Connor Franta
I'm very into Taylor Swift. From her music to her wardrobe, she is absolutely killing it. Also, she has adorable cats that I would love to pet.Collection: Pet
Never think you can't do something. I definitely never thought I could write a book, and even after I started writing it, I was like, 'Oh my God, how am I gonna write a book?' Just set your sights high and reach for the stars. Go live your dreams, and never think you can't.
Coffee has always been a significant part of my life. For me, it's a chance to start my day and gather my thoughts - it's fuel for my creative process.
I think good taste is completely subjective. If you enjoy something, that's great! Enjoy it, and don't let anyone tell you not to.
Music is a huge part of my life and something I enjoy very much. I wanted to use my platform to share and promote the talented, undiscovered artists I listen to every day with a wider audience.
I like The Erised for the harmony of their addictive beats mix, and I like Allie X for her distinct style and incredible lyrics - they are pure art.
I would love to continue working behind the scenes in music - to produce and manage up-and-coming musical talent would be a dream!
I find a lot of up-and-coming musicians I enjoy, present them to my viewers - and hopefully inflate the growth of these artists by putting them in front an audience that wouldn't have been aware of them.
You are who you are, and you should love that person.
When a moment in front of me appears to be particularly special, whether it be by beauty or experience, I capture it. I usually find a reason to justify taking that photo - symmetry, or color, or contrast - and it's my hope that my photography sheds light onto what I see and do on a daily basis.
It always surprises me how much my followers appreciate how candid my photos are - they may not have a particularly unique subject, but it's more about the light you shed on the subject than the subject itself.
Sometimes, cameras can't capture a scene like your brain does. But the use of apps can help get it just a little closer to reality.
I watched a million coming-out videos, and that was kind of how I accepted it myself.
YouTube is, like, the new reality television.
For Instagram, people use cameras ranging from high-end DSLRs, point-and-shoots, classic film cameras, and their smartphones. I personally like to use my iPhone because I know I will always have it with me.
When taking a photo, I tend to look for one of the following: depth, symmetry, color or contrast. All of those things catch my eye to the point where I stop dead in my tracks to capture whatever it is that I've seen.
I don't tend to do a whole Instagram theme. I like to capture the moment in front of me and make it look as good as possible!
Using the correct apps can completely change how your photos look. It's really exciting because once you've already taken a good photo, it can become 10 times better if you use the right combination of apps. My favorites are VSCO Cam, Afterlight, Facetune and SKRWT.
Making YouTube videos while I was in school, I was fortunate enough not to really have any negative repercussions from it. I had a lot of positive feedback from my friends, who thought they were great and thought they were funny and that what I was doing was really cool.
I'm a little bit shy and from the Midwest, so to be so open and honest with millions of people is pretty difficult. To have people constantly having an eye on you and very interested in what you're doing at all times - it can be a little stressful at times.
I'm actually like a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop kind of guy. So I love the local shops that are kind of like one-off chains in Los Angeles, and I usually get a soy flat white.
The work I've done through my Common Culture Music series has enabled me not only to share my joy of music at scale but also promote the artists I love.
On Common Culture, you'll find coffee, clothing, and compilations. So many C's!
The first time I got recognized in public was at a movie theater. It was at the 'Lord of the Rings' movie premiere. I was at the movie theater, and someone came up, and it was so weird to me, because I had never been recognized by a viewer, so I thought that was scary.
I moved to Los Angeles when I was 20 years old and was absolutely terrified. I grew up in a small town, so the city itself scared me. I initially did not plan on staying but fell in love with it and never went home.
The thing about the Internet is we take everything too far. Once something becomes 'popular' in our realm, it's everywhere, and I get sick of hearing about it quickly.
Whatever content you create, let it revolve around your interests. You shouldn't create things just because you think other people want to watch it.
People think that you upload a video, and it goes viral, and then you're a YouTube star, and I'm like, 'Nah, no.' In total, with all of the channels I've done, I've uploaded anywhere from 400 to 1,000 videos to the Internet, and each one of those takes a whole day to make.
Public speaking is scary, I think. I've gotten way better at it. If I have to do a speech and be like, 'I'm a YouTuber,' then that's easy, but if I have to get up there and pretend I know something in front of adults, it's never fine. In front of adults, it's like, 'Ahhhh they're going to judge me.'
I could Photoshop for hours. I spend way too much time making thumbnails. I spend, like, two hours on my thumbnails sometimes just because it's, like, fun.
YouTube is so quick and so instant, and you make a video, and you can upload it the same day, whereas with a book, you have to go through a lot of time and a lot of people and a lot of processes. So it was weird to sit down and work with other people on projects, because I'm so independent with YouTube.
I think it's kind of a scary time we're getting into - like, when you're hanging out with people, they'd rather be on the phone than talk to you.
When you're with real people, you don't have to be with virtual people.
For someone in an alternative job, an alternative lifestyle, it's very hard to explain what I do. So I sometimes try and dumb it down as much as possible, so I'm changing what I do every time! So sometimes I'm in an Uber, and they ask, 'So what do you do?' and I say, 'I'm a comedian,' or, 'I'm a graphic designer.'
I wanted to share my love of coffee with a wider audience and also continue to raise money for The Thirst Project through Common Culture Coffee.
Move at your own pace, don't be afraid - and know that it's going to be okay.Collection: Moving
Who are you? Answer; you are who you are in this given moment. Label-less. Limitless. Remember that from this day forward.Collection: Labels
I feel like our generation is just so obsessed with the idea of perfection and we don't need to be.Collection: Our Generation
Race, gender, religion, sexuality, we are all people and that's it. We're all people. We're all equal.Collection: Race
I had dreams. And I had to pursue them; otherwise my soul would have shriveled. The hardest part was allowing myself to want something other than what was socially acceptable, telling myself to go after it, then actually doing it.Collection: Dream
The sun looks different from when it rises to when it sets.Collection: Different
Girls can be athletic. Guys can have feelings. Girls can be smart. Guys can be creative. And vice versa. Gender is specific only to your reproductive organs (and sometimes not even to those), not your interest, likes, dislikes, goals, and ambitions.Collection: Girl
Question: Why does life have to feel like such a struggle at times? Answer: Because without the struggle, the triumphs wouldn't taste as sweet.Collection: Sweet
As long as I'm surrounded by people, love, and fun - 'cause my friends are the silliest idiots in the world and I love them for that. They kind of make it easy for me to forget about the bad things in life very quickly without even trying.Collection: Fun
I don't want anyone to be afraid. I don't anyone to hold back who they are.Collection: Lovely
This is just one little part of who I am, and I'm not gonna let my sexuality define or confine me. It's part of me, it's not all of me.Collection: Who I Am
If you know anyone struggling with his or her sexuality, the best thing you can do is be there for them, respect the process and treat them the same as you always would. It helps so much to know you're not alone.Collection: Struggle
I would rather have 1 amazing best friend than 100 decent regular friends. It's not about quantity, it's about quality.Collection: Quality
I think good taste is completely subjective. If you enjoy something, that's great! Enjoy it and don't let anyone tell you not to.Collection: Thinking
if I could tell my very-younger self something, I would tell him to let loose more often. I think it all roots in sexuality, but because of that, I became so worried about everything — worried about what people thought. I was afraid to be creative and charismatic and eccentric. Just to do things to do things, like dancing. I was afraid of looking too flamboyant or something. I would tell myself to stop being so stressed about what other people are thinking. Stop being so afraid that something may not come off the right way.Collection: Thinking