Back in high school, I was lucky enough to be on a scholarship at a college preparatory academy. The main downside, though, was the distance between school and home. It was about an hour drive or an hour and fifteen minutes bus ride to get to campus during high school. Not only did this mean I spent way too much money on gas, but it also meant I needed some form of entertainment. Especially in my junior and senior years, when I was finally able to drive, I needed something to listen to in the mornings to keep me awake on the long drive to school, mainly because I would have to leave my house as early as 6:15 a.m. In other words, I know some of the best YouTubers, who happen to be the girls I might feel a little parasocial with.
- Brittany Broski
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Brittany Broski rose to fame with her infamous kombucha-tasting video that went viral on TikTok in 2019. I started watching her podcast, The Broski Report, but more recently fell in love with her newer series, Royal Court.
The Broski Report felt extremely relatable, especially as a woman. For one, her journey with PCOS has been a beautiful one to watch, and even more so as she grew into a woman who is just a young girl at heart, similar to how I have. Many of the women I have spoken to about this show also found themselves connected with Broski on topics such as falling in love with things from their childhood, falling in love with a new man each month, and Broski’s little quirks and bits, just as my friends and I do now.
The biggest reason I believe you should watch her is that she’s a successful female comedian who doesn’t tear down what it means to be a girl. Too often, we see women comedians try to fit the space by tearing down their own gender. In contrast, Broski finds a way to be funny, deep, and sensitive to the complexities of being a woman all at the same time.
Now, Broski’s Royal Court is completely a new space within itself. She brings her fascination with royal times through this kingdom she’s created all her own, and brings out the fun and whimsy side of celebrities we don’t see often. Through different sections, she evaluates the guests on whether they’d be worthy to “join her royal court.”
My favorite episodes of both her shows are The Seven Deadly Sins, French Revolution, and Cole Sprouse joining her court.
- Monet McMichael
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I started watching Monet McMichael more recently, within the last year or so. I found her content from her “Get Ready With Me” videos on TikTok, where she mentioned her YouTube videos. Not only is she hilarious, but she is also just an inspiring individual. Her fashion sense is to die for, and to hear her talk about how she has succeeded motivates me on a whole new level.
The primary reason I watch her videos is not only for entertainment, but also to try to get my life together. Her product review videos have yet to fail me as well. Every week or so, she posts a weekly vlog in which she goes from her calm yet productive mornings to a fun night out. Watching her achieve her dreams of traveling gives me hope for what’s to come.
@monetmcmichael on Instagram. Within the past year, she has also been in a new relationship. Now, the boyfriend isn’t as interesting as the house in Texas they live in. As a girl with family from Wyoming, it’s fun to watch her have more fun with the countryside of Texas, as well as taking care of her animals, mostly her dogs, on their homestead. Now, she is also embarking on her music journey, and I can’t wait to see where it will take her, but I’m excited to be along for the ride! My favorite videos of hers are Cozy Home and A Week in Texas.
- Madeline Argy
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Madeline Argy became well known during her drama with her ex, yet this is probably the least interesting thing about her. Somehow, I stumbled onto her videos back when she first started her podcast, Pretty Lonesome, three years ago. The reason I found her so relatable is that she discusses mental health.
I probably am a little too parasocial to know this, but her lore is that when she was younger, she left school for a few years because she had extreme anxiety about going outside and getting sick, so she was stuck in her bedroom for years. At the time she was talking about this, I had been going through a lot at school and didn’t understand why I had been feeling certain ways for as long as I could remember. Her videos discussing this helped me realize what was going on with myself and made me feel less alone.
As a teen girl, it was also nice to see how my life wasn’t so different from a girl who had grown up across the world, as she is British. Funny enough, she met her best friend through having a Girl Meets World fan account, one of my favorite TV shows growing up. Knowing we weren’t so different made me feel a type of community I didn’t have in real life. To be clear, these people are not my friends, and it’s not okay to consider any celebrity as such. But it’s also nice to have people out of your own circle to look up to for different reasons.
On her podcast, Pretty Lonesome, she discusses a multitude of topics, from being stuck in your hometown to the importance of female friendships. To hear how she discusses her female friendships is fascinating because she puts it into words that I myself hadn’t thought of. Not only does she make me laugh with her witty humour, but I also constantly learn new things from listening to her podcasts. She gives book recommendations for feminist novels that I have now read and loved, or I’m planning to read.
When discussing Argy, it’s important to also know she is a model. Her videos not only show her stepping into more of herself, but also that girls in that profession aren’t so different from the rest of us. She still has boy drama, skin annoyance, and deep thoughts about the complexities of life. My favorite videos of hers are Argy talking about her sexuality and “Am I Lying to Myself.”
- Larry (Larissa Cambusano/@larryreads)
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Larissa “Larry” Cambusano has been the person I’ve been watching or listening to the most over the last six months. Also originally from TikTok, I’ve been watching her book reviews and weekly vlogs for quite a while. Her TikTok content is funny yet relatable, and her book content specifically discusses common tropes, fan favorite characters, and her personal favorite reads.
The primary reason I watch her videos is that she’s funny, and she just gets it when it comes to books. I’m not going to lie, as an English Literature major, I spend a lot of time reading what we view as the “classics,” so it’s nice to be able to read more fun and “easier to read” books. I say “easier” because, yes, a lot of the books she recommends aren’t the old English hard-to-comprehend books, but their topics are deeper and heavier than those of the classics.
Her vlogs are also incredibly interesting because she’s really great at romanticizing the “average” day. In college, at least during the week, it feels as if the days get repetitive, so it’s easy to get bored and discouraged, but Cambusano’s videos help me remember how to romanticize the little things. I also find her relatable because she discusses mental health issues a lot, which I find comforting.
Overall, she’s funny, Brazilian (I love listening to her talk about her culture), and all in all great at reviewing and recommending books, so I highly suggest watching her videos if you’re a book nerd. The videos of hers I like the best are literally all of them, but more specifically, “Come to Florida With Me” and “My Top 10 Ficitional Women.”
- Steph Bohrer
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My favorite YouTube content creator is Steph Bohrer. I stumbled upon her videos back in 2021 on BookTok, where she was one of the original creators in the space. Her first video I watched was enemies-to-lovers book recs, and I remember it being one of my favorites during lockdown. She’s transitioned recently from book recommendation videos to more travel vlogs and aesthetic days at home. She is my main comfort creator, so even if I don’t watch her videos as soon as they come out anymore, I save them for a rainy day at home.
@stephbohrer on Instagram. Her book’s content inspired me to read based on my mood, instead of reading based on what I feel like I have to be reading. It also showed me the importance of reading romance as a woman, and how it teaches us how we should or could be loved. Even though I used to miss her book content, it’s been amazing to see her grow in her life in Charleston, South Carolina.
Her current traveling content has inspired me to not just travel more, but romanticize the town I live in right now as well. Her videos have shown me the importance of leaving the place where you might feel comfortable but not happy, and that there is always better out there.
Bohrer also posts videos about spending a lot of time alone and the significance of being self-reliant for happiness. Her style and aesthetic are incredibly chic and fun, and I find I use her Pinterest as inspo for a good amount of things. Overall, you should watch her videos primarily because she is just a girl, and it’s nice to find relatability with a stranger. My favorite videos of hers are “Rainy Day at Home,” “What I Did During a Month With No Phone,” and “Staying in the Coziest Cabin on the Oregon Coast.”
While these are some of the YouTubers I relate to the most and highly recommend, it’s essential to be mindful of the media you consume, particularly long-form content. If you ever feel the need to post yourself as well, I completely encourage posting your own fun content, even if it’s just for memories!