Recently, a youtuber named Technoblade died. I had followed him for years, since the time that he had <100k subscribers. He had a sense of dry humor and optimism that I loved, plus he was the real deal and very good at what he did (Minecraft PvP mostly). And his death impacted me more than I thought it would. We were the same age. It was only about a year ago that he was diagnosed with cancer, and he is now dead. Years ago, he posted a video that I really loved and agreed with, that I'll share here.
edgy teenager talks about the meaning of life - skywars
It's not much - just a distracted 17 year old talking about his dreams. His dreams of being the best, against all odds. To pursue that which makes no logical sense, to aim to be above average in everything even if it will likely fall short. Did it make sense to want to be a minecraft youtuber rather than, say, an engineer or a doctor? For most people, absolutely not, but he cared enough and tried to make it happen. And he succeeded. He became one of the best minecraft youtubers.
He believed that in all things, even if statistically a bad idea, that one should aim for the stars. An illogical philosophy, read by a distracted teenager playing a block video game, but one that speaks to me more than any philosophy I've read. Live risky; live for you; live against all odds. Throw caution to the wind; don't act as if you are a statistic; don't just be a statistic. You have one chance: make it count.
Keoni Gandall