19-year-old Shanaya Nangia has been gaining steady popularity on YouTube through her travel vlogs, makeup tutorials, and other fun uploads on her channel. Her most watched video has almost 40,000 views. What’s fascinating is that the teenager started her YouTube Channel while pursuing her IBDP.
“I always wanted to make videos and upload them on YouTube,” says Nangia who has always been fascinated by all the content that’s there on YouTube. Apparently, all the years of watching YouTube videos on makeup and DIY projects made her want to put out the content of her own. “Everything I know about so many different things is because of YouTube. It’s my go-to space when I want to escape everything else,” she adds.
Though the idea of starting a YouTube channel had struck Nangia years ago, it was only over a year ago, during the second year of her IB course, that she decided to actually go ahead with it. “The IB is a course that lets you explore your creativity. There’s theatre, there’s spirit week, and many other opportunities outside academics to explore your creative side,” she says adding that it was during this time period that she would dress her friends up and do makeup for various events. “My family and friends realized that I had a knack for makeup and pushed me to open a YouTube channel,” she adds.
YouTube star
Nangia, who claims to be inspired by Shane Dawson and Jenna Marbles, says that she wants to be her authentic self in the virtual world just like the two YouTubers she looks up to. “I started watching them both from a very young age. The reason they are my YouTube inspirations is definitely because they are so real and genuine,” she says adding that these days a lot of people on social media will not only put a filter on their pictures but a filter on their personalities as well. “They will try to be someone they aren’t because they believe that is more appealing to the public and will attract more followers,” says Nangia further elaborating that very few Nepali YouTubers provide reliable information on the site.
Nangia claims to have started her YouTube channel to make things easier for the Nepali audience. “A lot of times the videos we watch mention products and items that aren’t available in Nepal. I make sure the products I’m using on my tutorials can be easily obtained from various stores around the capital,” she says. She also mentions that a lot of makeup tutorials online don’t apply to Asian skin, regarding things such as undertones and texture, so she wants to make videos that her viewers can actually learn a thing or two from.
As someone who suffers from anxiety, Nangia says that there was a time when she was extremely demotivated and couldn’t concentrate on her studies either. There were times when she would just stay in bed and stare at the ceiling. But it all changed after she started her YouTube channel when she got to explore her creative side and she got appreciated for it as well.
“When people tell you that they enjoy watching you and that they actually learned something from you, including people that you look up to, nothing can beat that feeling,” says Nangia adding that you feel like you are actually making a difference, and that only motivates you to be healthy, happy, and hardworking. “I have honestly never been happier than I have been after starting my YouTube channel. It gave me hope and it made me believe that I could do anything I set my mind to,” she adds.
And so Nangia is adamant to keep at it. It’s not that she revels in the popularity or the appreciation, though they are definitely feel good factors, it’s a platform where she gets to showcase her skills and be her true self. Apart from making her confident, being a YouTuber also fuels her creativity as she drives herself to come up with new and unique content, and she loves it for that. Also, she feels that there is a lot of duplicity and plagiarism on YouTube and that people should refrain from copying other people’s content. “Being inspired is one thing but you shouldn’t blatantly copy others. Everyone is capable of coming up with fantastic ideas. All you have to do is put in some effort,” she concludes.
