My Top 5 YouTubers

If the internet was not part of our every day, I would be taking daily trips to the library and spending copious amount of time with grandmothers to learn to do the basics. There is absolutely no exaggerations here.  Speaking as a child of immigrants, life in the U.S. is much different than my birth country of Pakistan – and the residual effects my parents carried with me here when I was younger – and I still find myself with pursed lips trying to understand cultural intricacies that missed my childhood.  That became specially true after becoming married.  My marriage to my boricua husband encouraged me to go beyond the comfort level to explore an American-Muslim lifestyle. And explore, I did! However, I am not a person to reinvent the wheel and I will devour any research done by another without question.  That is where YouTube comes in.

You might have been surprised as me with the sudden boom of bloggers making videos in their humble abodes. If you are old as I am, that is.  Now, it seems “Googling” and “YouTubing” have become synonymous with eachother. Before you go down the rabbit hole of videos and suggestions, and more suggestions, I want to share with you my top-5 YouTubers that have taught me invaluable lessons and have brought a positive change in my life. There is not any particular theme or order to my picks for this post except that the lessons I have taken from them are some that I use almost daily.  It is my hope that perhaps they will benefit you in some immeasurable way as well.

1. Mimi Ikonn: I think some people radiate with positivity and their worldly perspective can become contagious to those who come in contact with them.  Mimi came into my life through the virtual world within the last three years.  Her minimalistic way of living attracted me from the beginning. Also, her living a conscious life which falls within the parameters she feels confident in is inspiring as well. I eagerly wait for her monthly favorites video in which her book recommendations are my most coveted items. It was through her, alhumdulillah, that I discovered Audible and heard my first book, Big Magic.  Her humble beginnings, her strong attitude, and her ability to sacrifice keeps attracting me towards her videos throughout mine (and her) life changes.

2. Joy Us Garden: If you follow me on my instagram, then you know how indoor plants have brightened our home within the past few months.  Plants and me could not be under the same roof and seeing how they are the weaker of us two, they perished in the most miserable way.  I hunted to learn from someone who knew what she was talking about as well as was methodical in her ways of teaching others.  Here came Nell jumping through the screen with her outdoor gardens and an array of plants.  Her personality is bubbly and she has a careless attitude towards anyone who finds her gardening to be obsessive (at least that is what I have surmised) and I have learned a lot more than I can count about keeping indoor plants.  Her e-book has been a great asset too.  Check out my products page for a direct link to it if you are in need of some s.o.s.

3.  Vegan Athlete: My hopes for a green backyard were kindled after watching Jake Mace have a food forest in Phoenix, AZ.  Seeing as that is only a few hours away from us while sharing almost the same level of heat, I thought if he could do it, then I can as well.  Jake teaches his methods very well and is open to sharing his experiences.  I learned how to amend the soil, how to plant trees, and basically how to dig holes in our caliche ground – if you have ever tried to crack open a rock, then you know how that feels. I have also purchased food for my plants from him, too.  In fact, our first moringa trees were seeds from his garden. He has an amazing group on facebook in which there is an endless source of information from other gardeners as well.  It is linked in almost all of his video descriptions.  Just a little bit of a disclaimer though, recently his videos have strayed away from gardening and I do not find much benefit from his new direction. However, I have saved quite a few of his older ones and refer to them occasionally as my mind plans a green backyard in our desert city. Basically, our backyard would still be looking like it belongs in a Star Wars movie if Allah had not guided me to his channel.

4. Maangchi:  If we have talked about our likes with eachother then you would surely know my love for Korean food.  It all started with my first Korean drama about a decade ago which has turned into an adventure of its own.  The food in those dramas looked too good to miss and while it is hard to find halal Korean restaurants in every city, it is much easier to go into asian markets to make authentic food.   Maangchi will teach you how to cook everything you ever saw on those dramas, if you are a fan like I am then you probably drooled through every dining scene.  I have followed several of her recipes and now have a special corner in the pantry for all of the K-goods.  If you want to try a different cuisine which takes spices seriously and knows exactly how “umami” works, then watch her videos and get ready to have dancing tastebuds.  While you are at it, check out her website as well and find our local Korean markets near you.

5. How Jen Does It:  A method to clean has been the bane of my existence.  Growing up, my parents insisted on us focusing on our education while my mother took charge of the household chores.  We were not exposed to much of the work so that is something I did not grow up doing.  There is always a method to running a smooth household and it took me much too long to figure my preferences out.  I watched videos after videos of people cleaning, talking about their schedules, and the products they use.  Jen was my go-to after I saw her morning and evening cleaning routines.  Watching her clean the bathroom clicked something in my mind and that was just a beginning of me having a cleaning-peace when it comes to the redundant task of maintaining our home.

Which YouTuber has influenced you whome you think deserve more subscribers?

-S