Introducing Myself: My Stream Journey Thus Far

Why hello there! I'm Charmy Rosewolf, a family-friendly, eclectic, and quirky content creator.

Who else am I?

• A girl with a little bit of [decaf] coffee and a whole lot of Jesus!
• Sister to 6 siblings and an aunt to many wonderful nieces and nephews.
• Leader of the Rosewolf Pack, a discord community full of amazing people!
• Software developer by occupation, passionate about all things JavaScript.
• Twitch streamer and gamer by hobby. During my streams, you will find me going off on random tangents and attempting to speak in Japanese or in code. If you ever watch my stream, please enjoy the ride!
• WoW mythic plus and raid fanatic, but most nights I like to stare at my key bindings. Don't get me started on my fabulous bags!

Why did I make this site?

I've been streaming for over two years now. In fact, for three birthdays now! It seems like the right time to expand my horizons.

This site will serve as a hub for me as a content creator. I may share a highlight of my latest twitch stream or a tidbit about a trendy game I'm captivated by.

I also plan to use this as a creative outlet for topics I'm passionate about. I could write up a post on a coding tutorial or share about my faith through a part of scripture I'm reading.

How did I get here?

In early 2020, COVID-19 shut down most of the outside world. Stuck at home, I set forth to find an indoor hobby, and that year became one full of many firsts for me:

• Built my first (and current) computer. A thrilling accomplishment!

• Became a PC gamer by accepting an invite to a Minecraft server and playing that game for the first time ever!

• Watched my first Twitch stream.

• Livestreamed for the first time in my life.

• Packed my car on a whim and moved halfway across the country!

Okay, that last point has a crazy story attached to it, and such is a story for another time. The point above that I'd like to spotlight is when I started live streaming. This was my introduction to the world of content creation!

Why did I start streaming?

YouTubers and vloggers alike have always fascinated me. I'd wanted to do something like that for a long time, but I didn't know where to start. Until I started watching Twitch, that is, where a whole new world opened up before my eyes.

It was like a lightbulb went off in my head that live streaming was something I could do, right now. After researching, I discovered I already had all the necessary equipment. A Canon DSLR and a condenser microphone from previous hobbies. Those were more than enough to get started.

My first stream

The conditions seemed too ideal to be a mere coincidence, so I set my heart out to do it. I set up scenes, my mic and my camera--let's not talk about how much time I took to locate the right camera angle. Everything was ready to go! So, on April 21st, 2020, I live-streamed for the first time in my life. I played Minecraft--for two horrifying hours!

Okay, so it wasn't the game that was scary, my first live stream didn't quite go so well. I was awkward and anxious the whole time. There were plenty of technical difficulties--I'm sure I forgot to turn my mic on for the longest time.

I don't recall that I had one active viewer on that stream, but either way that's okay. Getting used to being live was likely enough for the first day!

Working up to Twitch Affiliate

I didn't give up after that first stream. In fact, I did the exact opposite! I anticipated a learning curve in the beginning; after all, streaming is a skill. Like with any other skill, you have to practice. So, I pushed forward!

I continued to stream a few nights a week and worked on enhancing little details here and there. I adjusted a camera setting or the placement of lighting. I hung up new background décor to hide my unappealing wooden panel walls. Before I knew it, viewers rolled in, followed my channel, and joined my discord community. Many remain in my community to this day!

From the beginning, I made it a point to read as much chat as possible. I enjoyed socializing with viewers, and I looked forward to hearing from them each stream. My confidence and passion grew as I built relationships with these friendly strangers!

Before I knew it, the end of May arrived, and I had reached all the requirements to be an affiliate. Sure enough, Twitch invited me to the affiliate program shortly after!

My journey since then as a streamer

I kept a regular stream schedule through a great deal of 2020. I spent many hours setting up channel point rewards, emotes, sounds, alerts, scenes, and more! One time for a birthday stream, I did a spicy chip challenge channel reward and boy was that an experience! I also connected with other streamers and communities more.

In October that year, everything came to a halt. I moved halfway across the country and was transitioning jobs. I had packed my equipment up and then my living situations were not ideal for streaming. I may have only streamed a handful of times until the following April of 2021. I actually did a mobile stream in my car once to say hello to everyone!

In April, I finally settled into my own apartment and got back to a regular streaming schedule. I streamed a couple times a week. If I streamed on a Sunday, I would play a short message from a Christian and then play games. Early on, I played Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing. As the months passed, my obsession passed on to WoW.

Over the past year and a half, my stream has gone through some ebbs and flows. I've been more focused on spending time with my existing community rather than growth. Not to say I haven't met some wonderful new people though! I have. My work gets quite busy, so sometimes it's been hard to find the motivation and energy to stream. I often go camera-less now to make it a bit easier on my part.

Earlier this year, I moved yet again! Only a short distance this time, but I am confined to four walls for my living space. I have been on a randomized stream schedule for the time being. I did start using a green screen recently and I'm excited to see what I can do with it!

What's next for me?

First off, I'm still a streamer! Yes, I don't stream on a regular schedule, but that doesn't mean I don't stream on a random one. In fact, I had two streams playing Genshin Impact this past weekend!

I plan to spend time with my amazing community whom I couldn't have made it this far without. My community has made a huge impact on me these past few. So many friendships blossomed from viewers popping into my stream. The immense love and support they've given me is a blessing and a huge reason why I keep coming back!

Work is a priority, of course, got to pay those bills! So my streaming schedule will remain semi-random for the time being. Though I do hope to get back on some sort of schedule in the not so distant future!

I also plan to focus on building this site.

My prayer for the next year is that I'm able to find rest in the chaos! As well as develop a steady pace in all areas of my life so that I can stay connected with my passions.

How to find me?

Now that you know a little about me, I'd love to have you stop by and say hi! Follow my twitch stream and stop in when I go live. Until then!

You're amazing!

~ Charmy