As a young adult with other friends who are also young adults, I like to watch things online, such a Netflix, Hulu and YouTube.
On YouTube, one is able to subscribe to different channels to make sure a video is not missed from that exact person.
As a young girl who is barely in her 20's, I am subscribed to a few channels that are owned by older ladies who tend to be role models for lots of younger girls (and guys).
One of the young women that I am subscribed to is Colleen Ballinger.
I am subscribed to her personal channel where she posts videos of her singing, storytime videos, challenge videos, playing with different toys and products, as well as doing collaborations with other YouTubers.
I am also subscribed to her vlog channel. Let me explain that "vlogging" is known as "video blogging", so basically she carries around a camera, filming things that she does all day and then posts these videos for all to see. Many YouTubers make a living off of this, including some really adorable families.
And of course, obviously, I am subscribed to her channel where she dresses up in red sweatpants and an "ugly dad shirt" while her hair is parted down the middle, wearing an excruciating amount of red lipstick, resulting in a character called Miranda Sings. Miranda is one of my favorite things in the world and if I am having a bad day, her videos never fail to make me laugh and cheer me up.
Let's go back to the idea of Colleen's vlog channel, though. This is where she posts videos of her traveling to the different shows that she does.
She posted a video recently called "What I do on my day off..." in which she travels from somewhere in Oregon through Northern California during her bus tour. She stops in Redding, CA to spend the night before driving a few more hours to do a show in Santa Rosa, CA the next evening. This video shows the different places she visits on the way to and in Redding.
We start off with a stop at a truck stop in Weed, CA; about 45 minutes north of Redding.
She says, "Truck stops are probably my favorite part of tour; besides meeting you guys and performing, of course."
In the past, she has expressed that she loves to stop at truck stops to look at all the random gifts and useless things that nobody probably ever buys.
This particular stop is, as mentioned earlier, in a city named Weed. Yes, it is a funny coincidence. Yes, it is an unfortunate name. Yes, people are always shocked or excited about the name. In the stop there's paraphernalia of all sorts with the phrase "I <3 WEED" on them, such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, magnets, postcards, etc.
She and her sister seem to be making fun of the city while they are in the truck stop. Little do they know that barely two years ago there was a devastating fire in Weed flattening 150 structures including a saw mill and a church, but many of them homes. 1 person was injured in the fire.
These young women were making a scene about a place that is still mourning from a devastation, but choosing to continue on with life to be able to serve whoever stops in their town, people like Colleen, because it is right on the interstate.
Once they got to Redding, Colleen starts off by saying "Redding" as if she would rather not be there. She then explains that they are choosing to go to dinner at a place called Cattlemen's, saying, "This is what tour life is like. Going to janky restaurants in towns that we don't know anything about."
In the video, she proceeds to film their meal time, highlighting the decor of the restaurant as well as the food that they ordered. Colleen and her sister react to the food in negative ways.
She posted a picture on Instagram of her sitting in the restaurant and the caption says, "Staying the night in a random town and this is the only restaurant we could find. The walls are covered in deer heads and everyone is wearing camo. The only thing on the menu is red meat. Oh, tour life... gotta love it."
First of all, let me explain that there is not just one single restaurant in Redding. There are many restaurants, such as Olive Garden, MOD Pizza, Chipotle, Taco Bell (as she mentions that she has a love for it), Red Robin, Red Lobster...I could keep going.
Second, if you stop in a small city, what are you expecting? Are you wanting a fancy restaurant where every meal is at least $30, comes with a small side salad with low-fat dressing on the side and your choice of any fancy drink? Small cities will almost always have a small-town feel to them and they definitely do not live up to city life.
Third, why did she feel the need to insult a restaurant like so? I received a message from a young woman on Instagram who reacted the same way I did. She told me that she has a friend who works at Cattlemen's, that they saw the video and what she said about the place and that they are upset that someone would portray their establishment in such a way.
Next up in the video is a bowling alley, called Country Bowl. I know exactly where it is, as I have been to it a few times with friends and visiting family.
Walking into the building, Colleen says, "I definitely could have gone to bed...but it's our day off, so we decided that we were going to do something."
Right off the bat, she calls it "janky". She then proceeds to make fun of it. Although, she does explain that her sister found a band aid in a hole in one of the bowling balls, which that is not okay, but then again you could find that at literally any bowling alley in the world.
She gets the game set up and says, "I was just informed that there are t-shirts for sale at this janky bowling alley."
To top it all off, she was upset about all the mini vending machines that have toys, stickers and temporary tattoos were out of order. She acts like it's the end of the world when one of them won't produce a prize of sorts.
Let me explain why I am upset.
She could have picked a different place to eat.
I am fairly positive that Cattlemen's Restaurant was not the only place to eat when she googled "places to eat near me" on her phone. There is no need to complain about a place that you specifically pick, especially in a city that you have been to before.
She did not take advantage of the other nightlife activities that Redding has to offer.
Redding is known for the Sundial Bridge. At night, lights are turned on and even though it is outside, it is a beautiful sight to behold as well as a nice tiny walk in the fresh air.
There is a lake that is about a half hour drive from the city. They could have gone to Whiskeytown Lake and looked at the stars as well as listen to the calming sounds of the lake. Again, fresh air.
Dutch Bros. is a drive-thru coffee shop that is unique to mostly Oregon and Northern California. There are multiple stands in Redding and the surrounding area. She could have gone to one of the stands and ordered a coffee while interacting with some of the nicest people IN THE WORLD and enjoying a great drink of sorts.
I could continue with other things she could have done while she was in Redding for an evening. My last thing to be upset about is that the other bowling alley in the city, Shasta Lanes, is not as sketchy feeling and is more lively, especially in the evenings.
The word "janky" is never okay.
If she had used that adjective once, I would have laughed and thought, "Yeah, it's true, Redding IS a little janky."
What made me upset was that she kept calling it and establishments in the city "janky". Over and over again.
I understand that Northern California is extremely different from Southern California and that Colleen is not used to small towns. That does not mean that it is okay to bash a town for the intimate and community-tight feel that it has, which is different from the place that you know.
When you travel, be aware of the type of place you are in. Embrace the culture and enjoy it for what it is, rather than complaining about it and bringing others down through the process of it all.
