Looking to Help Someone this Holiday Season?

Full disclosure: I mean Me. I’m the “Someone” here. 😜

In all seriousness, though, would anyone like to help me out this holiday season by helping me launch a YouTube channel to run alongside this jannipants.com blog site? This site is actually starting to get a little bit of traffic, which is awesome! The only thing is, I don’t really make money from blogging. I honestly did NOT start this website as a way of making money, but the more I get into this blogging thing, the more I see that it might be a way for me to maybe make at least a LITTLE bit of money – and I need that SO badly! I have been looking into maybe implementing an ad or two, but I HATE those. 😬 I don’t want to turn my website into one of those obnoxious blogs no one can read for all the adverts and pop-ups. Those drive me completely barmy, and I tend to click out of them almost immediately. Life is too short, man. 😂

So what am I aiming for, then? Well, I would dearly love to get a YouTube channel running in conjunction with/alongside jannipants.com. I have the channel up already, but I only have a short smartphone clip or two on there right now. No real ‘quality’ content. Nothing with much forethought or planning. Just sort of placeholders for things to come, I hope. I have a vision for what I would like to do with the channel, but because I am in a wheelchair – gradually moving to a rollator walker some of the time (and maybe even eventually a cane!) – I need a mostly hands-free filming setup, like a GoPro (not the latest and greatest or most expensive one, but just one I that can do what I need). I can use a smartphone/DSLR on tripods for stationary shots, but I need to have something that can be mobile with me, while leaving my hands free to hold onto a walker or to drive a wheelchair (to keep me safe). Sure, I could sit at my desk with a camera on the tripod and talk – but NOBODY will watch that. LOL! I need to be up and about, doing “day in the life” videos, and also, vlogs for the times when I do venture out into the real world – revealing what it’s like from my perspective, etc…

There would be a few little pieces of equipment I’d initially need to get it all going. None of them are ENORMOUS financial outlays in the grand scheme of things, but to me, they may as well be… because I have no money at all.

To that end, I’ve created a little Amazon Wishlist for the items I need…

EDITED TO ADD THIS UPDATE:

I’ve been gifted the GoPro, a drone, and some GoPro accessories!
I am INCREDIBLY humbled, grateful, and overwhelmed with emotion over the kindness that has been shown to me. I still have a few things on the list that I need (like memory cards for the GoPro, etc..), but I am going to start trying to learn how to use these things, so that I’ll be ready to roll – hopefully soon! Thank you so much to my benefactors – you are AMAZING!!

Yes, I do realise it may be a pipe dream, and that asking folks to help in this way is likely a huge stretch, especially this time of year. Especially when I also have other wishlists going (for my ongoing immediate needs, my birdies, etc…) It may seem cheeky to have so many lists, but I felt like it was less confusing to group items of a similar nature/purpose together in separate lists.

I have to at least TRY. I *am* trying… SO HARD, folks…

My vision for it all is that as I regain more and more mobility (hopefully – through physical therapy and continued hard work at home, as well as strictly adhering to my nutrition protocol) I will be able to document all of that for viewers so they may follow along with me on my journey. It’s a way for me to share my backstory, my ongoing quest for mobility and independence, and to reveal some of the battles I face – AS WELL AS the triumphs! It’s also a great way to raise awareness about autoimmune diseases, chronic illness/pain, and the mental health struggles that often go hand in hand with them. It can shed light on ways that our current healthcare systems can fail people like me – AND how we might be able to find ways to better handle those failures. I also aspire to give HOPE to SO many other people out there who go through some of the same challenges that I do every day. Other people who, like me, may be largely alone and feel defeated a lot of the time.

If I get enough viewers, I can monetise the channel. And if I can monetise, it will be a way that I can help myself to be more independent, financially. I wouldn’t need to keep begging for help on social media – which causes my mental health to take a major hit every time I have to do it. This needs to be said, however: If I had never gone on social media and asked for help in the first place, I would probably not be where I am right now. I could have quite easily become homeless… hungry… gone without medication… or worse – I might not even be here typing this right now. I have had some AMAZING help. (To find out more about that, read this post.)

And with that being said…

I want to throw my all into this YouTube channel vision I have. There ARE some positive things in my corner on that front that may well work to my advantage:

• Thankfully, I already have a nice computer, fully equipped and capable of doing video editing. The desktop is a real power horse, and I also have a very reliable laptop.
  
  
• I already have video editing experience, and even briefly worked as a contractor several years ago for a local news station working to pull together little news clips for their website. I wouldn’t be needing to learn a new skill there.
  
  
• Additionally, I have camera/photography experience, as I have dabbled with it for decades. I used to film local bands in the Atlanta area when I was younger, and I even worked in a camera store back in the day as well! Granted, much has changed – but having an eye for things does not. Neither have the basic photography/lighting principles.
  
  
• I have a background in theatre/acting. My first degree was in theatre, actually. I feel like there are surely some transferable skills I can apply to this endeavour…
  
  
• I also have a bit of experience with social media promotion, as I used to work part-time in social media management, and… I still do a great deal of it now for my own stuff, although admittedly I could ramp it up a notch.
  
  
• My experience in graphic design would come in quite handy, as well, in creating graphics for both the YouTube videos and the companion website – Jannipants.com. (I used to do graphic design for a living).
  
  
• I’ve always been a creative sort – whether it be drawing, painting, writing, playing music, doing photography, graphic design, making videos, or acting – “creating art” has always been a real passion of mine. I feel as though I would be well-suited to a project like this.
  
  
• This would be a “job” that I could do as and when I feel able and healthy enough. In other words, if I need to take a day or two off due to pain/illness – I can. I can also lie in bed and do editing on the laptop when I need to. It would be a very flexible thing for me, which is precisely what I need right now.

My vision is to release these videos once a week, maybe on Saturday or Sunday (when more people watch scheduled YouTube content). I would also like to be able to film enough to where I can always have some content “on the go”. I liken it to how I like to make a few big batches of protocol-adherent soups in my slow cooker and then I have single-serving portions awaiting me in the freezer for times when I am in an autoimmune flare and don’t feel up to cooking for myself. This would be the same principle. I would film enough content to where I could always have a video or two “waiting in the wings” to be edited/released (though not TOO far in advance because I do want my content to be up to date and relevant). This would protect me when I go into a flare and may have several “down days” in a row. Be it through prerecorded finished content, or unfinished content that gives me the ability to edit in bed on the laptop – I would always have a way to keep the work going!

I have really thought this through and truly want to make a go of it. As is the norm for the past few years, however, I would need a little help to make it happen. So if you, or maybe someone you know, might be able to help a chronically ill, autistic person with mental health challenges to (HOPEFULLY) become more self-sufficient this holiday season – might you be so kind as to pass along my link? I’d be ever so grateful.

Thank you so much for reading this, and for your consideration… Also… I ALWAYS try to remember to say – PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not try to help financially if you, yourself, are struggling. I would feel awful making my own burdens become someone else’s. As I mentioned before, link shares are ALWAYS appreciated and don’t cost a thing – I’m incredibly grateful for them. I’m also beyond grateful for the help that everyone has given me. This has been what has kept me going – what has prevented me from throwing in the towel (to put it nicely) and given me a reason to keep fighting. I feel like the mere words “thank you” will never be enough… yet I can never say it enough. So… thank you.