Vlogs Capture Senior Year Memories

At her friend group hangouts, Keira Leung, senior, is known to record a vlog, documenting the fun she has that day. She has been vlogging since freshman year, but this year decided to put more effort into it. 

“I usually do my birthdays or fun events, so what inspired me this year was thinking ‘You know what? It’s senior year. I’m just going to vlog the entire year so I can look back and be like, oh, I miss those days’,” Leung said. 

Leung vlogs spontaneously, whenever she feels there is an exciting moment when with her friends, and she enjoys meeting new people through the vlogging process. 

“I’m more extroverted so it’s easier to be like ‘Yo! Do you want to get in the video?’ and I feel like usually people say yes because they’re like “Oh, this is so cool” and they get involved,” Leung said. 

She posts her content publicly on YouTube and has recently started gaining more social media popularity. She’s proud of the fact that she has almost reached 1,000 subscribers. 

She recommends vlogging not only to other seniors, but all high school students, no matter their grade. 

“I feel like it’s a good way to hold onto the memories,” Leung said. 

Leung has also started taking one photo a day using a disposable camera as another way to document her life. She specifically likes using a disposable camera because she likes the aesthetic of the images. 

Will Kozeny, senior, said Leung has almost convinced him to buy his own disposable camera, as he finds her “one picture a day idea” to be unique and fun.  

“She always has her digital camera, and vlogging and her camera go hand-in-hand,” Kozeny said. 

He finds her success on YouTube also to be exciting, and he enjoys watching her videos and encouraging her in her comments section. 

“It definitely fits very well into her personality,” Kozeny said. “It’s like an integral part of her.” 

Kozeny said that whenever their friend group hangs out, he and his friends can rely on Leung to vlog the best parts. 

“Obviously sometimes you have to play it up more for the camera, but it’s fun,” Kozeny said. 

Abby Gradle, photography teacher, said vlogging is a nice way to document what is happening in one’s life and letting people know if they care to see. 

“It’s a good way to create a visual diary of what’s happening and what’s important to them at a given time because your interests, hobbies and what you value will shift as you age, so it’s a good way to take a snapshot of what you are feeling in that moment,” Gradle said. 

Gradle advises students who want to start vlogging to be aware of what is happening in their surroundings as they are recording. She said they should make sure nothing around them is distracting. 

She also advises using a tripod, as it would be more effective than resting a camera on a desk. 

“As far as lighting, natural lighting is always better than artificial,” Gradle said.