In Real Life: My Journey to a Pixelated World Page 21

  Me and my mom in Disney World! #model

  Meet my dad, the macho man of Marlborough, Massachusetts. (Those blue eyes! The moustache!) This was taken at my grandmother’s house when I was around four years old.

  We used to get all dolled up for Easter Sunday. Mom and Nicole are showing off their fancy hairstyles. I’m showcasing my ability to fit four pieces of strawberry Hubba Bubba in my mouth at once. Easter baskets rule! (We were living in an apartment where I didn’t have my own bed, so the little things really counted.)

  Thanksgiving at my aunt’s house. My family was in a really good place at this time. I also loved getting to see and play with my cousins since we were all a little weird and had crazy imaginations.

  This is my childhood best friend, Jonica, back when we were both in kindergarten. Mom wanted to take a quick photo of us one day, so we grabbed props—a vase full of flowers for me, and a blue pom-pom wig for her. Nothing about this seemed weird at the time.

  Josefina, in full effect! This girl was a random neighbor, and for some reason my mom thought it would be hilarious to pose me in a dress, heels, and a giant red wig left over from Halloween. Who am I kidding? It was all me!

  Dad buried me in the sand during one of our annual trips with his family to Higgins Beach, Maine. After this photo was taken, he abruptly turned around and walked away, leaving me for the crabs. JK!

  I landed the lead role in the eighth grade production of Life of the Party. I loved my braces—I could have gotten away without having them (my teeth weren’t that bad), but today I’m so glad I did.

  Brittany and I acting wild in Amanda’s kitchen while microwaving some frozen pretzels.

  I got my braces off in ninth grade, and my big Joey smile made its first real appearance. Also, I swear those blond streaks in my hair are natural and caused by the camera flash. Seriously!

  For my ninth grade yearbook photo, I decided to wear two polo shirts on top of each other and pop both collars. The layered look was very hot back then. Or so I thought.

  I went to prom with Allison, even though she had a boyfriend at the time. He was NOT happy, but whatever. I selected this white tux after seeing it on a floor display at the rental center. Hey, I know what I like when I see it!

  I’m dressed as Nintendo’s Kid Icarus at the 2012 Anime Expo. The costume looks pretty finished, but all I can see are the details that got left out due to my being distracted by Mike!

  Meghan and I filmed a techno remix video of the Pokémon theme song. I rocked my classic nerd glasses. (Note that there are no actual lenses in them.)

  Me, Luke, Ingrid (his girlfriend at the time) and YouTuber Fleur all ran off for a quick getaway to Catalina Island.

  Rocking the red carpet at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards! I think I hid it pretty well, but I was having major anxiety about interviewing people like Victoria Justice, the cast of Awkward, and Jackie Emerson from The Hunger Games.

  Here’s Brittany and me at our very first VidCon. Ignore the sign—it was definitely not an FML moment. But we did have a WinterSpringPro video with that same title, so we thought it was cute!

  You can tell by the awkward smile on my face that I wasn’t ready for this shot. That’s Luke behind me and Meghan by my side—and this is the very first photo I took with either of them! The other two are YouTubers Michael Aranda and Kristina Horner.

  Just another day on the job—Meghan, Cat, and I visited this place full of trampolines for teen.com. We spent the day jumping up and down—our headaches afterward were worse than any hangover.

  My Neighbor Totoro became my roommate Totoro after I bought this giant beanbag shaped like one of my favorite anime characters of all time.

  When I took this selfie, I had no idea that I was going to meet Preston for the very first time just a few hours later.

  Regardless of what happened between us, I’m still happy that Sam helped me decide on the green Sperrys.

  I finally got rid of my emo hair! Best decision ever!

  My little Squish!! Jett is six years old here, and the photo was taken when I went home for Christmas, right after filming The Amazing Race.

  My fellow YouTubers at the 2013 VidCon! Back row, from left: Jenna Ezarik, yours truly, Marcus Butler, Tyler Oakley, Jim Chapman, Tanya Burr, Alfie Deyes. Bottom row, from left: Louise Watson, iJustine, Zoe Sugg, Louis Cole.

  My high school best buds Hannah and Mariah came to visit me in LA in 2014. I love that we are still as close as we were back in the crazy weird days of our youth.

  Here’s an outtake from the official Storytellers cast photo shoot! From left: Devyn Smith, Pierson Fode, me, Kristina Cole, Jake Thomas, and Jessica Lu.

  The first time that Storytellers ever appeared on a movie theater marquee! Such an amazing experience. Thank you to everyone who came!

  Fans IN REAL LIFE

  A Q&A with some of Joey’s Online Friends

  Sophie Dee, Age 13

  London, England

  Tell me something about yourself. I know this is strange, but I am a cat whisperer. When I meow at my cat, he meows back, and he gives me a very noisy greeting when I get home.

  What is your biggest challenge right now? Loneliness. I was never very popular and I don’t have a massive amount of friends. Even though my family is here for me, sometimes I just feel alone and unwanted. But watching your videos makes me feel like I’m not the only one, that others understand me and are there to help me.

  What are your hopes for the future? To have a job I’d enjoy doing, and to find happiness in simple things, like looking at pretty flowers and enjoying the fresh air. If I’ve learned anything from you, it’s to follow my dreams, that I can achieve anything in life as long as I work hard enough, to keep my head up, and that no dream is too crazy.

  Bailey Shepard, Age 15

  Atlanta, Georgia

  What’s one thing you’ve wanted to tell me? I actually met some of my closest friends on the Internet because of you!

  How’s life been lately? Lately, I have been struggling with anxiety. I’m trying to stay calm and stay relaxed more often. Watching your videos also helps calm me down.

  Hopes and dreams—go! I want to learn to play bass, I want to go to college, and I want to meet Joey Graceffa sometime soon!

  Jess Smith, Age 17

  London, England

  What surprises people about you? How much I love the cold—I’d always choose winter over summer. Similarly, I don’t like hot drinks while they are hot, they have to be cold. Bizarre, I know!

  How’s college? Stressful. The jump from secondary school to college is so big. Keeping up with course-work deadlines is strenuous because there are usually a hundred things I’d rather be doing than working on my papers!

  What do you want to do when you graduate? Preferably something with horses, as they have been a fundamental part of my life since I can remember. I also want to have good people around me, because you are only going to be as good as the people around you.

  Yan Schnaiter, Age 13

  Fishers, Indiana

  What’s the coolest birthday gift you’ve ever gotten? I have a real shining star named after me. It was a birthday gift from one of my best Internet friends. So tonight, twinkling over someone’s head and lighting up the night sky somewhere, is my star, Yan.

  What scares you? Sometimes I can’t help but feel that I’m not living my life to the fullest and doing enough cool stuff.

  What’s your big wish for the future? To meet you! But another wish I have is to travel the world, meet new people, and document it. I want to take high-quality pictures and videos to share online with people who, for whatever reason, can’t travel. I want everyone to have the chance to see what it looks like in some of the world’s most exotic locations.

  Isabella M., Age 16

  New York

  What’s the craziest way you spent a single day? I watched the entire first season of Friends in twenty-four hours.

  How are you trying to improve yourself? Lately, I’ve bee
n encouraging myself to be confident. Sometimes, in this society, I feel as if people have to outdo each other to fit in.

  Any wisdom you’d like to share with readers? There isn’t a direct solution to suddenly becoming confident overnight. You have to love yourself and constantly remind yourself how important you are. Do things in life that you enjoy and simply stick with it.

  Maddie Gilbreth, Age 14

  Northern Illinois

  What’s your big passion right now? I am a huge hockey fan. I play hockey as a starter on a boys’ team. Although it is sometimes a challenge, I manage to kick their butts!

  What are you trying to overcome? The biggest challenge that I am dealing with is conquering my severe anxiety. Last year, it got so bad that I couldn’t even go to school. I could barely leave the house. You have actually played a big role in helping me get through these struggles. As I began to watch you more and more, I discovered that you also deal with anxiety. You are still helping me to this day by showing me it’s good to go outside of my comfort zone and to be adventurous.

  What do you want to accomplish? My goal is to get my own YouTube channel going and to be successful at it. I don’t want to do it for views, popularity, or money. I want to do it so that I can have fun and simply make people happy with any little thing that I can possibly do. All my thanks go out to you for making awesome videos, because without them, I don’t know where I’d be.

  Michaela Suorsa, Age 14

  Frazier Park, California

  What makes you unique? I am an identical twin and we were adopted at birth.

  How has YouTube changed your life? When I went to VidCon in 2014, I met two amazing people while waiting in line to meet you. We connected because we both had a love for you, and we still keep in touch today!

  Tell me something about your family. My mom’s babymaker doesn’t work, so my whole family is adopted: my twin sister, my brother, and me. We have waited over ten years to get another child and my mom announced to us that we were getting a new little sister, who was nine years old!! I was so excited but also very nervous—I’ve never had a younger sibling before. But my new little sister, she’s awesome! She fits in perfectly. Also, every now and then, she watches Joey’s gaming videos with me. She loves them. True bonding! I’m turning her into quite the psychopath!

  What is something you’ve always believed? Everything happens for a reason. Just because things aren’t good right now doesn’t mean it’s always going to be that way, I promise.

  Charlotte Killen, Age 16

  Northern Ireland, UK

  Have we met? I recognize you! We Skyped before, back in September 2014 when I was part of your “Surprising My Subscribers” video! That was the best day of my life, and I got to show you the book I made for you!

  What sucks right now? School. It’s a struggle! Constant homework, tests, and studying! Luckily, I always have you at the other side of the screen to comfort me when I am finding it tough. It sounds strange I know, but it’s true! If I want to relax from homework or need a little break, I will go straight to your channel, and there is my ray of sunshine!

  What do you want most in this world? Mainly, to be happy. To enjoy life and try not to be TOO serious. I want to do well in school and try to be successful in everything I do. I would also love to meet you in person someday soon!

  Acknowledgments

  Nicole, thank you for being the coolest older sister ever. I’ve always looked up to you. Mom and Bob, thanks for always loving me and believing in me, and Dad, thanks for being my number-one fan. Jett, you will always be my little squish.

  To my friends: Brittany, I know we will be best friends forever—thanks for always making me laugh. Meghan, David, Cat, thank you for helping me get through the toughest of times. Mariah and Hannah—HJ for life! Thank you Saundra for your support!

  Luke, thank you for making me feel okay with who I am. Pam, you’re not just a trainer, you’re my California mom. Hallie, I’ll always be grateful for how you’ve helped me open my mind up and discover myself more. Jonica, we were the best of friends and I’ll never forget that. And to Alison, Rachel, and Amanda, thanks for helping me survive high school!

  Thank you to Joshua Lyon for helping me create this book, and to my editor, Daniella Wexler, for pushing me to get shit done. Petar Mandich, I’d be lost without you. To everyone else at Addition—your support in my life and career means so much to me. And a giant thanks to all my agents at UTA who believe in me and push me to bigger things.

  Lastly, thank you to all the haters—you’ve only made me stronger.

  JOEY GRACEFFA is one of the fastest-growing personalities on YouTube. In 2013, between his daily vlogs and gameplay videos, Joey produced and starred in his own Kickstarter-funded supernatural series, “Storytellers,” for which he won a Streamy Award. He also starred in The Amazing Race on CBS and returned in 2014 for the all-star edition. He grew up with his family in Boston before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment.

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  Copyright © 2015 by Joey Graceffa

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  First Keywords Press/ edition May 2015

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  Interior design by Paul Dippolito

  Cover Design and Photography by Van Urfalian

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

  ISBN 978-1-4767-9430-3

  ISBN 978-1-4767-9431-0 (ebook)