YouTube has always been an enigma to me. I have found great information and resources there, but this new world of “vlogging” has never made full sense to me. I would rather go tell someone about my day in person than put together a long video about what I ate for breakfast.
Grayce Lillpop, a sophomore graphic design major, has a true skill in the “vlogger” world. In fact, her presence in the online realm is continuously increasing as she reaches people from all over.
I officially met Grayce a year and a half ago during Welcome Week when we first came to Union. However, we actually first “met each other,” so to speak, through a Facebook group page the spring before school started. Online, she was kind, witty, trendy and pretty talkative.
When we met during that first week, I noticed she was naturally a little shyer than I realized. But I think that is one of the beautiful things about Grayce. As I got to know her more and more during our freshman year, I began to appreciate her gentle spirit. It’s a hidden thing only certain people get to discover.
Her demeanor as we sat in Starbucks, one of her go-to spots on campus, was still that same demeanor I was introduced to online back in 2018. She is kind, witty, trendy and, when you take the second to listen to her and become her friend, pretty talkative.
Although she might seem more reserved if you meet her in person, online Grayce is a complete extrovert.
“I’m definitely more comfortable on camera. I feel like it’s because I know I can go back and edit it. If I mess up, I can fix it. But, not in life,” Grayce said with a gentle smile.
As a graphic design major, she fills her time with countless projects and homework. But she also manages to successfully impact the world as a YouTube blogger and a podcast creator. And if that wasn’t enough, she is also a small business owner, an annual pass holder for Disney World and a digital content creator for Instagram.
It’s easy to converse online. In fact, it’s pretty easy to almost be a whole different person in the digital realm.
However, I don’t believe Grayce is acting like two different people. Rather, she is just being herself. And that is someone who is present and very active in the digital world, allowing her to meet new people from different continents. Something that is a true skill, I might add.
“I don’t know, it’s a whole different side of me, I guess,” Grayce said. “I’m a fairly shy, introverted person, so if you see my YouTube channel, you’ll be like ‘wait what? That does not add up,’ but people that know me know that’s just who I am.”
Grayce will tell you that she is more introverted, enjoying time in her own room, watching her favorite TV shows and working on her next project.
“My room here is an extension of my room back at home, so it’s a place where I can feel good to be there and feel comfortable,” Grayce said. “I didn’t want it to feel like a dorm room. I just like it. It’s one of my favorite places on campus, not going to lie.”
Grayce has been influencing people online since 2013 when she first started making videos, although she told me those videos were rather embarrassing. She officially began making videos more seriously in 2016 and since then has reached over 2000 people on YouTube.
One of those people was Maggie Exum, a junior elementary education major, who is also a vlogger. She didn’t even know she lived on the same campus as Grayce when she first began watching her.
“I just thought she was cool. I realized one of her videos was one of the quads dorms and so I messaged her,” Exum said.
They had been messaging ever so often for about a year but never really had any face to face interactions. However, Exum got to meet Grayce in person to take her photo for this article. They met in Grayce’s favorite spot: her bedroom.
“When I went over to take her picture, I was nervous because I had seen her online presence, and I was like she’s really cool. But also because we’ve had this internet relationship-ish and not ever talked in person,” Exum said. “It was actually really sweet and cool in person. She’s really authentic in her videos, and I also listen to her podcast. She’s really inspired me, my channel and my social media presence. We actually did make a plan to hang out soon, so I’m excited about that.”
Towards the end of our discussion, I asked Grayce if there was anything she wanted to talk about or for people to know about her. She smirked really big and a red tint subtly flushed to her cheeks. She began to lightly giggle and shrug her shoulders.
“I don’t know,” she laughed. “I just don’t really talk about myself.”
I couldn’t help but smile after hearing her say those words. Grayce reaches thousands of people on the internet throughout her different social profiles. And on camera, she can easily talk about her day or her opinions on different things. And she does this with such grace and humility. Just like she does in person, too.
I learned that vlogging is much more than videos about what someone ate for breakfast. It’s a powerful vehicle that can connect us with people in the world we would never know if we did everything in person. The creativity, time, thought and dedication put into vlogging and content on Instagram is a special craftsmanship, one that Grayce does so well.
You might not see Grayce around campus as much, but that’s just because she really enjoys the comfort of her own aesthetically pleasing, personally inspired dorm room. Still, you can definitely get to know Grayce better by watching her videos or following her on Instagram @its.graycee.
And who knows, maybe you’ll see her getting her second cup of coffee for the day at Starbucks. She will probably give you a slight smile as she goes about her business. But you can know the secret that I know, too. That is, while from the outside she seems like just another student at Union, she’s actually a powerful online presence reminding us all to take the time to simply be present and enjoy the little things in life.
Photo and Art by Maggie Exum