. He spent all the money that I had saved up (about $7K) and then after 2 months told me I couldn't live there anymore. I was forced to come back to a family that I was trying to get away from. After that was when my depression became more prominent. I felt like everything that has happened in my life was just one bad thing after another. Through all that, I was still dedicated to making videos. That was the one thing that made me happy, the one thing I actually enjoyed. That's why for me, YouTube is more than just a hobby. It's my life. Without it, I would have nothing. I'm very passionate about what I do. So much so that my Mom's threatening to throw me out because all I want to do is YouTube. I'm hoping that with enough support, I can finally prove her wrong.
The purpose of this story was not to garner pity and have people feel sorry for me. It was merely a description of my life experiences. If there's anyone that has had a similar experience, then definitely post it here. I would love to read it. Thank You for those of you that actually read this whole post and for allowing me to share. I think this is a fantastic community, and I am very grateful to be a part of it