Amongst the many pet peeves I have, because I tend towards pettiness, is random people claiming they are writers when they don't write for a living, or publish any of their writing. And no, self publishing a blog, or donating your writing to a free website that is desperate for content does not count. They both count as places to improve your writing skills, but just writing things doesn't make you a writer--just like telling a convincing lie doesn't make you an actor.
Put simply, writers, actors, musicians, artists are all names of professions. If your primary income comes from one of these things then feel free to introduce yourself as such. Or, preferably introduce yourself with your name and let people discover the variety of things that makes you interesting. And, if asked about what you do, try "I am graduate student, which lets me pay the bills and will lead to my career, but what I am really passionate about is writing". This sort of introduction has two benefits. First, you don't come off as a pompous self-deluded ass who insults the ability and efforts of the many talented writers who work very hard to scrape out a living at it. Second, by using the phrase 'what I am really passionate about' I know to extricate myself from the conversation and begin ignoring your existence.
But, to be slightly more serious I have a fundamental problem with these sorts of self descriptions. I don't think the world needs to be separated into descriptions of 'self as commodity', but that doesn't mean the only other answer is essentializing bullshit. I'm a writer. I'm an actor. I'm a singer. These are all immature self-descriptions. Try being a well-rounded and reasonable human being (says the dude who describes himself as leaning towards pettiness). If you love writing, and it is important to you, then fucking say that. If you really wish to be a writer but have another job, then say that too. Nobody will think less of you--and by nobody I mean no reasonable adult--if you say "I really want to be a singer, it's the thing that excites me most in life but I work as a teacher to pay the bills". See, not so tough and now you sound like you understand that life is more complicated than one word descriptions of a person's essence.
I just would love if people had some sense of themselves, and gave some thoughts to their place in the world. I like role-playing games. Does that mean if I was hanging out with Tom Hanks and Bobby DeNiro I should claim to be an actor too? Of course not, that is self-aggrandizing and insulting to them. Maybe that's a big part of my pet peeve--people who so casually insult the people around them, without knowing it. If you are going to insult someone, be deliberate. That's my move.
Strong. Following your passion is a good way to end up with a six figure debt, a suite in your parents basement, and a dead-end job at the local strip-mall. It's probably not a coincidence that we see more debt, man/adolescence - or mandolescence - and strip malls and dead-end jobs with so many youths being told to follow their passion from grade school through university. Terrible advice, yes, you will agree, but how does it lead to more strip malls? People armed by their parents and teachers with nothing but nostalgia and lies are easy prey for all the idiots running those pointless businesses in strip malls that can only turn a profit by paying their employees less than half the cost of living.
ReplyDeleteRule #1 Do something that pays the bills.
Rule #2 Do something you're good at.
Rule #3 Try and get good at something that you don't hate and won't make the world worse, i.e. won't make people hate you, e.g. don't open a Booster Juice
I think you should write a paper in masculinities about mandolescence.
ReplyDeleteIf called "The Cult of the Man/Boy" they would definitely read it...but it's possible they would be disappointed.
ReplyDelete