I'll have to come up with new questions for the advice column, because this addresses a lot of what I meant to ask first (but got distracted by work): what might a (financially, emotionally, socially) sustainable creative practice look like in this pre-mad max cyberpunk dystopia we live in?
I'll try not to write an essay of my own here and just say I 100% think our culture has a weird relationship to error, failure and doubt. in my graphic design college classes, every once in a while, someone would mention something they struggled with in a project presentation. and multiple times I've heard teachers, TAs and even other students say we should avoid talking about any bumps in the road on our presentations. sure, if you're presenting your work to (potential) clients, you want to inspire confidence - in yourself and in the discipline of design. it's probably good to flex that rhetorics muscle every so often. but then that necessity becomes a virtue, and suddenly everyone's talking to each other like they're pitching a client, all the time. no wonder we feel so clueless and incompetent: we're surrounded by people projecting knowledge and competence like their lives depend on it. it really feels like the age of the grift right now.
which is why I gotta respect someone trying to say something worth saying about their actual circumstances. that's also work, stressful and underpaid work, and the result won't resonate with people every time. but if it's worth anything, I do appreciate it :)
Thank you so much for sharing this reflection. I couldn't agree more about how prevalent it's become to constantly project a state of confidence/competence. It feels so difficult to actually learn too in that environment because we're expected to already know everything (and if we don't, it seems we're rewarded for pretending we know, rather than admitting we don't).
I'm so glad that this writing resonated with you. Thank you for telling me - it's always nice to know I'm not the only one working through these feelings. <3
Thanks for sharing Hadley, this is all so relatable. When you advocate for your self worth and health, you advocate for the wellbeing of all freelancers and we tip our hats off to you!
Freelancer burnout is SO REAL. Putting a million things on your plate and feeling like you're making nothing in the process gets disheartening. Plus, not to mention the insanity going on in the world right now, often makes it feel pointless and trivial. I am also working on the work/life balance of it all, and I'm glad to see I am not the only one. This is such an important conversation to have!!!
Thank you so much, Sophie!! It's such a difficult balance, and I'm sorry you're going through some of the same feelings, but it's refreshing to hear that I'm not the only one either. I hope you can reach a slower state soon too <3
I'll have to come up with new questions for the advice column, because this addresses a lot of what I meant to ask first (but got distracted by work): what might a (financially, emotionally, socially) sustainable creative practice look like in this pre-mad max cyberpunk dystopia we live in?
I'll try not to write an essay of my own here and just say I 100% think our culture has a weird relationship to error, failure and doubt. in my graphic design college classes, every once in a while, someone would mention something they struggled with in a project presentation. and multiple times I've heard teachers, TAs and even other students say we should avoid talking about any bumps in the road on our presentations. sure, if you're presenting your work to (potential) clients, you want to inspire confidence - in yourself and in the discipline of design. it's probably good to flex that rhetorics muscle every so often. but then that necessity becomes a virtue, and suddenly everyone's talking to each other like they're pitching a client, all the time. no wonder we feel so clueless and incompetent: we're surrounded by people projecting knowledge and competence like their lives depend on it. it really feels like the age of the grift right now.
which is why I gotta respect someone trying to say something worth saying about their actual circumstances. that's also work, stressful and underpaid work, and the result won't resonate with people every time. but if it's worth anything, I do appreciate it :)
Thank you so much for sharing this reflection. I couldn't agree more about how prevalent it's become to constantly project a state of confidence/competence. It feels so difficult to actually learn too in that environment because we're expected to already know everything (and if we don't, it seems we're rewarded for pretending we know, rather than admitting we don't).
I'm so glad that this writing resonated with you. Thank you for telling me - it's always nice to know I'm not the only one working through these feelings. <3
Thanks for sharing Hadley, this is all so relatable. When you advocate for your self worth and health, you advocate for the wellbeing of all freelancers and we tip our hats off to you!
Thank you so much Jazmin! <3
Freelancer burnout is SO REAL. Putting a million things on your plate and feeling like you're making nothing in the process gets disheartening. Plus, not to mention the insanity going on in the world right now, often makes it feel pointless and trivial. I am also working on the work/life balance of it all, and I'm glad to see I am not the only one. This is such an important conversation to have!!!
Thank you so much, Sophie!! It's such a difficult balance, and I'm sorry you're going through some of the same feelings, but it's refreshing to hear that I'm not the only one either. I hope you can reach a slower state soon too <3