Entertainment

Emma Chamberlain Thinks Napoleon Dynamite Needs Her Right Now

by Stephanie Ironson
Elite Daily

Emma Chamberlain's 8.9 million YouTube subscribers are used to watching the details of her daily life unfold — whether it's a vlog from her trip to Paris Fashion Week or a budding zit on her forehead, her fans are equally rapt. Quarantine hasn't changed that. Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Chamberlain's vlogs continue to deliver her signature unfiltered content, but offscreen, she's getting introspective and learning a lot about herself, taking the time to "actually focus" on her own thoughts – something she feels is "rare these days, to really be self-reflecting." Her always-caffeinated, cool-girl vibe isn't going anywhere, but the Emma who comes out of quarantine promises to have a deeper understanding of who she is and who she wants to be.

Speaking candidly about how she's using this time not only for self-reflection, I spoke with the vlogging phenom for Elite Daily's How I Take Care platform, which explores the ways your favorite TV stars, influencers, vloggers, TikTokers, musicians, and politicians are taking care of themselves during the coronavirus crisis. Here's what Emma had to say about the "real world" things she misses the most, how she's staying connected with her fans, and her deep feelings on her fictional friendship with Napoleon Dynamite.

Where she's quarantining: In her new house in Los Angeles

Who she's quarantining with: Her BFF, Olivia Rouyre

Movie she could watch on repeat: Coraline

First concert she wants to go to when it's safe: "Can I just say Coachella? Is that a valid answer?"

The one person she can't wait to hug: Her dad

Vlogging hits different now.

YouTube has been my favorite platform to go on just because I feel like it's the most intimate ... It's like a video of me and then the comments are directly relating to a "live" version of me, even though it's not live. Whereas I feel like an Instagram photo or a tweet, it's not my voice, it's not me talking. So YouTube is the only platform that has that and I think that's what's keeping me connected in general, and I've been loving it a little extra recently.

Isolation is making her deep.

I think [quarantining] just made me want to be a better friend, and a better family member, and just a better person in general. I'm proud of the person I am, as is, but when you have a lot of time to think about everything, a lot of self-reflection happens. I think it's just a great time to see where you can improve. I've just been trying to figure out how I can be a better person and how I can take care of myself better.

Napoleon Dynamite is the ideal quarantine companion.

Even though he'd probably piss me off, I think it'd be fun to break down his personality and get close with him because I feel like nobody's close to him and I feel like he needs me.

After two months together, she and Olivia "still like each other."

We've been keeping each other sane ... We'll be talking about anything, and it will become funny somehow. I'm very grateful for that.

She didn't know how good she had it.

The freedom to be able to see the people you love whenever you want – that was definitely something I don't even think you realized was privileged until it is. But also shopping. So, to be a little bit less deep about it, I do miss going out, and going to cool vintage stores or thrifting, or whatever. Those were things I really enjoyed. That's not an option right now. So I definitely am really excited to do that again.

What vintage stores, you ask?

I do love Reformation Vintage on Melrose. I am excited to go in there again ... All my best friends and I actually are so excited to go shopping there again. They have great jeans. I'm very excited about that.

She's a Gemini, but doesn't count the bad stuff.

I agree with the positive sides of [being a Gemini]. I think some of the negative sides are like very extreme and I don't agree with those, because I don't see that in myself, and nobody else sees that in me either. But I can be very like fast-paced, and loud, and chatty, and social. I'm also really good at putting on a mask, in a sense, where if I don't want somebody to know how I'm feeling, I'm pretty good at convincing people I'm happy when I'm not, or vice versa. But they describe Geminis as supposedly backstabbing, and I would never do that. That's not me. But the rest is kind of spot on.

We are shining a spotlight on some of the millions of small businesses now challenged by COVID-19. This is part of an ongoing commitment our parent company, Bustle Digital Group, is making to support small businesses throughout the entire month of May. Tell us about your favorite small business on social media using #SmallBusinessSalutes.