Choosing a career can be hard. What are your priorities: your passions? The money? What your parents want? In an ideal world, all three of these should align and intersect. That is where your career will be. But in reality, nothing works that way. Some people prioritize their enjoyment over the money, while others put more weight to the number of zeros behind the dollar sign and number, and others do what their parents have told them to do. Thankfully, my parents have helped me nurture my interests rather than force a career onto me, and I've chosen to prioritize what I want to do rather than the money involved. I want to become a photographer.
There I said it.
I have no specific genre or specific field of photography that I want to get into yet, but I am proud to say that I've chosen what I truly want to do and what I think will give my life meaning. That's not to say I'm not scared of my future. I am very scared. The creative field seems so unpredictable. The high levels of expertise, yet the starking contrast of easy, accessible technologies to this expertise and the highly competitive and constantly changing field of creatives can not not be scary. The idea that someone will be evaluating pieces that you created, highly personal and intimate, yet you must be detached enough to not take it personally when someone doesn't like your work, that's hard. And unless you hit jackpot or get a hang of the industry, being a creative does not come with many luxuries. These all scare me and probably scares so many other students going into the creative industry. But even if I am scared out of my mind, I want to say:
It'll be ok.
Take a deep breathe and let it go. I have had to do this with myself quite a number of times since I changed to this particular career choice. The entire career just seems like a deep void that I'll never come out of. But in the end, I believe, it'll work out. I think the whole "Believe and you shall receive" thing is true (and add hard work in there). I've been going to a variety of mentors, advisors and creatives to gain insight of the industry and that has definitely helped me gain more perspective on whether this is for me. But, of course, that doesn't alleviate all the pressures and worries. I don't think it will ever be alleviated and that's the best part about (although it gives me an unnecessary amount of stress) it.
The creative world's whole job is subjectivity, so there aren't any set measurements of good or bad. That leaves only one thing to rely on: honesty. Being a genuine photographer, illustrator, graphic designer, or any other creative field will open the doors. Stay true to yourself and introduce pieces of yourself through your work. Once you start having doubts about yourself, that energy will transcend your work and show. Trust yourself and trust the process. If this is what you believe is your true calling, jump into the void, despite its ominous nature. We'll all be fine. Then, we can truly look forward for what's ahead.
