Were we the same teenager?

"This is about real life advice." SIMON YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND BUFFY IS SERIOUS BUSINESS.

MARTINA STOP! YOU ARE ACTUALLY TOO ADORABLE! IM GONNA DIE YOU LOOK SO CUTE IN THIS VIDEO ; W ;

That whole "don't be afraid to seek help". You touched my feels in a good way. Go Martina! (And Simon).

This is the video I discovered you guys with. I would later come back to this video hundreds of times when I needed to be cheered up during a really low time in my life, thank you Martina for that :)

This is why we love about you, Martina. Being awesome and honest at the same time. Not all people can do that. #respect #motivated

Thank you very much Martina. I thought this was gonna be a complete cry fest but your video was real, refreshing, and very very awesome.

Martina, thank you for this. I mean it, really. I've been thinking about high school recently and it has bummed me out big time. (Even though it was 6 years ago.) Knowing you had a similar story is so helpful! You've made me realize that I shouldn't let my past drag me down or stop me from moving on with my life. Things have, frankly, sucked in my life as of late, but at least knowing that my past relationships shouldn't define my future ones really gives me hope...for everything. 😊

Dear me, boys AREN'T worth it in high school. Stay focused on school and bettering yourself as a person!

I saw this video right when I needed it. I've been feeling this strange, at times nostalgic, feeling about my high school friendships, too. (Graduating this semester.) I didn't think anyone else could relate, and then you made a video about going through what sounds to be a similar situation as mine. I feel a lot more stronger knowing this phase in life after high school will fade. (Although I'm a bit nervous restarting the process of making new friends/letting go of old ones (ones that are just obligated after years of knowing each other! exactly right!)) Thank you for your honesty, Martina ~ it's really helping me navigate through this time

"you hanging on people just becuase ou've known each other for so long" describes it all. i know a lot of these people. but somehow memories and experiences make really strong bonds.

One of the best and realistic and relatable dear me I've seen on KZfaq! You're awesome Martina :D

i'm glad someone is posting about not caring what other people think. i was like that too. still am. i must admit i get weary of the incredibly similar videos on these youtube video themes that go around. very refreshing, martina!! i really enjoyed this

I definitely relate to the lack of interest in 'fitting in'. Nice to finally see one of these #DearMe videos expressing that. I understand and feel compassion for folks that were/are struggling with a desire to 'fit in'. It seems quite common. That's just nothing at all like what I wanted for myself. I had a large diverse group of friends. We were like a catch-all group of people who were generally funny and pleasant without putting any clique-like expectations on each other. I had a miserable time in high school, but that was for personal health reasons. Most everyone I spent time with then was super chill and supportive.

Thank you for posting this Martina. It's been 3 years since I've gotten out of high school and I shy away from making friends around university because I don't want to leave my high school friends, but you are right. I need to meet new people in my life especially like you said in your video, those friends are starting to put me down and make snarky comments and it definitely seems like we only hang around each other now cuz we've been friends throughout high school. I'm definitely taking your advice into consideration and I'm gonna open up more to new people because I honestly need new people in my life.

Thank you, this is just what I needed to hear.

my favorite thing about this channel (and there are so many things) is the omnipresence of non piu andrai. i just love it. it makes me really happy.

The relationship I've been in for the last two years just ended recently.. The advice you gave about making room for other people in your life and taking the separation from friends (and in this case relationships) gently and not taking it too personally was kind of inspiring and motivating. Thank you,

Preach it, Martina! Its like you were reading my mind and seeing all my worries and stuff, this actually helped me feel better. Thank you

What do you mean real advice is in the blog post? This is real good advice!

I haven't watched Eat Your Kimchi for awhile but I'm so glad to have come back to this video! It was so amazing to come to college and find people with similar interests. At first I would freak out when I found out someone liked KPOP or learning Japanese, but now it's a common thing to meet people with those interests. Thank you for inspiring me to reflect!

i cant even begin to thank you for this. i just graduated this past janurary and the not having the friends i had in school hit me hard. thank you.

Thanks so much for this video, Martina! I'm high school age, but not in "high school" (I'm in sixth form) and all of the advice you gave yourself really relates to what I'm going through now. In the space of only 3 months, lots of people I know changed for the better and the worse. I think I will find your advice really useful. :)

I needed to hear this. I beat myself up daily for falling out with my old best friend from school, we were best friends since we were little kids until the end of secondary school (or high school). I know it was a stupid thing to fall out over, to end so many years of friendship, and we spoke again like years later and everything is civil but... we're not friends anymore. She has her own friends, is not interested in being my friend as we were again which is fine but... I can't help but think 'what if' things were different, what if she was my best friend still. I've never found anyone to fill that void she's left, this is 8 years ago. It still hurts :(

This is the best, most relatable #dearme. Thank you.

I love this campagin!!! This is exactly what everyone should still do today! Everyone is soo inspiring!

i love this dear me because i was thinking something really emotional when i saw the youtube tag and what it was about but this is just light and really some advice that can be helpful towards a younger person

The part about friends I can really relate to that. I'm going through it now. When I left for Japan a couple of years ago my friends that I had in middle and high school were no longer my friends when I came back. I felt dissed and tossed to the side. But hearing you give that advice really helped me cause I have been holding on to anger for them for some time now. I think I can actually let it go and try to make new friends and move on. Thanks Martina!!!!!!!

Yes! You will meet awesome new people! I wish I knew that back then...

Love your videos like always! ❤️

Thanks for the share, especially about the old high school friends. I recently discovered that bit about not needing to stick with them out of obligation maybe a few weeks ago (and it's been some time since high school). Letting go is tough after all this time, but I'm starting to see and enjoy the freedom in not wedding myself to one group of people. Your experience really lines up with mine right now, so I'm hopeful for the future. Yay growing up! BTW love your videos!

I related to this alot, as opposed to the other #dearme's in which I didn't at all. I get you, Martina. I get you. I'm 21 and I had similar situations to you at High School and at the moment I'm dealing with the whole old friends changing and broadening my social circles and whatnot.

This was actually helpful b/c I've had this friend that i've known for over a decade now and I've just come to realize over the last year that I don't like being around her anymore and she's the type of person I want nothing to do with but people keep telling me i can't just go breaking that friendship off b/c we've known each other so long. So this was really helpful and made me feel less guilty about leaving behind someone who isn't good for me. Thanks!!!!!

I would say this is probably the best Dear Me I have seen. I can relate to it really well, for different reasons, but still. I also liked how you just didn't care about what people thought of you. I would say I am vaguely like that, but I still want people to like me, I am not going to change for someone, but I will not tell them things (my love of heavy metal music, science, I am an art nerd etc.) because I don't want them to leave me; if they ask I will tell them, but I won't be open about it.

Martina this was so helpful! My best friend and I just basically cut ties and I was feeling like totally crap because of it, but now I feel a lot better because of what you said. Thank you so much! You're the best!!

Can I just thank you, Martina? I've been out of high school for only two years yet everything you mentioned resonated to me. I've always marched to the beat of my own drum, made friends no matter what "clique" [yay for small private schools where everyone knows everyone lol], and I had very specific interests where not a lot of people shared the same interest. Between graduation and now I've found that it is okay to cut out friendships that are only there because I've known them for o long & that there are people who share/fangirl over the same things I fangirl over. It's crazy how you can get all caught up with high school where you forget that there's a whole big world once you graduate. I'm probably rambling but again I just want to thank you & keep being your awesome self.

Thank you martina ;w; this is the stuff i wanna hear. Fitting in isnt a big issue for me, its just losing the people and becoming apart from them that hurts. I needed this >

LOVED every aspect of this video ♡ ...And would agree with so you on so many levels! In my 30's now and confess I've had days where I wished for that high school bubble a time or two, lol.. no matter what, grass seems greener and I've learned by now that it's never the case. I would tell my high school self that bettering my maturity and confidence is inevitable from all my encounters, (even when I have been the immature ones at times), professional and personal so learn from them or grow with them, just as you had touched on this. THANK YOU for always making my day a little brighter after having watched a video you've created at EYK. ~From A fan, a fellow traveler, a wistful friend, and a peer

Forget about my past self, you just spoke to my present self. Despite being 24 and done with college, I still have a real issue with 'fitting in' in some sort of group. Or even finding peeps with the same interests. I still haven't found anyone who seems to really connect with me (other than my husband, whom is my best-est friend evvaaar). Or, well, I find people but then we never really get to chat or hang out. Anyway, this really inspired me to really go out there and get to know more people! There's bound to be others like me! Thanks for lifting my spirit, Martina!

Martina and Simon, I've been watching your videos since i was in grade seven. Now i am in first year university, and i am also attending UofT. I really love your videos, and how much i can relate to both of you. You guys are awesome, keep doing what your doing!

I think this is my favorite Dear Me video I've seen :) I can really relate to the stuff about not hanging on to old friendships "just because we've known each other x amount of time" and it's something I wish I had learned sooner.

wow martina! that "friends limiting thing" really got to me.. You are so right! Stay awesome!

This is some seriously awesome advice. Thank you Martina! And yeah, I can relate to pretty much all of it. I'm also not so concerned about popularity or fitting in (I'm very strange and I like it!) so I ended up liking this # Dear Me video best. Something I would tell myself is "it gets better" and "you are strong". These are two very important things that I've learned in these past 17 years that I've been alive. However, knowing me, I probably wouldn't take the advice and instead think something like "so cliche". In any case, though I had to go down some truly bumpy roads to learn these things, I'm pretty dang glad I know them now. :))

Thank you for filming~

Haha great video Martina!! Both humours and helpful. Thank you.

Great advice Martina! A lot of this is relatable and just useful.

I completely agree about high school being a small world. I also thought that no one was interested in the same things as I was but when I entered university I found so many people who shared my interests and so many people who became great friends

Dear high school me, Don't become friends with idiots. They stay idiots even after high school. Don't major in Nursing its not for you and you can't stand it!!! Trust me. Don't worry about not having a bunch of friends in highschool. You're not that big into crazy people to begin with. As a matter a fact they suck and your awesome. You become really good friends with ***** and she becomes your twin. Y'all fight sometimes but remember holding a grudge is stupid even though you know how to do it well... Never hide your love for anime. It actually helps you discover kpop. Remember anime awesome, kpop awesome! Don't be afraid to try new foods you'll thank me in the end. Also work out more. Its better for you than just sitting around and watching Jersey Shore. MTV gets really lame around the time you finish highschool. DONT WATCH JERSEY SHORE. IT TURNS YOUR BRAIN INTO MUSH!!!! And when its time to go to college major in Physical Therapy. It will be the best decision of your life. You may have days were you don't think you can go on and Sleepless Nights. (SHINee reference) but you will find it more rewarding and satisfactory. Invest in two or three external hard drives. Trust me your gonna need them. And remember SHINee is your all time favorite boy group. Don't fight the power of the Kim Jonghyun it will save you a lot of time and tear filled fita of feels in the future!!!! Stay awesome, stay chill and everything will be okay.

Wow I really appreciate/totally relate to the comments about high school friends. I just graduated last year and it feels like the petty remarks are already aplenty and this gives me hope :D

My advice for my high school self is don't be afraid to change, some change can be good, and some of your best experiences come from changing.

Martina you're great and funny. Eyk videos allways make me happy

Love you girl and thanks for the advice. High school is something I shall conquer!!!!!

Thank you Martina!! It helped me a lotttt because I'm about to start high school I love you!

Hello Martina! Thank you for sharing this! It really helped me realize that even though now I know all the "don't be afraid', or 'it's just a short period', I still am in that period and it still is difficult going through high school. Especially because I'm going to a french high school but it's actually the same school, the same people I go with since Elementary school/Kindergarten (I don't really know which, since I was 3 anyways). Thanks for your advice! :)

Wheel of Time is awesome. I cried, literally cried in the end.

I completely agree with your thoughts on "high school friends". Once I let mine go, it felt way too good to be true! Don't ever let people drag you back to your past. Be with people who pushes you foward :)

I've watched a couple dear me's and did not relate to them at all, but I definitely related to this one. Thanks Martina!

Wow martina. Actually i feel so much better now! I dont have friends left from high school acceot only one... and i used to feel so forever alone bcz of thaf. Like why? Why i was their friend for 6 years and now i feel so akward to talk to them? And, well, i say to myself thats just life. Thats normal. I dont need to keep those friends by my side against my (and their) will... And when such a lovely and smart person like you say those things too it really makes me feel better about my self. Thanks dear!!^_^

WOW !!! i just noticed that your guys have almost hit 1 MILLION subscribers !!!! good job !!!!

Dear past me, remember this one thing, love yourself! You are beautiful and loved. Don't let your mistakes define you and learn from them. And most importantly, you rock!!!!!

love the point you brought up Martina :)

It would really make my day if you said hi to me. Like I've been feeling really down lately and I've been watching your videos and they cheer me up for a bit. LOVE YOU!

This is soo me!! Love you Martina!!!

That thing you said about friends Martina is not just for high school, it's for the rest of our lives! Losing friendships is forever going to be hard. I'm convinced that Facebook has us thinking we need to keep up with a lot of people we should have forgot about after we left high school, only to be seen again at 10 year class reunions! In the past, you lost contact with people and it was normal. Not to mention HEALTHY! Now, I have people giving me grief if I don't add them on Facebook.

Martina, you are beautiful. Both inside and out. I'm glad I invested in you guys :)

You are delightful! And I really enjoyed this video. And I can't think of a clever way to say that because it's been kind of a lousy day. Which you just brightened up. Thank you! (Also: Sailor Moon remake?? I have major googling to do.)

I loved this #dearme ! I felt your advice was really good, especially the one about growing up and changing! When I left high school and went overseas, I had nothing left to talk to my high school friends about because they were still the same-ish and I had had to grow up a lot more living away from home. If I could give my high school self some advice though, it would be to actually listen to my mum when she told me to study hard because I missed out on a few opportunities because of being too lazy. Also that if someone is being mean to you and saying that "their your friend", don't be afraid to stick up for yourself because you don't need friends who ruin your self-confidence.

I love the new sailor moon toooooo!!! Love you Martina, you're a beautiful soul!

Martina I can relate to every single thing you said (which is kinda scary haha) and I just wanted to say thank you for sharing these pieces of advice with us nasties 💕 lots of love from Italy

Thank you for this Martina! When I graduated high school, I took one semester at a community college and had NO idea what I wanted to do with my life. I had nobody to talk to about and didn't really have any friends. Five years later, I have finally decided that I want to be a Japanese translator and am going back to school - doing online classes right now. This video gives me hope that when I enter university in the fall, I will find people, FRIENDS, who love Sailor Moon and Asian related things like I do. Dear High School Me, Decide what you want to do before high school ends! Don't worry about where your friends/boyfriend are going and what they're doing with their life. YOU are important too and you should follow your dream and do what you want with your life!

MY FIRST TIME WATCHING EYK IN KOREA. -SCREAMING- let me see you. o.o

This was the best Dear me I have seen so far. :) I would also warn myself (& others) that in S6 when Tara dies & you assume she will be resurrected, she wont. Dear younger me: 1- you are not weak, you are ill, get your doc to refer you & get you diagnosed asap. 2- tell teachers you are struggling & find good dyslexic help now, don't wait until university. 3- more people fancy you than you think, make a move, the worst that could happen is they rebuff your advances, and they probably wont. 4- Save money, your ISA is there for a reason, use it!

Love this 😍😍

Ahahaha loved the Buffy part in the beginning!! :D

Eat Your Kimchi Martina the stuff you said about holding on to "friends" is so true. It was so hard for me to let go of some of my friends even though it needed to happen. I wish I had not been so dramatic about the whole thing. That is for sure is one thing I would tell my younger self.

This really means a lot to me right now. Coming to terms with the end of highschool has be a much bigger ordeal than I ever would have thought, especially in terms of all this friendship stuff. It's reassuring to hear that there's life on the other side :)

the same circle of high school friends dragging each other down, totally can relate. i ended it yesterday and i feel so much better.

thank you so so so much about that friendship advice because sometimes I worry about what would happen to my friends in the next couple of years and i wonder should I make more effort on my friendships or should i just let it go. im 15 right now and I think i'm at that phase where I wanna keep all my friends throughout the whole high school years but when I know it's not gonna happen. I know i'm gonna meet new people but I can't help it to think about my friends right now and wanting to keep them close to my life. But I gotta think realistically where life moves on and friends comes and goes. So i'm going to hang with my friends as much as I can before i realize they're out of my life. So thank you so much with the advice about friends! it's been really helpful for me to make me aware that couple of my good friends are going stay with me with the next couple years and the ones i sometimes talk to will be likely be a memory of my life. Thanks again and Have nice day :) - A Nastie

MARTINA!!!! We are the same kid! I was a goth kid that hated pink and pop music and all things girly. I was also totally obsessed with sailor moon and had no one to share it with. I also have chronic illnesses and you inspirer so much with how you remain a positive and amazing person even when your body wants to be a douchebag. You and Simon (and Spudgy, Meems, Leigh and SooZee) bring me so many smiles and belly laughs. I hope one day to have a Dothraki Man warrior of my own and the means to travel to Korea and meet you guise!!

I just wanted to fit in because I didn't have a single friend in middle school. Do you know how hard it is to have NO FRIENDS? To not have anywhere to go? Honeslty, I don't know how I survived middle school, and although I'm in a better place now, there's no advice I could give to myself that would've made those miserable years any better.

Wow, that thing that you said about being convinced that there was no one out there that had similar interests to me hit me hard. When I was younger, I really felt alone when it came to interests since I was the only person I knew that liked anime and manga. And when I realized this, I thought that it was kind of strange. I felt like I was weird/the odd man out since I was the only one who liked this particular thing. But I had nothing to worry about since a few years later, I found an amazing group of friends (that I'm still close to till today) that I can share all my fandoms to (we even became friends through our favorite anime at the time). So I'm glad I'm not the only one who experienced this. So yeah, some advice I would leave for my younger self would be: You don't have to do what everyone else is doing, be what you want to be and do what you want to do. Express every side of yourself, even the weird ones, there will be people who like it and those are the ones that matter. And lastly, you will get obsessed with amazing animes and adorable ships that will ruin your life but make you immensely happy on a daily basis, so brace yourself for that :D

its 5am here and im still up watching this hahah :') this was too funny love you martina!

OMG! I relate to you BIG time😂💞 I love you

Martina!!! The part about your high school friendship ending.... that happened to me ;;A;; , I fell out with 2 of my best friends and I was on my own. I was devastated.... it felt like the end of the world. However I met and hung out with someone else who understood me and was really good to me .. Im so thankful for them! It makes me feel better that you had a similar experience with friends. Even now, I always take friendship break ups so seriously and I get soooo emotional and lonely. (one of the reasons I hate making new friends, Im always scared things wont work out after Iv gotten attached) Even though i sort of new the part about people changing and growing.... Im glad you said it because I didn't consider it enough.... thank you for saying it!

OMG I can totally relate with you about your experience with friends. This didn't happen to me until I went to college, but I lost some friends that I was really close to with in a span of 1 year and a half. I took it pretty hard. I think that experience coupled with the summer job that i did, plus the changes in my body drove me to a depressed state for about a year. I never went to see a councilor (which I wish i did) and my grades suffered. I am much better now and i just learned to expect that people want different things and will live their lives in different ways.

i completely agree martina!!! dear high school me i want to tell you that its ok to cry and its ok to ask for help remember you are you also dont be so forceful but dont be a push over also remember you where born to stand out not to fade away

Thank you to whoever did Italian subtitles!

Yes! The Wheel of Time is awesome Martina! Oh my how I would kill for someone to share this with where I live!

I was pretty much the same, except where I would give advice to younger me was the long depression after breaking up with my 2 best friends that I had grown up with. "Don't be scared, go see a counselor/ therapist/ whatever. & don't be discouraged, it may take several tries before you find the one that is right for you!"

Thank you Martina!

Just watched the video, some of the things you talked about really resonated with my high school self. From the Wheel of Time, to not caring if you fit in (I still have my clothes that no one liked from back then ^_^) I have to say it's totally true, no one around me liked computer hardware or the specific things I enjoyed. The internet is an awesome tool that brings people that have similar interests together, just keep looking and you'll find what you need :D

This is a great form of therapy without calling it that. Nicely done!

Martina is amazing....just ammmmmazing

LOL I loved this and I definitely agree with everything Martina said about her high school years... I was one of the rare kids that didn't give a crap about what anybody thought about me and I had the problem of finding other people who liked the same things I did. Luckily for me though, one of my friends didn't mind my continuous rants on Korean culture and actually enjoyed it and my other friend introduced me to Korean dramas... I've been hooked on them for 5 years now ;D

PREACH! I don't event need to write anything for myself. It's like you were speaking for me. ^^ Great advice Martinii^^

Omg almost cried X'D happiness, joy, sadness. Senior year is kicking my butt and I can't wait for the new people I will meet after high school! Lets hear it for crazy friends into Asian stuffs!!

This was Beautiful. x3 This #DearMe thing is pretty Cool.

I love this one :) ... I could relate to the high school stuff, because I was the same way... I was friends with who ever and was who ever i wanted to be... The advice i had to give myself and follow starting about a year ago was to remain that person... After completing college and the various stresses of finding work and developing new relationships and getting into the "real world" I realized I started to mold myself into someone others expected me to be rather than being me... so I had to reconnect with my self and learn to be true to myself... and that those who are real friends will stick around through thick and thin... If I could talk to my high school self I would tell her that I was proud of her for sticking to her guns and going to a college far away and getting that art degree she always wanted. I would also to her to not be so afraid of having more confidence and not be so hard on herself... its easier to practice in college. I would also tell her to not be so stubborn; and that grandma was right... perhaps a second major in a more practical field wouldn't be a terrible idea.

Eat Your Kimchi I related to one part of your message as in high school I never worried about being popular, and just did what I liked, and made me comfortable. I also had the worst time in high school, and would have told myself to just end it and start over. By the time you grow up you will have done nothing with your life, and even though some people act like you are there friend. Only about 4 or 5 actually show it.

I would have told myself the same things. :) Amber's song BEAUTIFUL was playing in my head while you were talking. XD