The people you look up to || My biggest idol

We all have people who inspire us, who we look up to. They can be our relatives or friends. Or they can be people we don't know personally: youtubers, celebrities, etc. Some of us may even idolize those we look up to. I've heard it said that idolizing someone dehumanizes them, but I have to disagree. I think it depends on how you idolize someone. If you talk about them like they are some kind of god or something, yes that is dehumanizing them. But to me when I idolize someone, they mean something to me, they have helped me in some ways, they have changed my life for better in some way. Most of all the people I idolize always have some qualities that are admirable, and I want to be more like them, never just like them. I always keep in mind that they are just like me, normal people. They aren't any better than the rest of us, they make mistakes, they have their flaws. One of those I look up to, my biggest 'idol', role model and inspiration, is Thomas Sanders.

Thomas is an Internet personality made famous by Vine and YouTube. 

The first time I ever heard of him was from my friend. She told me about this cool app called Vine. I downloaded it and asked her if she knew anyone whose videos I might like, and she told me about this hilarious guy called Thomas Sanders. I watched few of his videos and followed him. I immediately fell in love with his Vines. There came a time when I for some reason didn't have Vine in my phone, so I kind of forgot him. But then I somehow found my way to his YouTube channel, and have been following him ever since. 

Thomas is an amazing human being. He's sweet, funny and a bit weird, just the kind of person I like. His personality is very charming, he's an amazing actor and singer, and he has a voice of an angel. In his videos he sings, acts and talks about important things. Whenever I feel down, loose my motivation, or just want to smile and laugh, I watch his videos or read his tweets. And Thomas isn't the only one who is very sweet. His fans (or fanders) are too, and Thomas has said so himself. I've seen how the fans of some youtubers demand new videos as soon as possible. The fans of Thomas don't do that. We know that he will give us a new video as soon as he can. He keeps us updated and tells us if the video is delayed, and is sorry about it. We don't mind if the video is late, we just want Thomas to be okay, stay healthy and sleep enough. He talks to us through his videos and tweets, and he wants us to be okay too. As I said, he's super sweet.

One video series of his that I absolutely love is called Sanders Sides. He has given a face, a voice and a name to four of his personality traits: creativity, logic, morality and anxiety. Creativity is named Roman, and is a prince. Logic is called Logan, and he is a teacher. Morality has been given the name Patton, he is a dad. And anxiety, my favourite, is called Virgil, he's, well, some kind of angsty teen or something, I guess. In the Sanders Sides videos Thomas speaks about important things that almost everyone will face at least once in their lives, like moving on, handling anxiety, fitting in and changes. The way he presents anxiety is just amazing. As someone who constantly struggles with anxiety, it feels amazing that someone has given a face to it and shows how you can handle it. Through his videos Thomas has thought me that anxiety is not always a bad thing, it keeps you on guard in case something really happens.

A picture of the Sanders Sides I made with my computer

Thomas has taught me that it's important to always have pride, and not let anyone tell you what to be or who to love. And Thomas isn't the only one who has helped me. For some time I was lost and didn't know what kind of life I could possibly have as a non-binary person, but seeing a couple of his friends, Joan and Talyn, live completely normal lives as non-binary people, has helped me to see that my life doesn't have to be any different than it has always been. Plus the friendship those three have is amazing. I would love to have a friendship like theirs. 

Thomas has helped me to be myself, and he helped me to get enough courage to come out to my mom as both non-binary and pan. Anyone who I don't know personally has never had an impact this huge in my life before. 

A picture of Thomas, Joan and Talyn I made with my computer

So in conclusion. Thomas is amazing, sweet and funny. He and his videos always make me smile, and have changed my life and how I see my future. I love him and the fanders community so fricking much. I'm forever thankful for Thomas and the community for existing.