Hello!
Today I posted a video about something that I've been thinking about a lot lately. The word "Wannabe". I've noticed this trend of seeing the word in internet bios. People placing it in front of titles like "writer" and "artist" It bothers me. But, at the same time I understand it why people do it. It's so easy to get trapped in this place, where you don't feel like you have enough accomplishments under your belt to own that word. "Wannabe Artist" feels safer and more comfortable than just owning it.Describing yourself is hard. Us creative people tend to be a self deprecating bunch to began with. We don't want people to think we sound too stuck up or full of it. So often times we discount our accomplishments, careers, and passions using negative words.
Watch the video above, or click here to go to the youtube page.
In the video I quoted an article called "Don't let impostor syndrome get in your way" by Justin Mclachlan (which I highly recommend)
"There’s a big danger in having an inflated ego, but I think there’s more danger in having a devalued sense of one’s ability. The former sets you up to be smacked down to reality, which is okay, but the latter could prevent you from doing your best work."
He goes on to say something we've heard echo'd a million times, but for some reason never fulling sinks in "You want to be a writer? Write. And there, boom, you’re a writer. It really is that simple."
I am terrible at this. It's the worst when I'm meeting someone new, and they ask me the dreaded question "What do you do?" I always stumble and say something along the lines of "Oh I make comics and write things" I feel flustered and awkward. The person I'm meeting now feels equally awkward. And I've turned what could've been a pleasant meeting into one of the many strained interactions over the course of the evening. Just because I
I didn't realize that this was such a problem until a year or so ago, I was sitting in across from a friend in the middle of a crowded table, nestled in the back of a loud Irish pub. She asked what I'd been doing lately, and I panicked. Sure, I'd been getting comics ready for print, and working on convention prep. But surely she wouldn't want to hear about that right?! I went through the whole awkward shebang. My eyes darted around the room, waiting for a chance to change the topic. I was so worried about not being good enough that I just didn't want to say anything at all. She quickly snapped me out of my self loathing and said something along the lines of.
"Hold your head high." That moument had such an impact on me. Almost every time I'm asked the awkward "What do you do?" question, or have to talk about myself. I think about that night. I am so proud of what I do. It shouldn't feel so weird to share that. But it does. I'm hoping that'll change with time.
Words have so much power, more than we realize. When we use negative ones to describe ourselves it takes a toll on us. It doesn't matter if it's in an online bio or meeting someone new. I'm going to try to do better. And I challenge you all to do the same. Because, we're not wannabes. (no matter how hard we try) We're the real thing, and we don't need external validation for that to be true. Work hard. Be you. Why would you want to be anyone else?
xoxo Paige
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