Q: 

Hi Natalie,

I've been watching your videos since 2008 and you've inspired me SO much. I really enjoy the music you put in your videos, the songs are so inspirational. You've got me obssesed with Passion Pit,Bon Iver, Mumford & sons, Benjamin Francis Leftwich and Greg Laswell. I was wondering if you knew more artists/bands like these with nice inspirational music(:

You've also made me want to start making videos, and I'm saving up for a camera, im too young for a job at the moment and want to get a decent camera for a decent price. I know the Canon Vixias are ranging from 200-400$ where i live and was wondering if you recommend that for a beginner, since you made some of your first videos with a vixia, and which one would be best (im willing to pay 400$ for now).

Thsnk you so much :)

-Anonymous

A: 

Aw! That makes me smile to hear. Thank you! 

-

I have a few people in mind for you to check out;  

Conner Youngblood (Gold, Warpath)

The Veils (Sit Down By the Fire)

Jack Penate (Pull My Heart Away)

KO KO (Float)

Bombay Bicycle Club (Pedestal, Ivy Gold)

Beach House (The Hours, Myth, 10 Mile Stereo)

The Perishers (Nothing Like You and I)

Two Door Cinema Club (Eat That Up its Good For You, Something Good Can Work)

The Middle East (Blood)

The Black Keys (The Only One)

Beirut (Elephant Gun, Mimizan, The Penalty)

Keane (Crystal Ball, Somewhere Only We Know)

The Killers (A White Demon Love Song, Miss Atomic Bomb)

The Temper Trap (Sweet Disposition, Love Lost, Fader)

Arcade Fire (We Used To Wait, Wasted Hours, Half Light II, Rebellion) 

Band of Horses (Our Swords, The Funeral)

Coconut Records (It's Not You It's Me)

Hope you liked at least a couple of those :) They're my favourites! 

-

As for cameras;

You can't go wrong with a Vixia! Best consumer HD video camera I've ever come across! If you're willing to spend up to $400, you've got the perfect budget for one of these. It's well worth the investment as well. 

I'd suggest checking out either of these: 

(Vixia HF M500 - the more $$ of the two as it's got more features)

http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_301509_-1

(Vixia HF R30)

http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_301502_-1

Both are full HD cameras and absolutely perfect for shooting video for YouTube! 

They're simple to use and really just professional. Such a deal for the price. (Haha don't I sound like a salesperson...!?)

You can always double check on Amazon to see if you can't find a better priced one. You may be able to find something much cheaper than the stock ones advertised on Canon's website. 

Best of luck! <3 And message me on YouTube (or through my email for this blog!) if you have any further questions :) 

Q: What happened to libbyhorseislove? Where did she go?

A: She quit YouTube a few years back as she lost interest in making videos. She's in college now, and still rides during her breaks! 

Q: Hi Natalie! I'd really love if you could give me some advice on a situation I'm in (this is SO long, I'm sorry). Basically, my best guy friend has a girlfriend, who treats him so badly. I really, really like him. He's been with this girl for almost 2 years. He knows how badly she treats him, and we were talking about it today over text and he said he's just going to ‘take it and keep going'. I just think it's ridiculous that he puts up with it. She lives about 3 hours away, though she is supposed to be moving in with him and his parents soon. (For some context, he is 19, I'm 17). 

We've been really close for about a year now, though we've been friends for more than 2 years. We work together, and every time we say hello or goodbye he always hugs me. If I ever leave without hugging him goodbye he will text me saying 'where was my hug?!' or something like that. He will always find an excuse to touch me.

Now, this is where it gets more complicated. One night a few weeks ago, we were driving around town (he lied to his girlfriend about where he was because she would kill him), and we ended up laying in his car in the middle of nowhere. Basically, we’re laying there with his hand on my ass up my dress, talking about things I certainly wouldn’t be happy knowing if I were his girlfriend – to put it that way. It would have gone further (not anything too far – he’s not like that), but I stopped him because I knew he would regret it. He’s such a good guy and he would never cheat on her, I think her crap just got too much for him. He apologized so much after, he felt so bad. I told him that I understand, because he wants to be with her. And he said yes. Then he asked me if I was ok, I lied.

It wasn’t until the last few days that I ever told him how I really feel about her, how badly she treats him. That’s when he said he’s just going to ‘take it’. Up until now I’d always pretend to be happy about him being with her, I was trying to be supportive. But he texted me saying he was having a bad day and I eventually got to the fact that it was because of her – that’s when I admitted that if I were him I wouldn’t be with her.

I’m sorry for how long this is thank you so much if you’re still reading. Basically, when she does move here we won’t talk other than at work because she won’t let him. I really, really care about him, and I’m sick of her treating him badly. I have always liked him, it’s always been him. I like him so much it hurts. I just don’t know what to do; I’d love your opinion?

A:  Hey there!
What makes this good news for you, is that it's obvious he has feelings for you. I think you can feel that the chemistry/tension between the two of you is pretty strong. If anything, I can assure you that he's on the fence about being with her. It seems like he's with her more over obligation due to the fact that she will be moving in with him than he is with her due to how good their relationship is.  How he acted with you in the car really makes me think he knows it won't last. He just feels like he should be with her. Sometimes it's easier to let something fall apart then to make the decision to force it apart in first place, isn't it? That's most likely the position he's in at the moment.
I admire you for being able to be so supportive for all the time they've been together. What's wonderful is that you two haven't done anything to really complicate things or to make the situation too sticky to get out of (ie cheating, etc)
I think all you can do now is be there for him and maintain the friendship that you two  do have. Once she moves in it'll be much more prevalent to him that he has to make a choice. Just think; if she moves in with him and they're spending all of their time together, he's WAY more likely to call it quits.
Distance has this strange way of keeping relationships (even tricky ones like theirs) together, only because it seems distance leaves room for the mind to ease up on things and make things much less of an immediate issue. I doubt that once they're under the same roof, he'll be able to just "take it" that easily.
 Just please don't be his "second choice." If he's on the fence between staying with her or being with you; I'd be really cautious. You don't want him breaking up with her so he can be with you (trust me, I've been in this very situation and it doesn't end well - there's far too many complications that go along with it. Things end how they begin. It's a vicious ) You deserve more than that! But, if he leaves her simply because he doesn't feel that way about her anymore and he's fed up... then you're in good shape. Still though, I'd wait it out before you two make more out of your relationship. For obvious reasons, it's good to give him some time to breathe and think for himself again (get out of that controlling girlfriend crap!) and wait for him to be ready for a relationship. For you to be his first choice.

Anyone would be able to tell that he has feelings for you. And I can tell you he definitely deserves a great, patient girl like you! Chances are, if he's already thought of giving up on her, he has. You can't un-think a thought, right?

Best of luck! Hang in there, be there for him and watch from a distance. It'll play out... and hopefully in your favour! <3

Q: If you don't mind answering, what film schools are you applying to?


A: Not at all! Lets see... top choice is definitely Emerson in Boston! Others are; SCAD, American, DePaul, Eckerd, Lynn, Edinburgh (in Scotland) and Oxford Brookes (In England)

Q: Describe what you see your life being like in 10 years? (Job, horse, location, family, etc)

A: I'm at a point where quite honestly, I don't even know what I want to do. Although, almost being 30 years old in 10 years (What?!) 

 I see myself surrounded by like-minded and wonderful people, making connections, working together to create things. I see myself doing what I love - whatever that may be when the time comes; Right now it looks like my place I'll find somewhere in the film industry. I see myself being proud of what I've done, and knowing that if I were to die right then and there, I'd have done enough. I'd have really lived. I see myself being driven. I see myself going to a coffee shop on a Sunday morning, starting the day off just right with that little bit of caffeine and time to relax, and then I'll go out into the city I'll live in and practice breathing. I see myself routinely visiting a barn, maybe the one I'll retire Magic at and riding. Not in an arena or anything, just... riding, outside away from the world and alone with my horse.  I'll travel. All over the world - mostly to warm places ;)

These are the little goals I'd like to meet, or even if they're not so little. It's the things like "I see myself famous" or just knowing your end goal is to be in the magazines, to be making big money, to be a top model, winning awards at the Oscars, etc... That bring you the trouble, the disappointment. It's the small goals that count for something. Its not having huge expectations. It's just being at peace with yourself and loving what you do and doing what you love. I think that one day, we'll all find this "happy medium" even if it comes in phases... That's just the phase I hope to be in in 10 years time. 

Q: I love your videos and you give me more inspiration to pick up my computer and edit more. And to aslo pull out my camera and photograph my life haha. Just wondering what your plans are for riding these days?

A: Aw, this made me smile. Thank you! I've been taking lessons once a week for the last few months. But, hopefully soon enough as things have calmed down with school I'll be able to ride 2x a week. For now, my only plans are to keep taking lessons and get back in riding shape! Nothing drastic really - I may do a clinic or two but as far as showing goes, I don't think I'll be doing any. Its just nice to be back in the saddle :) Although it would be so lovely to ride somewhere where I can go out on the trails again, I really and truly miss that. 

Q: What lenses do you use with your Canon when you film videos?

A: I use the stock lens (18-55mm), my telephoto lens (55-250mm) and my macro lens (50mm 1.8)

Q:
How is your lip?

-Anonymous


A:
Much, much better thank you for asking! You can hardly tell apart from a slight botox-like left side haha! It healed so fast - really hard to believe it was only a month ago. 

Q: 

Hi Natalie! First, I just want to say I absolutely love your YouTube!(: And this advice blog/column is a terrific idea! I'm a junior in high school and I should probably already know about all of this stuff...but unfortunately I don't. My teachers/counselors haven't explained it very well. They basically gave us a sheet of paper saying do this and do that by this month. I need help with the whole SAT process, like registering. Do you have any tips on how to study for it? I'm mainly nervous about the math and essay portions. I just don't know what to do at all and I'm beyond stressed. /:

-Cindy

A: Hey Cindy! Aw thank you! I just went through this - and if it makes you feel any better, I only started the process the beginning of my senior year! It's not as stressful as they try to make it seem, I promise. I had a tutor for this 2x a week (both english and math) and basically they gave me tips to use on the SAT. 

• ALWAYS always skip questions you can't narrow down to less than two options - you're marked down a whole 1/4 of a point for wrong answers, and not marked down any points for skipped answers! 

• A great strategy for math on the SAT is plugging in numbers and answers (which means that you don't actually have to DO math when there's a missing variable, just plug in a multiple choice answer they've given you and plug it into your equation. For on questions with variables in the answers, you can come up wit your own numbers instead of dealing with all of the variables. - HUGE time savers!)

• For the Essay, your BIGGEST tool is an "idea bank." Write down categories for possible questions (Social Sciences, Arts and Lit, Popular Culture, The Sciences, Personal) and list under each topic, writing points and events that you could write an essay itself on. Wether it's current events, historical events or ones in your own life... make a list of them! 

• When you write your essay, the people actually grading them are looking for an essay structured as such; An intro including a thesis, Example 1, Reasoning (which includes why it was relevant and if it didnt happen, what would be different), Example 2, Reasoning, and then your Conclusion. 

•If you're worried about time on the essay  I suggest taking 4 minutes to outline, 20 minutes to write and 1 minute at the end to scan.

•I highly suggest buying the SAT book so you can take the practice tests, get familiar with the material, etc. 

• Practice questions are on collegeboard.com! That's where you sign up as well - I highly recommend taking those practice tests. 

I know it seems like loads of stress right now with pressure on grades, applying to colleges, SATs.. ETC. One year from now you're going to be taking deep, relaxed breaths and you'll be so proud of yourelf for getting through it all. It's SO worth all of the hard work. You'll get through it girl! And best of luck. Hope I was a bit of help to you - feel free to message me again if you have any further questions. 

-Natalie