Hey, it's been a while.
A whole lot of nothing happened for the first half of the year and now with things easing up, a whole lot of new things unexpectedly unfolded for me. For months' I've been freelancing, both doing photography and photo-assisting. Unexpectedly, certain freelance job opportunities opened up and I find myself slowly easing into the world of wardrobe styling and prop styling in the commercial world. I just said a bunch of "why-nots" (I needed to make ends meet) and I guess it led me to this realm of the industry. Every time someone asks me on job what is it that I do, I look at them dumbfounded. Every. Single. Time. How do I explain to someone that I'm a... photographer / photo assistant / stylist assistant and now a prop stylist at times. How do I explain that a large part of my job skills in full-time employment was in art direction and content creation in ad agency / client-side setting. I have my feet dipped in so many ponds I don't know exactly what it is I do. Jack of a lot of trades, master of none eh?
I know we are all taught to be good at one thing, to work in a job that allows you to walk a long way. A part of me do yearn constant stability and a particular career growth that comes with guaranteed constant increase in salary but while I search for that, hopping around makes a lot of sense to me. Maybe it's curiosity. Maybe it's just me constantly wanting to try different things that allow me to creatively express and execute. Back when I studied art, we were taught a bunch of mediums so we could figure out we liked and worked best with. I guess I never outgrew trying things and I know doing that defies a lot of societal expectations. Sometimes I get frowned upon. I got called a "slut" for hopping around. I'm constantly seen as a junior in respective fields (that's fair). Constantly told I'm never good enough but conveniently capable enough to play different hats anytime someone needs me to.
Sometimes we go where we have to go when life eggs us towards it yknow? I do work hard. I do try my best with every thing that I do. Times are truly hard now so I take that in my stride and walk a lot more paths. There is nothing wrong with that because nothing is ever for naught. If anything I am proud of being a creative chameleon (or slut) and it makes me prouder that while the job market takes a hit, I can freelance for now and still have a sustainable income. I don't want to sound overtly inspirational but at some point, you got to define your own success. I'm slowly learning to. You don't have to be the top of one particular thing to be successful. And I've seen typically successful people who aren't happy. What is it to you?
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