When Life Interferes With Content Creation

For the last seven years, I’ve consistently created Pokémon content online. Honestly, this year was shaping up to be my most consistent year yet. My sticky Pokémon card series became one of my favorite things I’ve ever created. I loved filming the episodes, editing them, picking the cards, choosing the sound effects, and seeing people genuinely excited for each new binder addition. It felt creative, fun, silly, and very “me.”

And then life happened.

Not one thing. Not two things. EVERYTHING all at once.

My grandfather passed away. We found out our dog Banjo’s trachea is collapsing. I’m a teacher, so it was the last month of school which is already chaotic enough on its own. Then our house and both of our cars got destroyed by hail. We ended up dealing with roof replacements, insurance stress, one car being totaled, and another still sitting in the repair shop. Every single week felt like another “you have got to be kidding me” moment.

And somehow… this all happened right after I started playing Pokopia which alone is apparently enough to make someone disappear from society entirely.

I also learned something this year that several professionals have tried to tell me for YEARS:

I overcomplicate my content.

To be fair, I genuinely love editing. I love adding ridiculous sound effects. I love tiny details. I love chaotic cuts and unnecessary editing choices that probably take me four extra hours for no reason other than “because it’s funny.” So in my head, my content didn’t feel complicated because I enjoyed making it.

Until life got busy.

Too busy.

Suddenly the idea of sitting down for hours editing one sticky Pokémon card episode felt overwhelming instead of exciting. I became inconsistent. Not just with content, but with people too. Friends, followers, messages, comments… I just disappeared for a bit.

Ironically, my TikTok was still growing while I had absolutely no understanding of TikTok whatsoever. I would upload episodes on random days at random times and make mistakes like leaving “April Fools” jokes in videos that didn’t get posted until April 15th. Which is basically a giant red flag to TikTok viewers that says, “This girl has no schedule and possibly no idea what day it is.”

And YouTube?

YouTube remains one of the most mysterious platforms on earth to me. I feel like I understand how to make content for it… and then suddenly the platform marks my video for kids, changes random settings, or privately hides something for no reason and I’m left staring at my screen like I’m trying to decode ancient ruins.

But I kept going.

And honestly, one of the hardest parts about content creation is not starting… it’s returning.

Once you’ve been gone for even a few weeks, this weird anxiety block forms in your brain. You start overthinking everything. You feel awkward because you haven’t responded to comments. You haven’t posted stories. You haven’t engaged with your community consistently. Then somehow posting a random new video starts to feel rude? Like you can’t just casually show back up holding a sticky hand and a holographic Pokémon card after disappearing into the void for a month.

But here’s what I’ve learned:

Everyone experiences life curveballs.

Every single person.

Family matters. Your real life matters. Your mental health matters. Your job matters. No matter how much you love content creation, there are times in life where your focus simply has to shift somewhere else. And honestly? That’s okay.

You might lose subscribers.

You might lose followers.

Your engagement might dip.

But at least you didn’t lose precious time with your family. At least you didn’t ignore responsibilities that actually matter in the real world. At least you didn’t sacrifice your stability for an algorithm that changes every six minutes anyway.

And through all of these curveballs, I never stopped thinking about Pokémon. I never stopped thinking about my community. I never once considered giving up content creation, and my sticky hand binder WILL BE COMPLETED AND GIFTED AWAY.

In less than a week, I leave for Card Party San Diego as a featured creator, and I fully plan to continue creating content long term. Honestly, Card Party Seattle is what inspired my current sticky Pokémon card series in the first place. It’s one of the most motivating and creatively inspiring conventions I’ve ever attended; and what an honor to be featured!

So I’m still here. (And yes… I have a forehead)

Just slightly delayed by grief, hail damage, adulthood, teaching, veterinary stress, insurance claims, and an unhealthy amount of time spent playing Pokopia.

My advice?

Let life happen.

Experience all of it.

Be there for your family. Feel those emotions. Keep your day job. Take care of the people and pets you love. Social media will still be there when you come back. And the community that truly supports you will still support you.

The people who unfollowed?

They might come back.

And if they don’t?

Oh well.

Just maybe don’t use 47 sound effects in every video because eventually you’ll have to choose between editing for six hours or wandering around Pokopia trying to figure out why your electricity stopped working again.