It is times like these that make hardships worth the effort. It nearly broke me but I'm glad I broke free from my comfort zone in 2020 to depart on a journey to work in an environment that excites me. Now, I'm on the rim of stepping into the life I wanted, and although it isn't a success story yet, maybe you can relate to the struggles I had and find some way of navigating them better.
So if you don't know my personality by now, here's the gist of it. I'm a creative person with a balanced set of talents. Analytical as well as creative. For a long time, I leaned towards my analytical side, but I always longed for my creative side to find a place in this world, hence, the Creative Smith. I'm interested in many things. Woodwork, History, Writing, Painting, Cooking, Video Editing and generally any form of storytelling.
As a Supervisor working in a bank nearly five years ago, I was about to be retrenched and faced the option of signing my life away in return for even more money, or embark on my dream to become a writer. What type of writer I didn't know yet, but that is where my journey began.
I began by enrolling in a Creative Writing course before I was retrenched, having a feeling that it was coming. Through the course, I was introduced to many types of writing. As a storyteller, I enjoyed fictional short story writing and movie script writing. I also have a passion for regional sports, probably one of my inherited passions from my dad's side, so my original idea for money was to write for sports magazines. It worked, but not as well as I expected.
During the launch of BFN Sport Results, I wrote quite a few short stories. Tried to sell them, but it seemed that either I wasn't good enough or the platforms just didn't like them, so I paid a distributor to help me create a self-published book, called Illusion of Normal. To be honest, I have an idea for a novel in the back of my mind, but for me to understand how an idea will play out, I need to write the story. So basically, most of the stories are ideas I'd like to incorporate into the novel, but I'm under no illusion to assume that I have the ability yet to do the story justice.
At the same time, I wrote two movie scripts. That was quite fun with your mind more in tuned with how you'd like the movie to look like. That was a great experience and in no way the end of that journey.
To improve my English, I thought that the best way to learn English is to become an English teacher. I don't think my grasp of the language is great, but it's a lot better than what it was before. At the same time, applying for writer jobs, most companies require the applicant to have a bachelors English degree. I have high school English Second language on a high grade.
Telling stories also means venturing into other forms of media. That is where I began a journey into video editing. By extension and in support of my Sports Media business, I also learned to livestream sports events. Making videos and graphic design is the natural supporting step, so I enjoyed getting to the grips of that.
At this point, I grew my network of sports and media creation network, but no work yet. Only a few projects here and there that kept my finances out of too much trouble while friends helped me survive during tough periods.
If it wasn't for them, I could have been in financial trouble today, but I do believe that a higher power was in charge of that. One faces challenges that forces your expenses to be cut to the bare minimum. You do get the urge to indulge of your life during better financial days, reminding yourself that loved ones said that by not fighting for a terrible job was a mistake.
To understand how personal emotions creep up on you, being poor doesn't bother you as much as the inability to provide your loved ones with what they deserve. That causes depression when everything you try to relieve your financial bourdon fails. You start feeling like a failure. You lose energy and the will to fight for what you feel you deserve. After some time, you see a pattern. Each time trouble stares you down, something happens to relieve your worries temporarily. It doesn't take long until you find that a higher power is looking out for you and that you should trust Him.
Two years ago, my new journey began in livestreaming LMS Cricket matches on Sundays. I was asked to commentate during the livestreams, and although I never had a clue whether I was doing it right, they never judged me. Only gave complements which I regarded just as them being nice. After a while, I started to enjoy the commentating gig and started to have fantasies of working at a radio station.
After trying my hand at Podcasting, I found some excitement with the platform. Perfectly aware that I need much more practice, I started to form a picture the environment of where I would like to work one day. I know I'm not that young anymore, but it is something I'd love to do for the remainder of my life. It is where there is place to grow and where I feel I need to be. Basically, my happy place and it is going to be my Job. Can you believe it.
Getting a work at a radio station is a dream come true. At Radio Rosestad, my collogues are speaking Afrikaans and it feels like family. On top of that, the community they cater for are my kind of people. Looking back at what I've gone through to get here, I realize that not only my skillset needed to change, but I needed to change. I needed to figure out what makes me happy, what I'm meant to do and in which environment I need to be to grow into the kind of storyteller I want to be.
The advantages of working at a radio station are that I'll learn to better connect with the community, better understand who are willing to invest their advertisement budget for a sizeable return while honing my storytelling skills.
Looking ahead, I really see myself working in the radio station environment. I feel I'll hone my skills in story telling while understanding better how to connect with the community, source investors/ sponsors where I can ensure a sizeable return on their investment. I do feel that a regional sports channel could work and they could progress to provide the platform for that. Money doesn't bother me, but it does require money to get there. I'm just the passionate instrument.
I feel that I am where I need to be. The first confirmation in many years that explain that the journey I embarked on in 2020 is on track. Maybe not 100% like I imagined it, but actually better.
On the side, I'm still motivated to make documentaries and maybe a movie. I just feel that my new career will teach me skills that will support that. Although, I know that my efforts will mostly lean towards the radio station, I can continue with the movie making courier in my spare time.
If I need to summarize where I'm now, taking into account the uncertainty of life, I have an untold fictional story that needs to get out. I'm not that confident to do it justice just yet, but I feel it is going to be big. Not for fame or riches, but for me to get it out is a journey.
Reflecting on my path up to now, I'm glad I took the plunge by being retrenched voluntarily. I know that everyone thought that it was the wrong decision and that I could have approached the process more sensible. Obviously, the decision was made at the the time with the information I had. I didn't know where I would end up, but I knew in which direction I wanted to go, and it was extremely clear that I wasn't where I wanted to be.
It was a tough road to where I'm now. Lots of worries, depression and the entire galaxy of emotions going together with that type of reality, never knowing when a breakthrough will come. I learned more than I intended to during this period, but I'm glad it played out as it did. To be honest on a non-financial level, it was pretty exciting and I recommend it.
Closing this article without too much rambling, I never knew when my breakthrough this tough period would come along, and even whether this new function is going to be it after all, I believe that the search of who one needs to be isn't an easy journey. In a year or two from now, that might change but who we need to be will not change, and the journey has no luxury of a predetermined plan to follow. Not emotionally, neither financially.
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