I feel like ever since graduating college I've had trouble finding my footing career-wise. I know what I want to do- write my own tv show, but how do I get there? What do I do in the meantime? What if I make a mistake and ruin it all before it begins? What if there is a career path I could choose that will take me 5 years, and one that will take 10 years, and I choose the 10 year one??
I've been in constant conflict between what to do. Do I keep working at Starbucks, pick up another part-time job and just keep writing on my own? Do I get a few Production Assistant gigs here and there along with Starbucks? Do I get as many internships I can load on my resume? Do I try and get a 9-5 type job in something creative? Each one offered some type of drawback and it felt like I couldn't win no matter what I chose.
What do I do???
I think it's an interesting concept- pursuing a career in something creative. I look around and realize some of my friends with business degrees etc already have jobs. I would get down and then remember wondering if I even wanted that 9-5 job. I like sleeping in, I like the flexibility of job like Starbucks.
Constantly in a state of being torn trying to decide what I should focus on more- I went to a "Careers in Film" Summit that my friend sent me. There was a panel of figures from the industry, producers, directors, and writers. Afterward, I went to the bathroom and saw the writer in the hallway. I ran up to him and told him that I, myself, wanted to be a writer and asked if he had an advice. The first thing he asked me was "Are you writing every day?"
I wasn't. I had barely written at all. In the throes of my career dilemma that constantly took up my mind space and made me exceeding anxious, I hadn't felt creative enough to write. I just keep pushing it off until I felt like I wanted to do it. But in retrospect, that just made me more anxious, more upset.
I responded and said I hadn't been. He said that honestly writing every day was the most important thing. The most important? Hello, sir what about trying to wrestle my way into the industry? That's what I'm here for!!! I asked him if he had any advice for breaking into the industry and he said "Don't worry about that yet, all that doesn't matter until the writing is ready"
At first, I felt a little scammed. I wanted advice like take the PA job, take the 9-5, take the freelance, find more internships, volunteer, etc etc. Annoyed, I still went along with it and tried to write later. I set a timer for an hour and made myself do it. In the beginning, I didn't feel creative at all, and when the timer went off I was writing like a maniac. Who knew that what he told me was the one piece of advice that finally unstuck me from my internal dilemma and got me moving forward.
Now I feel more at peace with the career aspect, something I really haven't felt since moving to NYC. I've decided as a creative person, the most important thing at the moment is to write. Instead of constantly being stressed about the next move, just write. Just write. So simple. This simple philosophy of just 'writing more' has really grounded me.
A memo to everyone pursuing a creative career- focus on the creative part. Focus on creating your own work, creativity is like a flower that just keeps blossoming if you keep watering it. I'm spending my energy on my writing, versus worrying about what will happen next. This has also helped me embrace the journey. If it doesn't happen, it will be because something else better came along, not because I messed everything up by making the wrong decision when I was 22.
