I’ll admit, some days, it hurts. They usually sting the most when I’m coming off an already bad day or I’m on my period. lol I also have a photo album on Facebook dedicated to the funniest and dumbest troll comments. Sometimes, they’re just so bad that you have to laugh at them. I also try to be objective and actually consider if the comment has any merit. It’s rare, but sometimes constructive criticism comes in a nasty package that’s worth examining. But for every negative comment there are dozens of positive ones. I have such an amazingly supportive audience. They make the trolls worth it. I’m also very careful about what and how much I share online, which seems to help. A few years ago I was way more open. I’d post about my job, my friends and my relationship with boyfriend Patrick (now fiancé). He would even show up in a my videos from time to time. But as my videos got more popular I started getting more and more negative comments.

People tracked Patrick down on Facebook and were harassing him, saying really hurtful things about our relationship, spreading lies about me and even sending hate messages to my work email. That’s when I decided to make a conscious decision to stop being so open online. Separating my offline life and online life makes it a little easier for me to dismiss those unsettling comments because they’re based on such a tiiiiny sliver of what I’ve shared. For me, knowing that those people really don’t know anything more than what I’ve told them, makes it easier to dismiss those negative comments. That, and the horrible spelling :) Even with all that, I don’t even have it that bad! I know people that regularly get death threats, have had people try to hack into their bank accounts and had their home phone numbers posted online. There’s dozens of websites and even a huge forum dedicated to trashing YouTubers, and I don’t even have one measly mention! lol So it could be a lot worse.

Most importantly, I try to keep in mind that when someone says something negative about me it usually has more to do with them and their own drama than it does with me. I’m very happy and very blessed to have great friends, an amazing family, the best fiancé in the world and the life and career that I want. Not everyone can say the same for themselves. For some people, the internet is the only place they can vent. The way I see it, I’m happy to have them vent on my videos. Every view counts! Plus, if I let the trolls get to me, then they take away from those great things in my life, which is exactly what they want. At the end of the day, they just aren’t worth it.

Ask me anything