One year of being a GOAT, from Julius’ Eye.

Well, here we are.

I remember when this was an idea. Getting together, talking about movies, putting it somewhere online. For a while, it was just a fantasy, but… here we are.

WHO AM I?

Growing up in my position was probably different from most people I knew in school. I was alone for a majority of my childhood because I was incredibly shy but loud at the same time (translation: said a lot of dumb things). I talked to other kids and had friends, but I never really knew what it was like to be part of something. A unit (or squad if you are one of those types of people).

I went to day care during elementary school. That’s where I met a lot of friends I still talk to. One of these people was Daniel. He was one of the councilors there. His job was to watch over the kids and play with them. Whenever I talked to him, it was always about comic books or sci-fi. The nerdy stuff I liked.

Years later, the older version of the kid who was shy and loud went to High School. He met new people, got to know everyone better, and tried his best to be liked. Working there, was Daniel.

We talked and talked and talked about anything and everything but focused more on comics and movies. Sometimes, other people would join the conversation, other times it would be mano e mano. I felt like I was getting better with the whole “social thing.”

On the first day of my Junior Year, I had a Drama Class. I didn’t know anyone there, so I decided to sit in the back and mind my own business.

All of a sudden, some young guy came in singing, “It’s a beautiful morning!”

I didn’t know what to make of it. I was confused, intimidated, and I felt like this guy was going to get on my nerves. He was nice to people, he was social, and he seemed to have a pre-established relationship with the Drama teacher.

When class was starting, no one was really listening to the teachers opening lecture. I was trying to, but even I was dozing off while scanning the room, seeing if I knew anyone. I noticed that the guy who came in singing was doing the same thing from the front row, where he was sitting.

He looked straight at me, and I didn’t know what to make of it. Was the look on his face that of someone who wanted to get to know me? Or, was it the look of someone who was in cahoots with the popular kids I didn’t like, who found an opportunity to get in on their game of f#@king with me?

I looked away from him and just focused back on the teacher. When he was done lecturing, the singing boy walked in my direction. I pretended I didn’t notice, in hopes that I wouldn’t be bothered, but his social skills outmatched my introverted behavior.

“Hey man, are you Julius?” he said to me.

“Uh, yeah that’s me.” I replied.

“You’re the guy who posts all the superhero stuff on Facebook, right?” he asked while reaching out for a handshake.

“Uh, yeah.” I said with a slight chuckle, embarrassed, and ready for an insult.

“Cool man, I love that stuff. My name’s Angel. My favorite film of the year was X-Men: Days of Future Past. You saw that right? What did you think?”

I was shocked. I didn’t know what to say, other than, “Yeah, it was great.” So, I did.

I got to know Angel over the year. He was senior, so he would be graduating a year before me. Somehow, he knew Daniel and talked to him about the same stuff I would talk to him about. I would always hang out on campus after school to talk to Daniel or Angel or Daniel and Angel. Daniel would always say, “Dude, we can just record ourselves talking about this shit? Y’know? Then just post it to Youtube!”

Angel always replied, “Yeah, I would love to do that!”

I was always a “go with the flow” type, so I agreed with them.

One day in December 2015, during my senior year, Angel just came to me and said, “We’re doing it. You, me, Daniel, and Tim.”

I didn’t know Tim that well. Whenever we talked, it was always when Angel was there and it was a group thing. Never one on one.

Regardless of that, I smiled and was ready to get started in Febuary of 2016.

WHAT DOES ONE YEAR OF TALKING ABOUT MOVIES EVERY SINGLE WEEK ON CAMERA (or with a microphone) DO TO A PERSON?

When we started recording the videos and writing the articles, it was a learning curve. No one really knew what they were doing. In videos, we didn’t know how to speak properly, the editing was disjointed, the meetings were tiring. In writing, it wasn’t as often as it was supposed to, and people didn’t know how the WordPress worked exactly. Thankfully, everyone figured out what they were supposed to do.

Everyone seemed to be more active on social media. Angel would respond to every single person on Twitter. Tim would update the website. Daniel and I would post on Instagram. We were like an ant colony. We had jobs, and we were expected to do them.

We told a few people about what we were doing. We were doing this for us. Word got out, and next thing you know, people are asking us what it’s like to be on a podcast, they want to know if they can be on, they want to know where we film, what our opinion is on this and that, etc.

For me, that was cool. I liked it when people asked about that stuff because it showed a different side of them that I didn’t see before. I finally felt comfortable with them.

People would bring up the GOAT in class, after school, eventually some kids wanted to interview Daniel and I for the school newspaper (which was sick). I met new people, went to the movies more often, got to share my opinion, and I edited a bunch.

It’s crazy for me to think that I’ve been doing what I love for a whole year. I’ve hung out with friends more often than I ever have. I know how to talk to people better. I’m a bit more out going. What a dream.

“THE NEXT COLLIDER?”

On one of our first episodes, someone commented that we were great and that we reminded him of Collider (a movie news channel on YT). I know that Angel took that with a lot of gratitude. Collider is one of the big influences of the channel. Angel loves what they do and so do I. Angel actually got to meet the Collider team once, and I know that was a dream come true for him. I would’ve freaked out as much as he tells me he did.

We’re small. We’re not at Collider level yet, but that’s the goal. The goal is to be heard and make some sort of difference. We’ve talked to people who listen to our videos and read our articles, and they’re some of the nicest people. They’ve told us that their lives changed when they listened. That’s something to be proud of. 

IN CONCLUSION.

I love that we have a little community. I love that we’re slowly building to something great. I love that I am part of something, and I am very grateful for those who helped me get to where I am through Year One. Here’s to Year Two.