"It was also something that I saw as a challenge to overcome. I was someone who was really evasive when a camera came around. I was really shy when it came to talking to someone new, but I had these ideas and thoughts I wanted to share. So I had been watching these online videos for six to eight months before I made my first video. I knew nothing about how to put it together. I didn’t even know how to edit. Also, it’s one thing to put a video together and another thing to realize people are watching."Having that creative outlet and something to occupy me forced my mind to go to places that I had been blocking before. You have to have an open mind to create anything remotely creative. Even so, it happened slowly and gradually. There were things that I had been pushing down and had not really been facing. Those things started to surface. It’s something I’m still dealing with now. I think beauty has kind of held my hand through this process. It’s been there for me and it evolved with me."Also, I can’t say enough about the people I’ve met through social media. I just met some people yesterday that I’ve interacted with before, and it feels like we’ve always known each other. It’s almost like having a pen pal and meeting for the first time."It’s really special and unique. And though beauty as a creative outlet has been a big part in getting through my grief, I think my community has played an even bigger part. Whether it’s leaving comments or tweeting me when they know I’m having a bad day, or giving me hugs when I see them in person. We’ve really held each others' hands."