NerdBot 9000

What’s up punk!? You’re probably thinking that you look pretty badass with long hair and a redneck mustache. Also wearing those super baggy Jnco jeans and painting your finger nails black. (Yes, I was THAT kid.) Well, I have some news for you: you look ridiculous! But that’s ok, it’s part of growing up. You’re going to learn A LOT in the coming years . So, this is a message to you and to anyone looking for a different perspective on life.

Looks matter, whether you believe it or not. People will judge you based on how you present yourself. So wear clothes that fit, clothes that say “hey, I’m awesome.” I understand the youthful rebellion thing but, in the long run you’re gonna wanna be a part of society. Instead of that awkward reclusive outcast saying “EFF YOU!!” to the world. Also, girls don’t care for long hair and a mustache, especially not on a 15 year old goth/nerd kid.

Take high school seriously! Graduate and go to college, sometimes the degree they give you is worthless. However the connections you make in college are priceless, sometimes its not what you know it’s WHO you know. Follow your passion though, don’t let anyone tell you what you want to do with your life, EVEN YOUR PARENTS!! They may know what’s best for you at times, but they won’t know what will keep you happy. NEVER GIVE UP ON WHAT YOU WANT!!! I can’t stress that enough, you’re going to be overwhelmed at times, you’re going to think something is just too hard. You’ll make excuses why you can’t do something and then you’ll put it off for another day. But I’ll tell you what happens… 10 years will pass and all you can do is regret giving up. That’s the truth.

About girls… Believe it or not trust your heart. Not the part of your mind that says “I really wanna get laid!” Never lie to yourself, deep down you know if a relationship will work or not. So don’t waste your time on anyone who isn’t worth it. But in all seriousness don’t even try to understand them because in my 26 years they are still another species to me.

People are going to judge you, they’re going to say where you belong and you’re going to believe them. That’s another time where you’ll lie to yourself and keep how you really are hidden from everyone. The truth is though… You can’t hide who you are, you’re a nerdy, dorky, socially awkward, creative genius!!! Though no one will tell you this, but you’ll be a star in everyone’s eyes and they so desperately want to see you succeed. Don’t ever put something off for another day, time is something you can waste but you’ll never ever be able to get back.

The most important thing I can stress to you, is that you have the right to be happy. No matter how impossible you think that might be, you can find it. Don’t settle for a false sense of happiness. Drowning yourself in a hobby, be it anime, music or video games, whatever it may be will only give you shallow happiness. Once the game is over its your life that will kick you in the face. Living in a reality in which you are not content will only breed sadness. Get out, at all costs and be happy.

These are some of the things I wish I was told when I was 15. I’m not saying I had bad parents, I had great parents. I just wish a little more time was spent on self improvement instead of me keeping to myself and worrying what people thought of me. Hope this helps someone.

Terry

Way back in 2005 or 2006 I realized what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to become a filmmaker. I remember coming to that conclusion was a long and tedious process.

I knew that I didn’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps, not that his path was a bad one I’m of course very appreciative of the sacrifices he made. My Dad worked in manufacturing for 27 years making plastic containers. While it may be a decently paying job I knew I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life.

When I was just 4 in 1989, I remember going to the theater with my family. We went to see Tim Burton’s 1989 classic ‘Batman.’ I remember being mystified at why all these strangers gathered to see a movie. It was an adventure! Something to breathe life and excitement into an otherwise boring life. But… It wasn’t then that I decided what I wanted to do.

At the age of 9 or 10 I, along with my brothers, shot our first film. It was titled ‘Batman vs. Darkman’ and it was awful. I remember being pretty in control of that project, my desire and imagination was kicking in. Still then I wasn’t sure that’s what I wanted to do.

So fast forward to 2005… My daughter just a year old and my life heading in a direction I wasn’t completely happy with. I was making the sacrifices I thought I needed to make for my little girl and I was ready for it. But then something happened with the mother and we separated… I felt an invigorating sensation of freedom. At the time I was ironically working at the same manufacturing company as my Dad.

Around this time my brothers and a couple of friends moved into my apartment. My friend who most Ghost Nova fans know as Peter told me about YouTube. I went to the website and I saw thousands of regular people making videos. Then the idea hit me… “Why don’t we make original content!?” At the time I thought that if we made original content and get lots of views we’d be picked up by a television network. So with my first tax return I ever got, I saved up a little bit more and went to by a Canon XL2… (David helped me… A LITTLE!!)

So once the camera was in my possession I must have played with it the rest of the night. I was in love with a device, which in a month or so was made obsolete by the introduction of HD cameras. My best friend (Robert AKA Masked Roach/Roberto) and I made the very first Ghost Nova film. It was a silly little “haunted house” type video that we ended up removing because of so many negative comments. With each film our ideas became more complex, our technique refining and my passion for filmmaking was growing.

Ghost Nova’s biggest problem was getting others motivated to do the videos. When we first started out I made slideshow presentations on how and why we should continue. I often got so much resistance from some of Ghost Nova crew that we’d get into arguing matches and we’d just say to hell with it. Despite the fact that our channel was growing, with Saw House over a million views and Bad Day for Steven at 20k. Most of the crew began to see it as a job they weren’t getting paid for, when it wasn’t like that for me at all…

Then on November 6th 2007, the biggest mistake I’ve ever
Made happened… I gave up on Ghost Nova… Feeling by myself and overwhelmed with the amount I had to do in order to make each video happen. Now I’m not pointing fingers at anyone, there were many occasions when the others were more motivated than I was. But in the end it was my succeeding to failure that was the cause of Ghost Nova’s downfall.

Shortly after that YouTube started the “YouTube Partnership Program” in which they pay original content creators for their work. But it wasn’t until June of 2011 did I realize I had left a passion, a dream of mine behind. It was a girl who broke my heart and girl who was a friend that made me realize that without even noticing it I was following in my Dad’s footsteps.

So if you take anything away from this, let it be this: NEVER GIVE UP!!! Since I’ve started again I’ve gained 91 subscribers and achieved YouTube Partnership. With my views struggling to barely reach 1,000 I know it’s an uphill battle from here. But I vow, to never give up on my dreams again. Ghost Nova WILL happen! Until then I guess it’ll be the little YouTube channel that could :)

Thank you for reading!
Terry