Sarah Baska Brings Joy To The Internet <3
By Mia Ballesteros
Okay….quick disclaimer: this might be a long post so I encourage you all to buckle up. Today we will be discussing one of my all-time favorite YouTubers, creators, artists, musicians, etc. Miss Sarah Baska.
If you don’t know who Sarah is, all I gotta say is, you’re missing out.
Sarah Baska is an American YouTuber, former Vine star, singer, songwriter, and pretty much all-out comedic genius. The first time I came across Sarah was on Vine in 2013. She came to me at a time where I was so incredibly curious about social media, being that apps like Instagram and Vine were gaining more and more popularity that year. I quickly became intrigued with Sarah’s hilarious edits and vine skits, but what really sold me was our shared love for One Direction. ;)
Fast forward to when Vine died down, most of the popular Viners ended up switching to different platforms such as YouTube, including Sarah. She started uploading content that showcased a different side to her personality, as YouTube gave her a chance to put more than just 6 seconds of her life out into the world. It allowed her to begin sharing her story in a way that she probably doesn’t even realize how much has impacted her audience, myself included. I want to break it down for you guys.
One of the first things that caught my attention about Sarah’s YouTube channel is how she is so easily able to capture her audience’s attention in the first 30 seconds of her videos. When you click to watch a Sarah Baska video you’re greeted with her signature “What the flip is up Tubers?” But, usually, instead of leaving it as just a greeting, she entertains her viewers by having a funny conversation with “herself” about where she’s been since her last video. Herself is in quotations because most of the time she’ll edit this part to sound like she’s communicating with us, her audience. This might sound a little confusing so let me just show you an example:
As you can see she loves to keep her audience entertained from the very start of all her videos. It takes talent to be able to keep your viewers intrigued and wanting to come back for more. But don’t get me started on Sarah and her many talents. Did I mention she was a singer? Another fun way she begins some of her videos is by including intro songs she’s written and created herself. One of her most used intro songs goes a little something like this:
As I grew up watching Sarah, I had a front-row seat to the many twists and turns that went on in her life. But, the biggest part of why I continued to come back to her channel over the years (aside from the fact that her humor is absolutely unmatched) is due to how she is so completely open and vulnerable to her audience online. She was the first YouTuber I watched that wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies and someone I could finally relate to. As time went on and I continued watching Sarah’s videos, I noticed a shift from her usual lighthearted storytimes, challenges, and introductory Q&As to more deep and personal topics.
The first video that I watched where I really started to see a different side to Sarah was 3 years ago in her My Problems with Social Media video. She opened up about how she had noticed that social media and constantly being on her phone had taken over her life. She also went into details about her mental health and how the problems that social media had caused in her life made her go into a depressive cycle. The way she explained how her phone felt like a constant itch personally made me evaluate the role that social media played in my life.
I realized when watching that video that it felt like I was looking into a mirror. I realized I cared so much about what random people on the internet thought about me and the way I lived my life. The way that I wanted to feel appreciated by people who only know things about me that I choose to put out there. I never thought that Sarah, a person that I only knew from watching through a screen, would teach me that I shouldn’t give a damn about what people watching me through a screen think.
Apart from being the most self-aware, self acknowledging, and self-affirming person I watch on YouTube, Sarah does an amazing job at taking that positive energy and radiating it to her audience. She encourages her fanbase to take risks, to enjoy living in the present moment rather than constantly worrying about what's going on in the digital world, and most importantly, to be confident in themselves.
Let's touch upon the confidence part. Remember I said Sarah was a singer? One of the main parts of her channel that you can see the most growth in is her journey of showcasing her voice. It went from fun intro songs to sing along, to covers of her favorite songs that made her fans go "wait you're actually really good...we want more".
A big reason Sarah took a little bit longer to bring that side out was mainly because of her confidence levels and anxiety, something I and many others can personally relate to. But instead of letting that stop her, she found a way to be her own hype woman and continue pushing out singing content regardless of the negative thoughts that got in the way. This past year she partnered up with Joy Graysen, an LA-based recording artist performance coach to put on a Joychella, a two-day virtual spiritual empowerment retreat meant to uplift and encourage artists to play the lead role in their lives and stop letting social anxiety and lack of self-confidence get in their way.
Check out these statements from real people who attended Joychella:
As we all know, sometimes we are our own worst enemy. And many people struggle with knowing how to move past that feeling. Seeing that Sarah understood this and decided to take it upon herself to host an event that would help people struggling with the same issues she had struggled with is so freaking inspiring. Especially being a day one fan, this really touched my heart seeing that Sarah has come full circle in her healing journey and is now using what she has learned to help others. It's almost as if she's making the mental complex look simple. And that's exactly what we here at Simplex are all about.
So, finally, what can we learn from Miss Sarah Baska? Personally, I have grown immensely as a person following in her footsteps and I believe that everyone can learn at least 3 important lessons from her.
Stop giving a howdy hoot about what people think about you.
Learn to live in the moment, away from the digital world, and appreciate the life that's right in front of you. The phone can wait.
Always remain completely confident in yourself. Don't let fear and lack of belief and confidence in yourself stop you from living your best life.
I encourage everyone reading this to take a second to go watch a video or two of Sarah’s. Aside from laughing your ass off throughout the whole thing, you just might learn something beneficial from her.
Thank you to everyone who made it this far. I'll see ya next time.
