In honor of International Women’s Day, YouTube launched the #DearMe campaign earlier this week, asking social media users what advice they would give to their younger selves.
YouTube enlisted the help of some of its biggest stars, including Michelle Phan, to help kick-start the campaign, and started a Tumblr page on which users could create and upload #DearMe gifs to the popular blogging site.
According to Variety , the #DearMe campaign, which asked users to upload advice aimed at helping younger girls, became the number one topic on Twitter within an hour of its launch. Users embraced the hashtag, posting tweets and videos with advice for themselves to the site.
Mostly, my #DearMe would be to not be so scared of everything. Take some chances. Travel more. You’ll be fine, I promise.
— sarahdessen (@sarahdessen) March 5, 2015
#DearMe Don’t worry abt what ppl say they don’t define u. True friends celebrate u they don’t compete. 4give & let go pic.twitter.com/nmcEbBWDwL
— Christi Paul (@Christi_Paul) March 5, 2015
#DearMe , you are more than one bad day, one failed exam, one snarky comment, one day that ended in tears. You will learn to embrace the good
— AmyPoehlerSmartGirls (@smrtgrls) March 5, 2015
#DearMe 40 is a lot more fun than 30 is a lot more fun than 20. pic.twitter.com/tqqRAj1H0V
— Sophia Cannon (@UndercoverMutha) March 5, 2015
#DearMe : Bullying is not and will never be your fault. Be strong.
— Secret Mean Stinks (@MeanStinks) March 4, 2015
And just in case you were wondering just what International Women’s Day is all about, this Inquisitr report explains the significance.
According to Seattle television station King 5, some local senior citizens from the Bayview Retirement Community in Queen Anne even took part in the #DearMe initiative. Three women recorded their videos and the staff at the assisted living facility uploaded them.
“Bayview keeps track of trending hashtags on Twitter,” said a Bayview spokesperson. “When we came across #DearMe, we thought this was incredibly applicable to Bayview. The best advice you can get is from seniors.”
The senior women gave sage advice in their videos such as “Keep on dreaming” and “Get out in the sunshine. You are beautiful,” but perhaps the best advice — for young girls or anyone else — came from 88-year-old Arleen Nelson.
“… if I were to give advice, I would tell you not ever to get trapped into a five year plan,” Nelson said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen in four years or in ten minutes.”
So, what advice would you give your younger self?
[Images via Tim Boyle / Getty Images]
