Hello, everyone! It's Jess AND Lexii here with a very important message/challenge to you all!
Jess: Hey, guys! So we want to talk about something today. I'm not sure how long it's going to get, but I do know that it's worth reading. And please comment, we want your feedback, we want your opinions, we want to know if you will accept this challenge.
Lexii: Okay, as some of you know, I started out on Youtube. I began watching videos on Youtube in September 2008, where I saw the first American Girl video ever, this one. I tried making an account then, but it didn't work, and I never tried after that. Later in March 2009, March 17th to be exact, I got bored and thought "I'm going to try it again." And I did. And that's when AGlovejess was created. What does it mean? Well, the AG part means 2 different things, actually.
The AG in "AGlovejess" stands for American Girl, and my initials. I put "lovejess" because Jess was and is my favorite doll. (Well, all my dolls are my favorite's, but Jess is first, and has a special place in my heart.) I created it because I thought it was cool, I thought it was fun. And it was. But I have a question, for those of you who have blogs and a youtube, when did you create it? 2008? 2009? 2010? 2011? Because here's why I'm asking. Today I posted this on my youtube channel. And every word comes from my heart....
"I miss the good old days...when not everyone needed expensive cameras... when people made videos for fun & they didn't have to be perfect.... when not everyone needed thousands of subscribers.... when people didn't copy your channel and act all original... when people got dolls because they fell in love with them, not to compete... when you could see a video and think "I wanna try this!" or "I want to go there!" instead of "Nice photography, what camera do you use?" .... when this whole community felt like your second family.... when it wasn't about materialism.... where did those days go?.... I say lets bring them back.
Just remember the real reason you're here, why you started all of this. Because you love your dolls, but somehow along your youtube journey, you got so caught up in everything, you forgot that.How do I know that?
That's easy, that happened to me.
But it's not going to be like that anymore. I'm bringing 2009 back to this channel. ♥"
I ask you when you joined because for those of you who joined youtube late 2009, 2010, or this year, 2011, it's hard to say this, but I don't really think you know what 2009 was like. I appreciate people on Youtube trying to spread the word (the one's who haven't been here long) , but I'd rather you just didn't copy my words. That's all. But I do believe that the new people here today and everyone should deserve to relive the 2009 year.
I wrote that because in 2009, I was 12. I couldn't do much. I wasn't experienced in photography, stop motions, singing... anything. We made videos, we watched videos, we felt in a place where we belonged. It felt good.
Now days, it feels like "I need to have good photography.", "I need to have an expensive camera.", "I need to have 2,000 subscribers", "I need this doll to be popular", and the most common that people never think they'd say, but they do, "I need to make this my life."
I got so caught up in videos, in the online world, in everything. The online world took over the dolls because your dolls couldn't tell you you were pretty, or had good videos. I felt like I needed things I didn't need. I felt like if I didn't have good videos, people wouldn't like me. So I changed.
In September 2010 (beginning of this year of school), I didn't touch my dolls, but I still found myself going on Youtube. I took my dolls outside for pictures, then through them on their beds. And it was becoming that I didn't love my dolls, I loved what I was doing with them.
Tell me, do you still play with your dolls? If you had to choose the love of your dolls or keeping your youtube, blog, and flickr, what would you choose? Most people these days say keeping their youtube. In 2009, we only cared about the dolls.
Do you remember the day you created whatever you have now? Do you remember that feeling? The feeling like, you were SO original, and SO creative, and once you got popular, you liked the idea of being popular. You lost your creativity, your originality... your love for the dolls.
Remember why you're here, everyone. I'm here because when I was 12 years old I was brushing Jess's hair and after I was done I went on the computer and typed in "American Girl Dolls."
I'm here because I LOVE my dolls, and everything they've helped me through, and all the times they've been there for me when my friend's weren't.
These dolls aren't dolls. Their something so much more real than that.
Not counting this month, but September 2010 through January this year, I only changed my dolls about once every month or two. Yep. That's right. And it's sad.
My dolls don't even have their room anymore, I took it down. My dolls aren't loved that much anymore, I stopped touching them. My dolls sometimes have dust on their face because I'm too careless to care about the things that are my life. When I did care about my dolls, when I was 12 and 13, do you want to know how things were surprisingly better? And Now days? Now days, I'm not even as nice as I use to be. I lost a lot of friends. Believe it or not, these dolls make your life better.
And tell me, did you cry at all what you've read so far? Because you remembered everything? I cried just typing this. And it's okay to cry...
But for now on, I'm changing. I'm going back to 2009 even if it is 2011. All I'm going to care about now is my dolls, and I'm going to try to remember what it was like being 10, 11, and 12. I'm going to be here, of course I will, but I won't be as materialistic. I will post things my dolls do, not me.
And now, the challenge? To not be materialistic. To relive the 2009. To change back to who you use to be. To feel the bond with your doll, or dolls.
If you read this far.... all I can say is... thank you. And please, please, comment.
Spread this post. Give out links. Make a video and put this link in it. Anything.
Lets see if we can get this whole community back to 2009, the good old days. ♥
-Lexii G.
AGlovejess
on
youtube.
P.S. SHOUT OUT TO JUSTIN BIEBER. :P
;)
P.S.S. And I know it said "for the people who weren't really here in 2009 can't really relate", I didn't mean it in a bad way. Because for the people who are here now, they should deserve to live the 2009 youtube life (: