VIRAL ALERT: 5 Life Lessons We've Learned From Jenna Marbles

If you want to talk OG YouTubers, it is of the utmost importance that you give Jenna Marbles some attention!

Jenna Marbles has become an icon on YouTube with over 16.7 million subscribers and over 2 billion video views! That is an impressive feat for a having been on YouTube since 2010. 

The video that first skyrocketed her channel to viral fame was actually her first ever YouTube video, “How to trick people into thinking you’re good looking”. In a YouTube world full of lip-syncs and viral clips, Jenna created a comedic parody that paved the way for YouTube comedians and all YouTubers, and she did it virtually overnight!

As you can see, the video has over 65 million views, and just as it set the tone for future videos on Jenna’s channel, it gave her the courage and confidence to make more videos and eventually make YouTube her career. At the time, no one was able to see the potential of YouTube as a real platform for a career, but Jenna, like a few other “original” YouTubers, continued to hone her talents into videos and the most successful ones were able to brand themselves and build her career. Within a year, Jenna created her iconic intro card and music. Notice the squeaky sounds that are still a trademark of her videos even today!

As Jenna has progressed as a YouTuber, she is known for her skits, rants, and parody videos and the occasional vlog. Through the years, she has not only shared her creativity and talents with us but she has also shared her life. We know that she grew up in Rochester, New York, and that she has a degree in Psychology and a Master’s in Education in Sport Psychology and Counseling. She’s told us about her old job as a bartender and working at a tanning salon. She shares her love of her dogs Kermit and Marble. She’s taken us on her journey as if we were in her passenger seat. From moving to L.A. and her encounters in the entertainment industry, to her quirky personality and her love life and ups and downs, Jenna is at real as it gets! 

Jenna even introduced her current boyfriend, Julien Solomita, to YouTube and Italian greyhounds (Jenna’s dog, Kermit). Subsequently, Julien started his own vlogging channel. 

Together, they have a weekly podcast channel. Shoutout to the Dink Fam! Their podcast varies in topics from current events to games and trivia, and is filled with celebrity and non-celebrity guests. One of my personal favorites is their conspiracy theory podcasts!

In a way, it’s like we’ve been growing along side with Jenna. She truly cares about her subscribers and sees them as a family. She even dishes out some advice in her videos. One video that Jenna makes every year is her annual Life Lessons:

So, in honor of Jenna’s Life Lessons video, I’d like to share Life Lessons I Learned from Jenna Marbles!

1. Don’t take life too seriously. 

Everyone gains more and more responsibilities as they get older, but Jenna taught me to take every opportunity to have fun, like when she tried her mightiest to prank Julien.

2. Be weird. Be yourself.

Who cares what other people think? You know yourself and what makes you happy, and that is what matters, even when you come up with crazy ideas. Just make sure you think it through first, like Jenna.

3. The importance of venting and letting your feelings out.

I’m all for being positive but sometimes you just have to let out frustrations and anger (in a healthy way of course), and I think you’ll find that, overall, you’ll be a calmer and happier person. And Jenna will even rant and complain for you!

4. Try new things, even if you’re not that good at it.

Sometimes it’s good to get out of your comfort zone and try something new, even if you’re not good at it at first or even good at it at all; it might be fun and you might learn something new. Even Jenna tried becoming a gamer.

5. Laugh at the haters.

You can’t please everyone, and the more successful you get, the more haters invade your life. Jenna made a “Reading Mean Comments” video inspired by Jimmy Kimmel’s segment on his show, and even though all those comments were terrible, Jenna just laughed it off. Be like Jenna.

Jenna Marbles is easily one of my favorite YouTubers and deserves all the success she has achieved over the past seven years. She’s taught me so much and I am grateful! Let’s end with my all-time favorite Jenna Marbles video and life lesson. It changed my life, teaching me to be curious of the world around me.

(Image via DJDM/WENN)

- Amanda Baltazar, YH Contributing Writer