Vidcon EU 2017

I don't think 13 year old Rachel would believe that this day has come: I went to Vidcon.

For all those of you who are confused, Vidcon is a video convention that has been held in Anaheim, California since 2010. This event was created by two brothers: John and Hank Green, who have a joint YouTube channel called vlogbrothers. Vidcon mainly encompasses YouTube, though other social media platforms are usually very present as well. This year, Vidcon officially moved outside of the United States and into Europe and Australia for the first time.

And so since I am already in Europe, I decided to attend Vidcon EU in Amsterdam with my roommate Leah. We're both massive YouTube fans, and we couldn't pass up this one in lifetime opportunity.

So after ordering our Vidcon tickets, booking our flights, reserving an Airbnb, and ranking our favourite Youtubers for the meet and greet lottery, we were ready to go! It didn't feel real until right before we left. I've had midterms and classes going on, so I tried to focus all my attention on that and not get distracted. But when my final class of the week got done on Thursday, I could finally take a deep breathe and start preparing for the busy weekend ahead of me.

It's funny because after taking a taxi to the Florence airport, I realised how much I don't remember the Florence airport. When I arrived in Florence in January, I was tired. I was dead tired. I had only slept about a half hour for the past 24 hours. I only remember exchanging my money and getting into a taxi. So it was nice to take a little time to actually appreciate the airport. Turns out that the Florence airport is a super duper small airport. Not too much is going on at that airport.

It was very surreal to get on a plane and just fly only 2 hours to get to Schiphol. I got to listen to a couple of Rhett and Link's podcast on the way there and try not to think about the fact that I was going to be meeting them in less than 48 hours.

Leah and I got to Schiphol, and unfortunately we decided that we should try to find our Airbnb before eating. Not the smartest plan because by the time we got a train to where we were staying, got our keys, and settled in, it was pretty late. So late that most restaurants weren't serving any food or were even open. The moral of the story: eat at the airport, kids.

We woke up the next day bright and early. I wore one of my favorite shirts and my favorite sweater (this will be relevant later), and we were ready to go!

Leah and I stood in line to get our meet and greet wristbands for the 4 Youtubers that we would get to see. There was something that I noticed here at Vidcon while waiting in line. Maybe it was a Vidcon thing or maybe it was a European thing, but it is that everyone was so patient. There was no shoving or unnecessary stress added to being in line. It was just a calm time just meandering up and getting our wristbands or doing anything for that matter.

While standing and gazing at the candy booth that was set up, I saw a girl with some really cool eyeshadow. And since people are very nice and open here, I decided to tell her that. Her name was Cornelia, and the two of us started chatting about all the different things like where we're from and our favorite youtubers and such. And then it was hysterical because she watches Dan and Phil, and she was telling me about how she went to the Boncas (which is a British creator award show). Cornelia told me that she sat right behind Dan and Phil, and when she showed me a picture that she took, I instantly remembered seeing it on Twitter! What a small world we live in! Cornelia was working as a volunteer at some of the meet and greets, so I got to see her while waiting in the line for other meet and greets that weekend.

For lunch I just went to one of the stands in the convention center, and I got bitterballen, which is an amazing Dutch food. I remember having it a couple years ago in the Hague, but this bitterballen was so delicious! It was so warm and fresh, and it was the food equivalent of a hug.

So the first meet and greet of the day: Grace Helbig! Grace has been making comedy videos basically since the beginning of Youtube, and I've been watching her videos since around 2012 (maybe). She's written two books (both of which I own), and has had a tv show (which I've watched), and been in several movies (you guessed it, I've watched all of them).

Meeting her was quick, but it was amazing. She complimented my outfit and said she liked my whole aesthetic that I had. "Black and white is very in right now!" I said something about how my entire wardrobe was black and white and grey, and then she commented on how we both matched! For Grace, they had professional people take the picture for us, so we posed for our picture and then I went on my way. I had Leah take a video of me meeting her, and you can see the absolute joy and shock on my face when I'm walking away from Grace.

Afterwards I needed to get ice cream because I was so full of excitement and emotions. There was a cute little ice cream stand within the convention center, and the ice cream was chocolate-y and the absolute best. Just what I needed.

Second meet and greet of the day: dodie clark! Dodie is amazing musician and vlogger, who even though I've been subscribed for quite a while, I've become more involved with her music and her content the past couple months. I also just found out that she is only 22, which is only 2 years older than me. It really puts your own self-esteem into place when you realise how young the people you look up to really are.

Leah was off meeting Jon Cozart in a separate line, but while I was waiting in line, I met a lovely person who I got chatting with and we became quick friends (Friends are very easy to make at Vidcon. You can go up to anyone and start a conversation, and they'll be very happy to talk to you and become friends).

Right before meeting Dodie, I was in the front of the line, and the volunteer had to cut off my bracelet so that they authenticate that I went to the meet and greet (or something, I don't really know why they cut it off). But the volunteer at this line was very chatty and bubbly. She said to me "Are you scared?" and I replied "Oh no, I'm mainly just really excited." But then she commented back "Oh no I meant my scissors," which made me laugh and say that of course I was scared of her scissors, absolutely frightened. Both of us giggling, I said that I had actually waited in line to meet her. She thought that was hilarious and fake said to the people that they were all in line to meet her now. Then I asked her for a selfie, and she was shocked but she took it. Her name was Marybell (I hope I got her name right), and she was so fun and excited that I took a picture with her.

Then the time came. I handed my camera off to my new friend who filmed me meeting Dodie. She gave such lovely hugs. Dodie also complimented my sweater, which is another reason why I'm definitely going to be taking it back home with me. Thankfully the angle of the camera didn't show my face because I got a wee bit emotional. She gave me another hug, and then she took a couple amazing selfies of the two of us. She is honestly such a lovely and sweet person. Also somehow she listened to me ramble on but was so patient and kind. I'm so grateful for all that she does on Youtube.

Along with my new friend from the line, the two of us went to go see the Vlogbrother's Q&A, the guys who started it all. Such lovely and nice and funny guys.

Speaking of funny guys, the next Q&A was Tyler Oakley, who was hysterical! He was still very jet-lagged from traveling to Amsterdam, and so his attention span was very very short. But the entire thing was so funny and I couldn't stop laughing.

For dinner Leah and I left the convention center and went to this restaurant called "The Corner" which was on the corner of a street, what a surprise! I had steak tartar because I'm a sophisticated college student now. The reason why I ordered it is because I've had beef tartar several times at my university's restaurant here in Florence, and I really loved it!

After the delicious meal, Leah and I got to go to the creator show for Saturday. The creator show is when they take a handful of the major creators at Vidcon and give them a little time to perform, talk, or show something that they do. There was motivational speaking, spoken word poetry, singing, and exclusive videos that hadn't been shown to the public yet. It was so much fun!

Carrie Hope Fletcher is going to be Amy in the Addams Family musical, and she performed "Pulled." Wow! She's so talented, and my socks were blown right off. Also Sarah Close performed some songs, one was a cover and the other two were originals. I had somehow already heard of one of her original songs before coming to Vidcon, which I don't know how that happened. But then she performed a new song that wouldn't be released for another week, and it was amazing!

After watching some YouTube videos, I went to sleep and slept so well. The next day came, and we didn't have to wake up as early as the day before, which I was so so grateful for.

Leah and I immediately got in line to see Adande, or as most people know him Swoozie. I almost didn't know if I wanted to go to this meet and greet because Adande is one of those Youtubers that I've watched for a very long time, but I don't regularly keep up with his stuff or actively interact with his content. But I'm so glad that I did because Adande was such a cool guy to meet! He took the time to actually interact with each and every one of us and take creative and original pictures. You could tell that he is such a naturally funny and a genuinely kind guy who appreciates his fans.

Also he said that this pose was the "Awkward Prom Photo." Fun!

Soon after that I went to get in line to meet Rhett and Link. I got in line pretty early, right when the line is scheduled to start, but there were already so many people ready to meet Rhett and Link in line. You can tell that this is a very dedicated and excited fanbase. I met a couple more friends in line, and so we talked for those couple hours.

And then it actually happened! I got to the front of the line and then got to see Rhett and Link! I knew that I wanted a hug from these guys because they've inspired me so much. I said something about being from America, but also coming from Italy. I definitely couldn't think of anything that I actually wanted to say to them, but they were so fun (and also very tall). We snapped our picture, where you can see the utter joy on my face.

After that, Leah and I went to several panels at the Main Stage (4 of them to be exact). I know I keep saying that it was so much fun, but it really was so much fun! Seeing all these talented people up on that stage was hysterical, inspiring, emotional, and so many feels.

We had to leave after the Rhett and Link Q&A so that we could pack our stuff and catch our flight back to Florence. We missed the final creator show, but I'm so glad that we were still able to see the Rhett and Link panel because I had been looking forward to that.

So sadly Leah and I got our stuff together. We had our merch packed away and our electronics charged. And then with our luggage in hand, we passed by the Vidcon convention center one last time. We got a train to the airport, I cried a little bit, and then the two of us safely made it back to Florence.

It was such a great weekend. I was so happy the entirety of those two days. It was so much fun to just be in an environment where you could have a good time with like-minded people, do fun things, and take tons of selfies and videos. There was a Taco Bell booth that had an amazing wall to take pictures against. Very aesthetic. But aside from that, the people were the best part, both the creators and the people attending. All of them very kind and accepting of each other. And also massive thanks to Leah for loving Youtube as much as me and hanging out with me all weekend. I don't think I would have gone all the way to Amsterdam on my own, and I'm so thankful that the two of us went together.

I hope I can go to another Vidcon or convention one day so that I can feel this sort of excitement again, but for now, I'm gonna hang onto my amazing memories of Amsterdam.

Thank you Vidcon