My Newest Plans: Update

Okay, so I have been doing a lot of thinking and learning in the last month. I have hit a spark and I want to keep working at it and enjoying it. So I did a vlog about this recently. It can be found here:

I talked about everything going on with YouTube on multiple occasions but lately I have been forced to rethink my strategy. I still want to do YouTube videos but I want to add more to what I do. So I added in Twitch and a little sprinkle of gaming. On Twitch you can make the settings move your streams over to Youtube when you are done recording. Over the last month I have learned how to edit thumbnails on a program called GIMP. Its about as good as Photoshop so I am okay with that. I also downloaded Windows Movie Maker. Again simple enough but that's all I really need. I am so proud of myself for learning the things I wanted to learn. The last step is to actually start practicing flute again. Mainly the whole Youtube thing will become one of my many hobbies. I will do it because it is fun. Of course the blog will always be a thing too.

Another update I have is about work. I found a really great staffing agency that is really good about communicating. So 9 out of 10 agencies are garbage so you should really keep looking for what is right for you. My first assignment was in a warehouse but my next assignment is at a medical facility. I am okay with this arrangement for right now. The agency is called Express Employment; just in case you are looking for work. I just hope this will work out for a permanent arrangement at some point. My family might not be okay with this but I am. If I want to do the things I really want to do then the bills need to be paid. Work is work. I won't be totally miserable but at least I will not have to worry about the financial side of things. I have so many goals and dreams but I do not know how to make them happen. That is my biggest problem but I will figure it out. 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

-Jeremiah 29:11-13

-Melody

What Does My Future Hold?

Well no one can predict the future.  I do have a vague idea of what the next year will look like. This is not set in stone or anything but I have had to make some serious decisions.

After this year I will no longer be doing the Alive After 5 events. There are many reasons. The main reason is that no one I invite shows up to these events because they are in the middle of the week and parking is confusing if I do not explain what to do. I just have no support for it anymore. This alone is very heartbreaking to me. One of the other reasons is that I only make about $10-$15 a night most nights. I used to make $50 a night on a good night. Many of the events this year were rained out also.

I may also do another search for orchestras that need flutists. I have auditioned for many orchestras but they just don't need flutists. Many up and coming high school kids are taking positions in community orchestras. I am not sure what is out there but hopefully I can look into other groups.

Starting the beginning of next year I will begin to record videos once a week (I am nearly done cleaning my office and nearly ready to make a recording space here). I may not put any of them out for a while but I want to get back into recording things. I am still wrapping my mind around the fact that Youtube is just not a career for me. I am turning it into a passionate hobby instead.

This blog will remain a huge part of my hobby and I will continue to write updates here as I go. I also plan to make a trip to Canada next year. I have always wanted to visit my friend there and enjoy Niagara Falls.

There is so much I want to do but I never seem to follow through or even get the opportunity to try. I am on a constant journey of self discovery. I think this blog is an excellent hobby for me to keep up with.

See you all in the next post,

Melody

Quick Update

Well as you probably noticed, I published my last post about a month ago. I am currently writing my next blog posts in batches.

I have a folder where I keep a bunch of blog brainstorms and then sit down and write them in further detail. Part 3 of Am I Really Making the Right Choices? will come out very soon. There is also some information about Jealousy that I want to write about too. Some of the things I am planning to write about do require some minor research, so bare with me on that. The Writing Prompts are also in my folder. I have not forgot about those. I will likely be ordering more of the same series to continue.

Today I want to talk about what is happening on YouTube and the in-depth reason that I will not be returning to that platform for a while. The Ad Sense issues are literally non-sense (pun intended).

I have not worked out a way to monetize my videos and I likely will not for a long time. The only ones that are eligible are the Teatime series and any vlogs that I do. None of those contain any copyrighted music so they should not be flagged at all. I do review some products and do un-boxings. Those are not sponsored and I do purchase them with my own money. These should not be flagged by the system either. On top of this, those videos do not get very many views at all so there is no sense in monetizing at this time. The only video on my channel that has over  1000 views is The Scientist by Coldplay that I did on the Flute. It has over 8000 views but the song is copyrighted so I can't monetize it for fear that I will be removed from YouTube. AdSense has a lot of issues but the main one is that advertisers are saying that some content is not advertiser friendly. For this reason, thousands of videos have been demonetized on all size channels. I do not want to fight an uphill battle with this problem. Until it is resolved, I can't return to YouTube. There may be other platform options but until then I am going to stick to this blog.

While on my 6-month hiatus, I did some serious introspection. I came to the stark realization that I was doing YouTube for all the wrong reasons. For me personally, it will never be a career like it is for the lucky few with millions of subs. This is a reality and not just me bashing myself. So as a result I have a new goal for the channel. It is a hobby that I enjoy doing on the side. I still have a regular job and everything but I still want to share music with people.

Lastly, I want to share with you all that I do have a new job. I am my own boss and have my own office. I work for someone but mostly I am free to think and do what I think is best for the business. As a result I do have a spare room that I can use as a recording space. When we get the suite cleaned up and organized, I will make the space a storage room with a recording corner. My gear will be kept in a plastic suitcase or trunk that I can get in and out of my car when I need my gear for practicing and recording. For the time being I plan to have regular practice sessions here in the office after work. We are nearing to the holiday season so I may be pretty busy but I plan to stay in the office some late nights regardless.

--Melody

Writing Prompt #1

Describe what it would be like if your favorite book character lived next door to you.

My favorite male book character is Robert Langdon from Dan Browns books. He is a famous symbologist and professor of symbology.

I imagine that if he lived next door I would pop in for a cup of tea and sit and talk about a symbol I found somewhere or a cipher I want to write. I can picture his house. Shelves full of books, and various historical artifacts everywhere. His desk is piled over with papers and texts. His laptop is drowning in a river of projects, assignments and essays that he was grading or writing.

My favorite female book character is Louisa Clark from Jojo Moyes books Me Before You and After You. She took care of a quadriplegic man and ended up falling in love with him.

I imagine that she has flowers all over her front steps. She is a bright and bubbly personality with eccentric clothing choices. I can see us having coffee at a cafe and laughing really hard. I can see us hanging out at her house for her birthday and her freaking out over something or other. Her reactions to things put a smile on my face and I imagine she would be a really sweet neighbor to have.

I was going to list Anastasia Steele from 50 Shades but I think her situation is really different than anyone ever expected. I would say I like her in the last couple books of the series. She is a working woman with a super rich now husband. I can't imagine ever having the income to live any where near her and Christian Grey. I can picture the two of us meeting for coffee outside her office building and discussing some new, up-and-coming author who's manuscript landed on her desk.

Anyways the next prompt will be written when I feel up to it. Lemme kick this cold first.

- Melody

What inspires you?....

Lately people have been so nasty online. Downright hurtful. Its depressing. Even today it feels like there is nothing you can do to stop it sometimes. Other times I have had someone stand up and stick up for me and later tell me they were sorry that someone said something mean to me. That means the world to me. Unfortunately social media is full of these cyber bullies.

Here is how I deal with it. First I try to tell them to stop. If they won't then I tell the friend who's post it originally belonged to in order to get them to stick up for me. Sometimes this blows up in my face and that "friend" tells me that it was my fault that the bully reacted the way that they did. Well when this happens I simply block the bully and unfollow the friend. This way I still have a friend but I don't have to see their posts all the time and therefore I wouldn't be tempted to comment on it. This method generally works on most forms of social media. On Youtube this works a little differently.

On Youtube it is much harder to report a bully. I personally have made all my video comments by approval only. I am still a small channel and I can easily monitor what people say and I will not approve something hurtful. I let a couple comments slip once and it ended badly but I removed it and its gone. That's another thing. You can delete posts on your profiles. They don't have to be there if you don't want them to be. Basically you don't have to let someone have the power to hurt you. If they post again Block them.

I understand its not that simple but in some way it is.

What inspires me is what Eleanor Roosevelt said,"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." She is so right! What she means is that if you do not give someone the power to hurt you then you won't feel hurt by them. Emotional pain is very real and it can do some serious damage to someone that has been constantly barraged by hurtful comments.

So here's the plan that I am using to inspire you and anyone else on the internet. If you see someone being cyber bullied, stand up for them and tell the bully that what they are doing is not necessary and that they pushed it too far. Make them think about what they did and realize that they would not want to be treated the same way.

Just some thoughts after I re-watched Cyberbully.

Comment if you want.

Fluteplayer777 out!