“I think when I started [making videos], I was the happiest I’d ever been. I finally was taking what was here, in my brain hole pit, and putting it somewhere. The thrill of creation. Sort of like climbing a mountain. I think there’s a natural human urge to just climb it. To be like, “Oh, I’m higher up in the mountain than everybody.” And then you do and you look around and you’re like, “That’s a thing.” And you walk back down. But it just feels like you accomplished something. That’s what it’s like every time I make a video. I want to see what I’m capable of.”

I was a little late jumping on the Casey Neistat vlog train, mostly because I didn’t really understand what was the big deal. Then, I started watching and I got hooked. Casey is a tremendous storyteller and now that he has ended his daily vlog, I’ve gone on a bit of a hunt to fill that vlogging void. And that’s how I came across Craig Benzine, better known on YouTube and elsewhere as WheezyWaiter.

In going through most of his video archive, it’s pretty obvious that Craig Benzine is nowhere near as big on production value as Casey, but that doesn’t make his content any less entertaining. His deadpan delivery and signature beard felt awfully familiar and that’s when I realized that I had probably seen him before on Mental Floss, another one of my favorite YouTube channels.

I watched a video where he listed five reasons to be alive today, fighting against the negativity that has become so pervasive in today’s online world. And then, I came across his video where he explained why he vlogs in the first place, which I’ve conveniently embedded below.

His message really resonated with me, particularly my desire to make all the things. He’s right. As much as we love and appreciate the audience, it’s really much more about the thrill of creation. When I started my first website, I probably had a readership of about five people. With a margin of error of five. And yet, I persisted and I continue to create more stuff today. It’s that sense of accomplishment. It’s the sense of setting out to do something and put it out there.

It is perhaps from this drive to create, this craving to exercise my creativity, that I’ve started vlogging myself. You might recall my time visiting with Buddy at FlyOver Canada or test driving a new car with Subaru. I can’t say for certain where my own vlogging adventure will take me, but I’m going to keep climbing that mountain. Because, well, that’s a thing.