How Emma Chamberlain made me enjoy my boring life

I knew going into my first semester at college that being a commuter student was going to be hard. The thought of FOMO made me very nervous about starting college. The semester is basically over now and honestly, it went a lot better than I had anticipated. Partly because I figured out that I’m in fact an introvert and because of an Emma Chamberlain video.  

I know it might be odd that Emma Chamberlain, a YouTuber with over 10 million subscribers helped me enjoy my commuter life, but seriously! Her recent videos have created a ‘simplicity movement’ as I’d like to call it, which has helped me and other people appreciate life more from the looks of it on Tik Tok. 

On August 11, 2021 Emma uploaded a video titled ‘alterations’. This video was the start of her content shift. Her videos recently have been a lot more raw, reflective, and calm. 

 In ‘alterations’ Emma takes the viewer through her daily routine; making her morning iced coffee, meditating, making an omelet for breakfast, errands, car talks, and inserts clips of her talking to the camera like if it were a friend. Commenters have voiced how they feel comforted by Emma’s videos because she does not try to hide the normal parts of life.  

One user writes, “Emma seems like she just wants to experience life. She’s not afraid to show the lonely, sad, personal development, growth.” 

Emma’s way of capturing mundane moments like making breakfast, grocery shopping, and driving make you feel like you’re spending the day with her. No judgements or pressure of making everything  In her video titled, “bed”, Emma makes an interesting comment about simplicity: “What’s so bad about things being simple? I’m not saying that like that you know you don’t do anything crazy like you never go on a fun vacation, or you never go on a nice dinner, I’m just saying, generally like 80% of the time life is just very mundane and boring. And that’s not necessarily awful. It doesn’t mean that you’re doing something wrong if your life is like that. It doesn’t mean that your life sucks. Once I accepted that I enjoy having a more simple life, I actually enjoy it a lot more.”  

This specific part of her video went viral on TikTok as a sound that people used to share their simple day-to-day activities. Emma’s content shows us is that having a simple, boring, normal life is okay. Not every day will be a crazy adventure. From noticing the change in the tree’s colors, to singing along to your favorite songs while getting ready in the morning, to taking a sip of your favorite holiday drink at Starbucks, there’s always a reason to smile.  

Enjoying a mundane lifestyle requires you to find in simplicity.  

So if you’re an introvert with few friends, we are on the same boat bestie! Journaling really helps with seeing joyful moments laid out on paper when life feels like it is showing favoritism to others. I’ve listed a few journaling prompts you can use (or just think about) whenever you’re feeling bummed out about life’s repetitiveness.  

1. List 3 people you’re grateful for and 3 things that spark joy in your life. 

2. Look around where you are at this very moment. What is one thing you can enjoy from your setting?  

3. What song gives you a “serotonin boost”? What about the song makes you feel this way? 

4. Describe your own creation of a ‘happy place’. Where is it? Who’s in it (if there is anyone)? Which colors reminds you of it? What time of day would you visit? How often would you go there? 

• college
• college life
• commuter life
• commuter student
• Emma chamberlain
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• Loyola University Maryland
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