KATHMANDU: Elena Gurung, better known as Elena Don is one of the popular Internet personalities in Nepal, most well-known for her comedic video shorts on Instagram.

Her quirky and frenetic energy in these videos quickly made her darling of many viewers and she has now moved to longer video formats on her YouTube channel. Currently, she is entertaining her viewers keeping up with different Internet trends, from vlogs to make-up videos and even some food videos. And she is also moving up with bigger projects, including a video project with youth organisation YUWA. Here, she reminiscences about her teenage days.

TEEN NATURE

I was a rebel, tomboyish and carefree. I stayed in a hostel for most of my teenage days and found myself involved in basketball and badminton — favourite sport of mine. I also loved dancing and singing. I used to choreograph my own dances and even stood first in a dancing competition. My friends’ circle was mostly guys because I felt like all the girls around me were too perfect. But with boys I never had to care about that. I was involved in fights as well which is the thing I am not proud about.

BEST THING ABOUT BEING A TEENAGER

My sister took care of me herself from a young age, so as a teenager I had no restrictions. The best thing about being a teenager is having no worries about what is coming next or in the near future.

As a teenager, everything is just about going with the flow and you don’t have to care about the bills or your expenses.

WORST THING ABOUT BEING A TEENAGER The feeling like you need people’s approval just to be you, the fear of being judged by your friends, and all the insecurities you have about your looks. I rarely talk about this but as a teenager I had issues with my body and was never happy, which made me insecure.

MESSAGE FOR TEENAGERS

Things will get rough and people will make you feel insecure about yourself. But, you need to stay strong with your head held high. Because those things are going to pass and you will realise how strong they made you.

And sometimes, if you are going through something, do tell the person who is closest to you. — HNS