1. I remembertellingpeoplewhatIwantedtodo as a career and theyall thoughtitwas a prettydumb
idea.Istartedsharingmy life andmakingvideosabout6monthsago anyway, despite whatpeople said.
My name isDaignAlexander,andI’macreator, musician,son,brother,and Youtuber.Ilike tolearnnew
things.
I was bornin Alberta,Canadaina towncalled Whitecourt.Let’sjustsaythatit wasthe type of townthat
not evenWalmarthadmonopolizedyet. Igot ina lot of trouble asa youngster,mostlyforfighting.I
blame thisonthe factthat I had the classic“middle childsyndrome”and wasa lot biggerthanthe other
kidsmyage.
Growingup,I alwayshad thisdreamof turningwhat I lovedintoacareer (realistically,whodoesn’twant
to do whattheylove).Myfirstthoughtas a kidwas how great itwouldbe to become a professional
musician.Asa toddler,Idancedinthe church aisles tothe beat of the drums andbass. Throughoutthe
years,myroom became myown personal studio;slowlyfillingwithanarray of instrumentsfromguitars
to bongo’stokeyboards.
As the yearspassed,myinterestschangedandgrew togetme to where Iam today.There were many
pivotal moments thattransformedandchangedmygoalsandhelpedme alongthe way.
From the time I was4 yearsold,mydad was seton whatI was goingto be:a professional Soccerplayer.
He coachedmy teamsupuntil I was11 yearsold.Afterthose 8 years,myfamilyandI packedup and
movedsouthto Edmonton,Albertaforthe sake of “more opportunity”.Longstoryshort,I endedupat
17 yearsoldplayingsoccerin ItalyandEngland.AfterI returned,Ilostall passionforplaying,because all
of thatpassionhad shiftedtoplayingmusic.Myparents(especiallymydad),were verydisappointed,so
much sothat I couldn’tevenlookmydadin the eye or have a conversationwithhimwithoutitturning
intoa raging argument.
I movedoutwhenI was17-years-old.Itwasincrediblydifficult,butI maturedalot inthistime.I learned
howto be self-sufficientand howto be a responsible, independentpersoningeneral.Iworkedat
Walmart, whichI walkedtoeverymorningbecause Ididn’townavehicle. Ialsoate a lotof “insta-
noodles”. Atthe time Iwas datinga girl that I had beenwith for3 years.That Decemberwe mutually
decidedtobreakupas we realizedthatwe were holdingeachotherback. It wasshortlyafterthisthat I
came to the realizationthatIcouldn’ttrustor leanonanybodyexceptmyself formyownhappinessand
success.
The 3 yearsfollowingwerefairly monotonous.Idateda semi-decentgirl for6 months,I workedmyfirst
semi-decentjobasa bike courierfora law firm, I had a lotof semi-decentfriends,andIplayeda lotof
Playstation3.
WhenI turned20, mylife startedanotherrearrangement-myfinal pivot.Ilearnedthatyoucan never
fullypursue yourgoalswith“toxicpeople”inyourlife.Toxicpeople are people whodecide yourgoals
for you,decide whoyoucan be friends with,decide whatyou cando withyourtime,andthenwhenyou
go to do whatYOU trulylove,they simplybringyoudown.Imade a consciousdecisionto ridmylife of
those people andithasmade a huge difference tomypersonal success.
I boughtmy firstcamerashortlyafterand startedfilmingmylife.Filmingbroughtacertainamountof
peace and understandingtomyotherwise crazylife inthisotherwise crazyworld. Itwasa CanonPoint

2. and Shoot,andI absolutelylove it.Itwasonlyacouple monthsafterI boughtthat camerathat I realized
my goalshad changed; Iwantedto be a filmmaker.Watchingall of these amazingcreatorsonYouTube
and seeingall of the potential youcan fitintoa tenor twentyminute videoreally movesme.The
potential tobringjoyto people throughfilmiswhatappealstome the most.This worldwouldbe alot
betteroff withmore joy.
I love creatingmore thananythingelse.Sharinginanyandeverywaypossible ishow Iwould describe
the umbrellathatall my more specificambitionslive under. Ilookat filmmakingasa conduittobringing
more happinesstoan incrediblyunpleasantworld.Topursue anysort of art professionallyisariskin
itself,butit’sone of the biggestreasonsIlove it.Whatis life withoutrisk,whatislife withoutupsand
downs,whatislife withoutthe possibilityof failingmiserably,orsucceedingastronomically? Ihate
safetynets.
I hope youenjoymylittle creations.
Daign