My Search for Meaning

I've Got Bigger Plans

Ever since I was younger I always had a fascination with the idea of being 'famous'.  The idea that so many people in the world could know who you are, but not actually know you. However, I never had a specific talent that could put me into the spotlight, such as singing or acting, so I've had to come up with a few other nontraditional ways to achieve this goal.

In 8th grade I was introduced to Wattpad, a place where anyone can write and post their creative ideas for anyone to read. Throughout my last five years on this site I have seen many books receive thousands to millions to billions of reads. Books that are written by ordinary people suddenly blow up and become the next big thing. I have seen many books get published after they were posted. A thought for a story that was in someone's head suddenly has thousands of people begging to know how it ends.

I am one of these ordinary people who have ideas for stories to share with the world, and possibly have their book become bigger than just another Wattpad story. Although I have not posted anything to the site yet, I have been writing bits and pieces and thinking of different storylines ever since I came across Wattpad 5 years ago.

Many people on Wattpad use books and stories to escape from their own lives into a different, fictional story where cliche's make the world go around. They find entertainment through these stories, maybe even temporary joy and happiness when they find themselves embraced in a fictional world. 

Writing out my search for meaning and posting it to Wattpad is the first of many actions I wish to take. This summer I plan on continuing to write my ideas, make them more concrete, and develop them into something I can post. Once I do this I can connect with a wide group of people and hopefully see some type of impact I can make on different people throughout the world. I hope my stories can make them laugh, or provide them with a sense of escape from whatever problems they may be having in their lives.

Another plan I have thought about on how to achieve this goal of having a positive impact on others is to start a YouTube channel. I watch many YouTubers who have a wide audience and the ability to make an impact on millions of people's lives. This will also allow me to hopefully make a few people laugh and smile.

The majority of YouTubers, especially well-known ones, live in LA or New York. They vlog their lives as young adults, most between ages 20-24, who have a lot of money and very little responsibility. 

My YouTube channel however would vlog a more realistic way of life. The regular life of a college student living in the mid-west. I would take small trips to cities such as Ann Arbor or Columbus. These cities may not be as large as LA or New York, but they're different. Also I would film the dumb things you can find people doing around campus and provide the opportunity for people to see a more normal life. This would provide a sense of relatability to viewers and possible make them feel as though they are not alone in the world.

I may have not yet done either of these to try and find a way to impact people's lives, I do have a plan to hopefully accomplish this in the future. There is a line in a song by 5 Seconds of Summer that goes, "When you've got bigger plans that no one else understands, You've got a shot though".  Although it doesn't sound like much, this idea that I could have a chance at the life I have always thought about gives me motivation to keep going. I need to put these ideas into action before a true impact and meaning can start to be developed from them.

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Source: 5 Seconds of Summer. "She's Kinda Hot." Sounds Good Feels Good, Capitol Records, 2015.  

Word Count: 670 words