wasabi_tea Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I'm currently in my fourth year of a degree in Japanese, and I plan to return to Japan next year to do some translation work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiibet Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I'm currently in my fourth year of a degree in Japanese, and I plan to return to Japan next year to do some translation work. We met shortly in London, didn't we? Just wanted to tell that I really enjoyed to hear about your studies and your staying in Japan. It all sounded so fascinating! What are you going to do in future? Translate, teach or do research? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasabi_tea Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 We met shortly in London, didn't we? Just wanted to tell that I really enjoyed to hear about your studies and your staying in Japan. It all sounded so fascinating! What are you going to do in future? Translate, teach or do research? Yes, we did, it was nice to meet you! I mostly want to translate in the future, though I could possibly teach English or something too. My childhood dream was actually to become a professional musician but I now think that I ought to make a career out of languages, and then if I ever actually complete enough of my songs (I have hundreds lying around unfinished! XD; ), perhaps I could put them up on YouTube or something LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Okay, so I thought of writing for a teen magazine. I bought loads today and flicked through them all and have really gone off the idea - teen magazines don't write about anything, it's just a load of quizzes, "embarrassing moments", problems and just stuff the readers send in. Perhaps I'll look at magazines for an older audience... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inbar_assaf Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Okay, so I thought of writing for a teen magazine. I bought loads today and flicked through them all and have really gone off the idea - teen magazines don't write about anything, it's just a load of quizzes, "embarrassing moments", problems and just stuff the readers send in. Perhaps I'll look at magazines for an older audience... I say you come write for our main teen magazine, I heard it pays well, and they actually write rather interesting articles... celebs and school life and such... and maybe you could finally get Mika in there! and they hire rather young people with no experience (from what i know- dont take my word for it 100%), just a passion for writng, and maybe a blog... and train them along the way... plus there is all the perks of going to all the hot concerts here, and some out side the country, and watching and hearng movies and album weeks before anyone else, and free stuff... its an awesome magazine to work at- its a bit rough getting in though... and your major problem would be the language I think... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkly1 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Yes, we did, it was nice to meet you! I mostly want to translate in the future, though I could possibly teach English or something too. My childhood dream was actually to become a professional musician but I now think that I ought to make a career out of languages, and then if I ever actually complete enough of my songs (I have hundreds lying around unfinished! XD; ), perhaps I could put them up on YouTube or something LOL. hey there it was good to see you again at Scala, and to catch up with waht you have been up to since I saw you last as our own little gothic lollipop girl ahhhhh, you looked so different lol. xx hope your well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I say you come write for our main teen magazine, I heard it pays well, and they actually write rather interesting articles... celebs and school life and such... and maybe you could finally get Mika in there!and they hire rather young people with no experience (from what i know- dont take my word for it 100%), just a passion for writng, and maybe a blog... and train them along the way... plus there is all the perks of going to all the hot concerts here, and some out side the country, and watching and hearng movies and album weeks before anyone else, and free stuff... its an awesome magazine to work at- its a bit rough getting in though... and your major problem would be the language I think... holy hell where do you live LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inbar_assaf Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 holy hell where do you live LOL Israel... far far away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Israel... far far away... Oh Yes that is very far lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inbar_assaf Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Oh Yes that is very far lol yes, yes it is... its terrible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmika-maddo-joxx Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Evening Not much is happening in my life right now Im a pupil at Queen Elizabeths Grammar School and I worked so so hard to get my place there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaX Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Perfect timing! In this period I'm always thinking (Maybe too muvh) about my life and I'm so worried about what I am / what I want to be / whant I CAN be. Next year I'll finish the secondary school and I don't know what to do after. I'd love to go to the university...But 1) I really don't know if I'll be able to have good results..i've always been good at school but I'm not sure of my abilities at all.. 2) I would like to study Philosophy or attend the local School for Translators but Philosophy doesn't give me a real professional chance and I don't think I'd be a good translator at all...so I'm just stuck here considering and thinking while time passes by Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverstwilight Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 WHAT DO I LIKE DOING: Singing, dancing, acting, drawing, writing WHAT DO I WANT FROM LIFE: Success WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE ME? : Right back on square one. These questions are only useful for choosing a general direction. They tell you whether you want to be a creative field, a scientific field, or other field. You want to be in a creative field. That's a challenging field to be in because it's deeply self-motivated and self-guided and there's no roadmap to success like there is in fields that are ruled by more specific guidelines. You could spend a lot of time thinking about how you define success, but in a creative field, unless your definition of success is very broad and easily fulfilled, that really isn't going to help you DO anything. Unless you have a very strong vision for a specific thing you want to create, you really have to look for ways to apply your talents to the world around you. Looking to famous people for inspiration is easy because they get a lot of attention. However, that doesn't really help you figure out how to use YOUR talents. Look for the artistic people who don't get noticed. Learn about the specific jobs available in the creative field. Do you want to be a dancer who does gig work like hanging out in the background of a music video and filling out the chorus for a stage production? Do you want to be a choreographer? Do you want to lighting or set design? Start scouring the internet for people who do those kinds of things at an accessible level and find information about how they started. Look for opportunities to volunteer at your local theatre and start learning some of the ropes. Get to know people who do creative stuff for a living and find out how they got into it. Celebrities are great dream fodder, but it's the people who make their living by chasing the work who are the best examples to learn from. If you want to be a celebrity, that's great, but you still have to figure out how to do the work and that comes from getting to know the people who do the work. The ones who do it on the ground level are the most accessible. They are the ones who have the experience and the time to share it. I'm a writer. There's no job description for that because there are a million different kinds of jobs that make use of that skill. I've ruled things out by trying them. I worked hard on journalism and hated it with the fire of a thousand suns. I've been a tutor and taught Bible studies and learned that I hate teaching even more. People think that it's the circumstances that I tried those things in, but I'm a very relational thinker with a strong grasp of transferable concepts. The things that turned me off about those experiences are universal in those fields. I'm good at doing those things, but I'd rather jump off a bridge and I'm terrified of heights. Those experiences were valuable not only because they showed me where I don't fit, but they showed me some things I am good at. I hate teaching, but I'm good at building a rapport with people and making the feel comfortable in situations where they are uncertain of themselves. That works well in situations where I get to be a mentor or a supervisor. I hate journalism, but I'm exceptionally good at meeting deadlines and making things fit into specific spaces. That worked well when I was a graphic designer. Right now, I'm using my mentoring skills to work as a caregiver for my brother, who has a developmental delay. It's creatively unfulfilling, but it keeps the bills paid until I can develop a more specific direction for my writing. I'm feeling a driving need to use autobiographical information to inspire others, but haven't figured out the execution beyond maintaining a blog that seems to inspire a handful of people to stop hating their bodies. That's pretty cool, but it doesn't pay the bills. The thing is that people keep telling me that I should do anything and everything to pay the bills, but that isn't practical. That's desperate. Practical is finding ways to pay the bills that contribute to my skill set. Which brings me to telling you that the best thing you can do as you look for work is to keep your skills and interests in mind. Fast food pays the bills, but it does nothing for building your skill set. Office work isn't the most creative work, but it can provide some of the most basic skills needed for the creative field by giving you the opportunity to work with others and deal with deadlines. Ideally, you want to look for entry level work in fields that interest you and volunteer for creative projects (both on the job and during your free time.) Unfortunately, I grew up in small towns where my choices have always been fast food or office work, so I don't have specific suggestions, but look for people who are already doing the work. Ask a variety of questions. Learn as much as you can whenever you can. You'll figure it out as you go along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoJenic Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Decided to delete my first post because it was too long and no one would care about what I had to say so the short version: I woke up one day knowing what I wanted to do for the rest of my life yet I still have problems deciding what to wear from day to day. Talk about weird. I'm a Professional Photographer that's currently unemployed and beyond irritated that I don't have enough money to go to one of Mika's gigs. I'm also irritated that since I'm broke and having to job hunt all day my personal life has been on hold for almost 4 months now. I miss being able to make plans and do fun things! My website is: http://www.jenhewsonphotography.com I'm looking for a job in NYC because it's not terribly far away from home and there's always great stuff to photograph there. I'd like to get some press passes to events to gain experience too. To cut down on rent I'll be getting an apartment with one of my roommates from photography school and I look forward to taking that final step into the real world with someone doing the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Holy hell Rivers you write so much I'd love to be backing dancer in music videos or whatever, but I'm too short. Fact. No going round it. Plus I'm not professional. I may have been dancing since I was 4, but I haven't been to dance college and there's a difference. (sorry if I seem blunt, I am very grateful for your help...) By success I just mean having enough money. I won't hold out for being famous lol I just don't know what I want to do and with all this pressurising I feel like I'm being pressurised into making a choice I'm not ready to make. I don't like my job, I'll admit that, and they've said find another, better paid job until you find a career path...but I don't want to work in a shop, I don't want to work in bank so I'd much rather stay where I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoJenic Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Performing. But I can't do it cos I'm too short plus I'd need to go to a performance college. You can be a performer because you're too short?! I didn't realize you had to be a certain height to act. Same with my cat who I found at my summer house. She doesn't want to go out at all, she's sleeping on my bed all day and just waiting for us to go back to town! It's funny how cats decide to adopt you. I was outside on our porch with my mom when we heard a strange noise and up popped a kitty from the steps. She wouldn't stop meowing so I went over to her and sat down. She then wouldn't stop rubbing up against me and crawling all over my lap. She lived under our deck at night and during the day I'd go outside and sit and she'd come up to sleep. You could tell she wasn't sleeping at night because she was afraid. We finally took her into the garage and I called all over the place asking if someone reported a missing cat. No one had reported it and she's shown signs of being abused. We think someone caged her and whenever she made a noise she was yelled at or the cage was rattled. Her cry is so weak now. Then we think that once she looked like she was going to die they dumped her outside so they didn't have to deal with her. Since no one had reported her missing we snatched her up. Who could do that to such a cute cat though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 You can be a performer because you're too short?! I didn't realize you had to be a certain height to act. Maybe not act, but to dance you do sometimes. My sister is a dancer and she's only like an inch taller than me. She was with this production company once and got through, was on stage rehearsing, when the big boss came in and told people to sack her because she was too short. You have to fit in with the crew. Sometimes you can go to auditions and you can be thrown out before you dance. Stand me next to a group of 5foot 6, slim blonde girls and they'll get in over me. Seriously! They'll stand the candidates in a line and they'll pick out their favourites because of their looks and be like "thanks for showing up everyone, but you haven't made it." It sounds cruel, but that's the way it is and I get it...I mean, look at the dancers in BIOTG. All same height, all look the same. Perfect example. I'm short, so I could probably be a costume character in Disney Land. Sounds great, but I couldn't get in that costume because I can get claustrophobic, plus that's not the sort of performing I'd wanna do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaX Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Wow all your lives are so interesting I feel so banal @riverstwilight [quoting would fill all the page ] Maybe I'm being off topic but I hope not to be killed because of that Just wanted to let you know that I love the way you write and that after I read this post I took a look at your blog and found it very sincere, positive and meaningful and after having had eating disorders I can tell that are this kind of things that sometimes people need to change their way of looking to their bodies, appearence and life in general. I think you can help many people to have a better life and that's great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dilek Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 this summer i decided i don't want to be a high school teacher for the rest of my life:dunno:.so i quit my job.now i'm doing my masters in "molecular biology":aah: when i grow up,graduate i mean i want to be a professor:mf_rosetinted: also i'm giving private lessons in highschool topics in order to pay the bills and my rent as i'm studying:naughty: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoJenic Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Maybe not act, but to dance you do sometimes. My sister is a dancer and she's only like an inch taller than me. She was with this production company once and got through, was on stage rehearsing, when the big boss came in and told people to sack her because she was too short.You have to fit in with the crew. Sometimes you can go to auditions and you can be thrown out before you dance. Stand me next to a group of 5foot 6, slim blonde girls and they'll get in over me. Seriously! They'll stand the candidates in a line and they'll pick out their favourites because of their looks and be like "thanks for showing up everyone, but you haven't made it." It sounds cruel, but that's the way it is and I get it...I mean, look at the dancers in BIOTG. All same height, all look the same. Perfect example. I'm short, so I could probably be a costume character in Disney Land. Sounds great, but I couldn't get in that costume because I can get claustrophobic, plus that's not the sort of performing I'd wanna do. Got to love how society views beauty... NOT! I noticed a lot during photography school that when we could photograph each other the "flawless" people were always chosen. The only time it bothered me was when an instructor did the same for examples. He wouldn't choose anyone that was slightly bigger or someone who didn't have perfect skin. Then when we weren't allowed to use each other as models and had to go into public and ask people to model most were getting stick thin flawless girls or guys with muscles and six packs. I didn't do that though because I wanted to shoot ordinary everyday people and make them feel beautiful. How tall are you? I pictured you being 5'5. If it makes you feel any better I'm 5'6" and fat so they'd throw me about before I walked in the door. Eh you wouldn't want to be a costume character at Disney World anyway. They don't pay enough to live on. I looked into being one of their roving photographers. I was tempted to apply until I realized that after bills I'd have negative -$100+ Okay so since you've ruled out performing... what is your next favorite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverstwilight Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Decided to delete my first post because it was too long and no one would care about what I had to say Just imagine if I did that! You'd never have anything to scroll past Holy hell Rivers you write so much I'd love to be backing dancer in music videos or whatever, but I'm too short. Fact. No going round it. Plus I'm not professional. I may have been dancing since I was 4, but I haven't been to dance college and there's a difference. (sorry if I seem blunt, I am very grateful for your help...) Dude, that was the SHORT version. You don't even want to know how long it took. Anyway, my point was, open up the possibilities. You are young. You don't have to choose a specific career and stick to it no matter what. You have time to explore the options. Hang out around your theatre. Talk to people who work at jobs in the creative field and start finding out what jobs are available. You see that thing you just did with dancing? You chose a specific job and said, "I can't do that, so I can't really dance for a living." That isn't the only job for dancers and it may not even be the best job for you. Also, don't put all your eggs in one basket by focusing on one favored skill and ignoring the rest. Most creative jobs require a range of skills. Writers have editors and fact checkers and proofreaders because we can't do it all. People who can write don't necessarily become writers. They work as editors and fact checkers and proofreaders. Your love for dance is good for a lot of things besides being in video and being on stage. You don't want to teach. You don't want to be a choreographer. What about physical therapy? What about stage direction? What about....I don't know. That's where talking to people who chase the work comes in. Find how what work they chase and how they chase it. Write a one woman show and figure out how to get it produced. Work on it as a side project while you are paying the bills. Then, make yourself famous. If you spend your life shooting down the possibilities, you end up like me. Much as I love being me, it would have been nice to figure out some of this stuff when I was younger and in a better position to take advantage of certain opportunities I missed because I was too busy saying, "I can't." Don't let the world tell you who you are going to be. Start exploring the world. The creative world is HUGE and full of an incredible range of possibilities. One example and then I'll stop. When I say that I was a graphic designer, what do you think my average day looked like? What do you think I did? I worked for a small design company that made site guides for RV parks. At times, I designed entire guides, but my primary job was map maker. I made area maps with dingbats to show the locations of the businesses that were advertised in the guides we made. When I worked on entire guides, I did everything from color correcting photos to balancing elements in order to make attractive advertisements. I designed backgrounds and wrote copy and did more proofreading than you would believe. Writers aren't the only ones who need proofreading. I was manager of my department, so I had to proofread every map for accuracy. Since I was one of the managers within the design department, I had to proofread every site guide for over all balance and design. Mostly, the jobs were split up in to specific parts. One person did the color correcting and photo sizing and designed the cover. One person did the site map displaying the layout of the RV park. Three different people created the advertisements. One person handled the over all page layout for all of those elements. All of those people were graphic designers, but each of them had a specific job to do. We helped each other out and worked together on making sure that each part of the design fit within the over all design. I know so much about design from making maps because there is a lot of design that goes into making a good map. Making a bad map is easy and I've seen more than my fair share of them. Designing a good map is hard work. You have to choose the right font, the right colors, the right line widths, and you have to balance more 50 elements in the space the size of a greeting card and make sure that it's legible and makes some kind of sense. You go to design school to learn the priciples that you'll need to design anything from a perfume box to a map to a travel brochure to an advertisement. I didn't go to school and had to learn all of that stuff the hard way. I only had that opportunity because some guy from the Ukraine realized I was a genius and stuck me in a hole and said, "Ok genius, DO IT!" And I did it better than anybody in the building. And that is really NOT the way to make friends because it makes everybody else feel like the work they did and the education they got is meaningless. When it isn't. What you make in design school isn't half as important as what you learn from making it and how you can apply those skills in the working world. You won't always get to apply them in ways you want, but if you love applying them, it doesn't really matter what you make. It didn't matter that I made maps. I loved the challenge of creating a beautiful design. My early maps were craptastic. They were AWFUL. When I got the hang of applying advanced design principles to my maps, they were the best maps anybody will ever see and millions of people have seen them and used them. They've even been plagiarized. You want to know how I got that job? I applied for a proofreading job because I thought that I would at least get to use my writing skills to some degree. I did get to use them, but not nearly as much as I hoped and not in any way I had ever foreseen. And it was the best job I ever had. You take the skills you have and plug them into any holes you can find and you find out that you can fit into the world in all kinds of ways you never knew about. That's the beauty of working in the creative field. Somedays, I just really shouldn't be allowed near a keyboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Got to love how society views beauty... NOT! I noticed a lot during photography school that when we could photograph each other the "flawless" people were always chosen. The only time it bothered me was when an instructor did the same for examples. He wouldn't choose anyone that was slightly bigger or someone who didn't have perfect skin. Then when we weren't allowed to use each other as models and had to go into public and ask people to model most were getting stick thin flawless girls or guys with muscles and six packs. I didn't do that though because I wanted to shoot ordinary everyday people and make them feel beautiful. How tall are you? I pictured you being 5'5. If it makes you feel any better I'm 5'6" and fat so they'd throw me about before I walked in the door. Eh you wouldn't want to be a costume character at Disney World anyway. They don't pay enough to live on. I looked into being one of their roving photographers. I was tempted to apply until I realized that after bills I'd have negative -$100+ Okay so since you've ruled out performing... what is your next favorite? I'm only 5foot lol. You can see how short I am in this vlog I did at 3:16 haha! Next to performing...I like to draw...but only do it when inspiration hits me, it's not something I can do 24/7. The one after that is writing, which is why I thought about maybe writing for a magazine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverstwilight Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 @riverstwilight [quoting would fill all the page ] Maybe I'm being off topic but I hope not to be killed because of that Just wanted to let you know that I love the way you write and that after I read this post I took a look at your blog and found it very sincere, positive and meaningful and after having had eating disorders I can tell that are this kind of things that sometimes people need to change their way of looking to their bodies, appearence and life in general. I think you can help many people to have a better life and that's great Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverstwilight Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I'm only 5foot lol. You can see how short I am in this vlog I did at 3:16 haha! Next to performing...I like to draw...but only do it when inspiration hits me, it's not something I can do 24/7. The one after that is writing, which is why I thought about maybe writing for a magazine The nice thing about working in the creative field is that most jobs allow you enough variety that you don't feel like you are doing the same thing 24/7 even if you are doing a specific job. Making maps wasn't glamorous, but it was never boring. Hair pullingly frustrating at times. Never boring. (And I loved it the most when I hated it.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 The nice thing about working in the creative field is that most jobs allow you enough variety that you don't feel like you are doing the same thing 24/7 even if you are doing a specific job. Making maps wasn't glamorous, but it was never boring. Hair pullingly frustrating at times. Never boring. (And I loved it the most when I hated it.) as strange as the bolded bit sounds () I get it. That's the kind of relationship I have with my drawings lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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