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Tuesday 3 March 2015

50 Shades of Advice.



DON'T STUDY (insert vague subject here ) 

No job I tell you.  NO JOB. 


   
   Max is going to be an engineer.
    
   Sally is going to be a fashion designer. 
    (A significant number of the asian population would categorised this occupation as vague too)

   Harry is going to be a lawyer.

   and chances is 

   Ah-Piao is going to be....
   

   unemployed.

   For awhile at least.

   

Here's the thing,
I studied media and its not the most straight forward thing in the world.
It's vague as hell, broad as a broad bean (not literally), and not an occupation you can justify...
most of the time.

For all those grads out there that took a chance and studied something weird like me, 
or those of you that are or would want to someday study something vague-as-hell like me,
  
I HAVE COMPLETELY NO ADVICE FOR YOU.
Because I've just heard so many that I feel like I'm back at square one.


I took media because I wanted to do something different,
I knew from the start and was well-informed that it is not a straightforward route.
Now I've graduated and people bombard me with questions about a 'real job'.



  
"Why not try something else and you can do (insert vague job) on the side, as a hobby. "
"Who knows, you might be good at a (real job)."

  
Why is it fair to tell a media grad, or a musician, or a chef to go try a real job first, and yet we'd   never say the same to a doctor, an engineer, an accountant, a lawyer. 

(No disrespect to any of the above occupations) 

We discourage an accountant from going into dance,
but we applaud the idea of a dancer making the economically-right decision of moving to accounts.
  
I feel like I'm encouraged to go out of my comfort zone and just try a real job, when to me, 
my kind of job is as real as it gets. 

Why do people within the vague jobs need to succeed before their work is acknowledged as..

REAL.


We encourage gender equality, race equality, why not social equality?
Let's take money out of the equation.



Because you know what,
tons of us already know the pros and THE CONS of our field. (trust me)
But we chose to continue it because maybe we are convicted of it and maybe.
JUST MAYBE,
we believe in what we do.


So I know you mean the best when you try to advice us.

But sometimes,
Just let us be.




The best piece of advice we need is not "One million ways on how we can or should do things differently",
We just need support.
    



    Because even in the worst case that we fail,
    Let us fail on our own terms.
    Learn from it,
    and try again.

    

There is more power is cheering someone on than shouting some one down.



2 comments:

The guy who can't walk said...

Word! Good post and am lovin the last drawing of yours.

Unknown said...

I think I don't have any comments with you studying media. I think it suits you. You just need time to figure out how to pull things together with all the crazy talents you have! You're a girl with immense talents! Need me to remind me? Your fashion sense, your doodle, your music it can all work together!! Just keep looking, I'm pretty sure you'll find a way through. Let me be your no. 1 supporter hehe. Anyways I'm here if you need me.

Jas, x.