My First 1,000 Views

A dash of luck, timing, and patience

Last year, I impulsively launched a podcast here on Substack and YouTube. I got maybe 4 episodes in before setting away from the project. An episode, half finished at best, lay abandoned in my SSD for nearly 6 months.

In November 2023, I opened the project in Premiere Pro and reviewed the footage I had. Over the next few weeks, I began crafting something together—adding footage saved on my phone, filming a few things here and there, and mindfully stitched together a narrative on my timeline.

This project has many firsts:

• The first I took this much time to work on

• The first truly honest and earnest creative expression

• The first style of video essay I accomplish (and arguably the most ambitious for me)

• And the first 1,000 views for a video on my YouTube Channel

What’s funny is I published this video essay right before Christmas, and yet on January 5th, it started ticking up in views.

It’s not the views that are impressive to me—it’s the comments.

I didn’t realize how starved for feedback I have been, but good golly, it has been humbling and moving.

What I’ve learned from the feedback so far has been invaluable, and my suspicions are proved correct—I’m not the only one challenged by the concept of “content.”

To everyone who’s watched the video so far, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

And if you want to see what all the fuss is about, check it out below.

Until next time.