Hugh Kennedy

Mrs. Cramer

Comp I Period 8

6 March 2019

The Impact of Influencers

The internet can be filled with some scary realities, like false news and viruses; but there

are also some great influencers on the internet. The greatest item I have ever found on the

internet and probably in my life are my most inspiration role models. For about four years now, I

have looked up to a specific group of people who I aspire to resemble in my future. These people

are the Game Grumps, they are a small entertainment company that specialize in their YouTube

channel where their most publicly known members, Daniel Leigh Avidan and Arin Hanson, play

video games and commentate over them. This simple platform and style of entertainment has

allowed me to hear and experience stories that have helped form the kind of person I aspire to be.

Their occupation may seem silly, but their impact has been incredible on me and the

more than five million subscribers to their YouTube channel. Through their grandiose catalogue

of videos, they have told numerous stories about their past, opinions, and their interpretation of

the outside world. I look up to both Danny and Arin significantly because I have been able to

relate to them through these stories. Daniel is 39 years old, he grew up in a Jewish family and

has always dreamt of becoming a musician, which he has achieved now with the aid of Game

Grumps. Danny recalls his situations of how his father didn’t support his dream initially because

his father believed that aspiring to become a musician would fail in supporting his needs

financially because of other family members attempting to become famous musicians and
failing. Against his father’s doubt, Dan carried on in fulfilling his dream and experienced

hardships along the way. From not affording medical bills, working dead-end jobs, and going

through multiple failed bands, such as The Northern Hues, Daniel was prepared to give up and

go back to the drudging work of product promotion, which is what he went to college for. His

life changed when he joined Game Grumps and he was able to become famous through the

internet and fulfill his dreams. This has taught me that if I want to succeed in whatever field I

want, I should pursue it through all hardships, and that is what I plan to do.

I relate to Arin through his stories of attempting to widen his range of abilities by

applying himself to multiple situations that an average person wouldn’t normally endure. Arin,

age 32, talks about how his current, mature self has evolved from his snobby, egotistical

childhood self. In his childhood, Arin tended to push away outsiders that seemed interested in

what he was and what he could do because he believed initially that he could achieve greatness

all on his own. Later in life, Arin had grown to embrace others and understand that he didn’t

have to do live life by himself. While the internet was still in its early stages, Arin made his own

animated shorts based off games or movies that he enjoyed. As these animations became more

popular, more people began to reach out to him to work with him. Arin learned to build

friendships with some of these people and together, Arin and a small group of partners created

Game Grumps. Arin’s story has taught me to allow others to aid in the formulation of my dream.

I have been watching the Game Grumps’ episodes since late 2015, and for a brief time, I

even stopped keeping up with new installments of their show. When I came back from my hiatus

Arin, Danny, and their team were still faithfully uploading to their channel. Coming back to this,

I realized, even if I don’t directly see it, there is always a cause to do what you love to do and
what you want to do. I plan to maintain this same mindset throughout my entire life, and I

believe that it will help me accomplish great achievements.