My first website post ever I guess

It feels kinda weird yet familiar at the same time. I like writing about things that excite me or things that I like. I also like to talk about things that I like or to discuss things that others like.

But back to the familiar part. I do like writing, but I also like monologuing. Back in 2012, I was 13 at the time, I made a YouTube channel creating videos for games in Greek. Back then YouTube wasn't near what it is now.

First of all, the people I had the chance to meet through YouTube felt weird about doing YouTube. Like no one understood the platform, and we felt judged. Like why are you committing time, uploading yourself playing games, and why is it so important that someone will sit willingly and watch a 20+ minute slow, uncut, no edit at all (except an amazing intro) video?

And from their perspective they were right. I mean I didn't expect much of it as well, which takes me to the second thing of that which was: no one did it for money or to gain something, but purely out of passion.

I don't remember where I heard that before, and I'm sorry that I can't give credit for it, but I heard from someone that to find what you like to do as a career is to do something you were doing as a kid, when you did it because you liked it, not because you felt judged or rushed.

Maybe that's why I became a UX designer. From a young age I liked products, I liked showing something to someone, and I liked human connections, even if it was between screens, and that's why I design for connecting with people. Somewhere comes the stakeholders and business demands, where you have to make some sacrifices of purely connecting 100% with the people, while bringing back some value for the business, and this is what makes me, at least, a product designer.

It is more than that, but if I tried to get to the bottom of it probably it's something like this.

By the way I should mention that my YouTube channel was really low on views and subscribers for at least 2 years, until it skyrocketed in 2015. I'd say it made me more resilient, keep on doing it for 2 years without an impressive progress and just because I liked it. And it made me realize that if you want something, and you try hard enough, probably it will happen. Maybe not, but even if it happens maybe it wasn't for you or maybe the timing wasn't right.