I've been struggling lately with my passion for content creation and that need that I have to have a passion project, and this passion project to be this blog. I kept this blog on my website in a dormant stage so far, but on the back end of it i've been writing blog posts and drafts of blog posts, and not publishing them. I was writing for myself, but with a desire to eventually show/publish my ideas, but just dragging things along, thinking that what's the point in publishing if I'm only going to have a handful of people reading, and you know, all those fears and doubts of a creative mind. But then, I found this article from AdWeek yesterday...
It's true, in its essence the article is all about the ad industry and has nothing to do with my struggle right now. But it made me think...think about my "why". Why am I doing what I do? Why do I create? Why do I do photography? Why do I want to have this blog?
Well, it all started when I was 16-17 and I was an intern at this advertising agency in Romania. I was old enough to be responsible, but young enough to still have kept my childhood spirit and fearlessness. Even though I was doing the most meaningless tasks there, I remember I would always end up with the creative department and I was learning all about logo design. But what I remember that I loved so much (and I guess scarred me in my perception of work) was how much fun everyone was having. Don't get me wrong. It was hard work, deadlines, long hours, some machine would fail the last minute, problems and all that. But I remembered how much fun everyone had. I remember they were all like family, and they were all united by...ok, there's the paycheck...but I always felt it was something more than the money. For me for sure it was. I was an intern so I was paid pennies. The first summer I got sent to work there by my parents, the second summer I couldn't wait to go back.
And then I grew up. And I decided to be responsible and follow a safe path, and do accounting. That didn't work out as planned, clearly. I always kept searching for that passion that I felt back then. And I found it at one point in a passion project that I had with a few people, an online electronic music radio. But then I lost that in a...hostile takeover, let's call it like that. And then I re-found that passion in photography. But the thing with photography is that it's a sort of...just mine. Yes, it's fulfilling when my clients or others like my photos, but it's just for me. That's why I wanted to have a blog, through which I can, in some form or another, spread that virus that I got when I was 16...that inspiration, that desire to do something that makes you feel fulfilled.
And this other article I read yesterday made me understand that maybe I'm not wrong and naive. We still have that mentality of work being work, a struggle, you work for the money, punch out at 5 and then you can live....as in...do some groceries, prepare your lunch for the next day, and other chores, and then you get left a good hour and a half to live for yourself (i.e. fall asleep watching a movie). It's true, we live in a monetary system, we need the cash to survive, and we need to work for that cash, but maybe there is another definition for work. Maybe there's a something more to it, a deeper motivation. And not maybe, there always is. But we're taught to become doctors and lawyers and business executives, and to all live in little boxes and to be all just the same (as the song goes)...I'm being a bit ironic here, but I'm living my own struggle with life as I am making my way off the old beaten track in the search for fulfilment.
And I am just one of many, and even many more are there in their cubicles dreaming of something different. And I am no special case. I have no super powers, I am just a dreamer and a believer, and I was inspired by other stories and I dared. So I hope to inspire others in my turn, and motivate in some form or another. And I'm not hoping to make a dent in the universe, just be one of the many voices, and the voices of many are louder. The world is already slowly starting to change, with many people quitting unfulfilling jobs to open startups, or to follow a calling. And maybe my story is not extraordinary enough, but i'm surely fascinated by amazing life stories, other people's stories, so I will share those as well. I want to make this blog an inspiration corner, about life, about creativity, about the life of a freelancer, and much more. And I hope to have like-minded people stop by, maybe make some new friends in the process...
Welcome to my Inspiration corner!
Love,
