The other day, I said Google me, baby, and I was speaking creatively.
What about professionally?
I am not cut out to be a starving artist.
I thoroughly enjoy having my own place where I pay rent and I make the rules. In the words of a client that would always make a scene whenever he came through during my time at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills, Floyd Mayweather, when you pay, you say.
I need to be able to say.
Every roommate that I’ve ever had would probably attest to me being quite the pain. Though enjoying me personally, my spirited and friendly nature, my particularities with the way that I live could cause a person to consider otherwise. It’s not only that I maintain a house in a certain way, being raised by a strict Southern grandmother who believed cleanliness is next to Godliness, I also don’t hesitate in vocalizing when the way another person lives bothers me.
I’ll kindly mention dishes being left in the sink the first few times, for example, and clean it up as I use the kitchen. However, that gets old… for both of us. No matter how nicely a person requests you clean up behind yourself, you still don’t want to be nagged, and I’m not going to leave it alone, which’ll lead to her catching an attitude then me catching an attitude back.
Anyone that has ever lived with someone knows that there are endless scenarios that can cause frustration. And that’s when both parties are paying her own equal part! What about when you’re living off someone? Even worse!
I have to have my own.
This doesn’t only go for having my own place where the lease is in my name and I use my skills to go work a job to come back and pay my rent. Having my own also applies to being self-sufficient beyond having a place to lay my head. Providing yourself with somewhere to sleep is the bare minimum and I know starving artists that have never even done that, so you KNOW that person is dependent on others in more aspects of life!
Now don’t go stretching what I’m saying to an every man for himself mentality. Humans are pack animals, we need each other to survive. It’s over-dependence that becomes a problem.
Even if I’m in a tight spot, I’m going to be taking steps to not be in that tight spot for long. And when I’m in a comfortable position, I’m going to look for opportunities to extend a helping hand to the next man. If you’re a starving artist that’s perpetually in need of help, when can you help someone else?
I wouldn’t even feel right doing essentially nothing for myself and always overly depending on someone else, never giving nothing, mooching, being a bum…
Ou, my Lord, I cringe at the mere thought.
Y’all get the point, I have to have my own and that’s why I work while my passion isn’t paying me adequately.
I’m a working artist, not a starving artist.
I heard folks got mad at Tabitha Brown for telling people (artists, creatives, aspiring entrepreneurs, etc.) to go get a job and I haven’t a clue why that would be so upsetting.
Getting a job to pay the bills does not mean that an artist is giving up on her creative dreams.
As much as I do not want to labor nor go work at anybody’s company, baby, I KEEP me an avenue to get a gig and I’ve decided that I want to put a little more effort towards it.
Today, I’ve decided aloud that while yes, I am a creative, I am also a professional.
Was it also in day-before-yesterday’s junk journaling that I mentioned how we learned in college that it’s important for all professionals to have an online presence controlled by oneself?
Having a YouTube or social media platform for one’s work isn’t only for those in the fields of media, TV and entertainment. Got dawg on college chemistry professors have profiles online linking projects and experiences! These will be hosted on sites dedicated to the science community or professionals in academia or something, but still..
Let’s say you work for a company and oversee deadlines being met within a department’s initiatives. Maybe there’s not a big worldwide platform for your role to host your work history. You can make your YouTube around what you do. Even better, you can make a personal website (which is what our CMCN Dept. Head advised) to serve as a digital resume where other opportunities can find you! And of course, LinkedIn is a given, you’re going to have one of those, but if you want to go the extra mile in a competitive market, you can add to your online presence as a professional with a platform of your own!
(Don’t go with Squarespace, these folks are overcharging… I’m trying to figure out how to least stressfully migrate my content elsewhere).
Girl, not these girls’ backyard barbecue starts in a few and I’m kicked back on this couch un-bathed with my teeth un-brushed. And don’t ask me what I’m wearing.
I guess that I rubbed off on me talking about the importance of an online presence for professionals in the workforce. Randomly, I turned my backup YouTube account with zero posts into a professional TK page.
It’s no priority to add content to T. Krystal | Event Operation • Experiential Marketing. It’s there in case I ever do have something where I’m acting all classy and professional that I could add.
When I worked on the production staffing team for AfroTech, Blavity’s annual conference in Houston, I met this chick that does professional packages for people. She’ll do interview preparation, salary negotiation training, resume creation, application review, the works! I asked her about sprucing up my LinkedIn for me and she said it’ll be $300.
Child, making a YouTube banner and adding a description description to my event professional YouTube page has me thinking that I’ll go’on give making my LinkedIn more attractive a try my darn self!
We exist in multitudes.
I said it once, I’ll say it again, getting a job does not mean giving up on dreams!
I still enjoy creating content and writing and playing and tinkering with sh*t and I will.
My playful TK, riding her bike, stuffing her face with food, hanging out friends until the wee hours of the morning, talking about random topics, just yapping, girl, that girl, she’s not going anywhere.
AROUNDwithTK on YouTube isn’t going anywhere. As a matter of fact, hopefully that TK will get more active!
I’m an aspiring artist and a working woman.
Before, it was odd. Maybe childhood years of being beat to sit still and constantly trying to be less “all over the place” had me at odds with the reality of existing in multitudes.
Now, I’m learning to accept that I’m a young professional and a budding creative.
Whoop, she sent a text blast on that Partiful thing. Let me get up, get showered and get over to these girls’ birthday gathering.
Last night or this morning, I saw someone refer to his random writings that he shared online as junk journaling and I said, “hm, I’ll have to add that to the rotation.” #blogtag
I’m T.K, a girl that can’t keep still and always has something to say. AROUNDwithTK are my written traces. Thank you for riding.