The Paradox of Creative Work

There were always signs that I was desperate to create.

Creative projects brought me to life, were all consuming (in a good way) and left me feeling accomplished and ready for more.

Looking back, it’s a million times easier to connect the dots but in the thick of it I had no idea!

Escaping the mundane is always fun, but what happens when creativity and business meet?

I decided to try my hand at designing websites for other people with Redesignia.

It’s been a lot of fun with the typical highs and lows of the entrepreneurship roller coaster while channeling my creativity into a business.

Creative Jobs

The idealized careers showcased in TV and movies, where people made money and had fun, were creative.

All the rest were boring, bland, and unfulfilling to those pretend office workers.

These elusive unicorn jobs, which didn’t seem real, became even more scarce as I started to consider a career and what that meant to me.

I knew my hobbies and talents, reading, writing, not talking during group discussions, but had no idea what kind of job needs these skills; almost all do in some way.

My major didn't help, psychology, which gave me a taste inside the individual mind and its motivations.

I didn't take many creative classes but for the few in my degree plan I went all out.

I never felt creative enough or qualified for a “typical” creative job and not boring enough to settle for a boring job I’d never aspire beyond.

“Not creative enough for the creative jobs. Not boring enough for the boring jobs.”

Photojournalism was my favorite class even though I had no desire to be a journalist. After a brief stint with intro to journalism I realized me and AP style weren’t going to be friends and I only really enjoyed messing with Photoshop. This class was the closest I came to peeking at what a more creative career might look like.

This black and white binary thinking, mostly caused by my practicality and the recession, kept me from pursuing what I thought was the impossible unicorn embodied in those films from decades ago. A creative career that was fun, fulfilling and still hard work.

My Creative Journey

From creative admirer in the art museum to web designer it took me years to make my way here. Before even considering a creative career, I was seeking out inspiration, admiring others work, and spending weekends holed up in my room creating for hours.

After graduating college, I was job hunting, working retail (slowly losing my mind), and losing my creative spark. Thankfully, it never really left, just went a bit dormant, as I channeled my frustrations into a creative writing project.

I landed a full time job in 2014 and any creative impulses were put on hold. Eventually I got bored at this job and wanted to stretch my creative muscles again. Learning about those hobbies and creative interests that I never had time for seemed like a good place to start.

Creating my first website in 2017, a blog, where I wrote and created whatever I wanted to release to the internet. In 2018 I wanted to learn more about design so I joined a design meetup group. I never considered a creative career or entrepreneurship before that group. I kept growing my design skills through web design projects.

Eventually, the remote work era started in 2020. I decided to build my business while working full time in 2021 since my commute was nonexistent. I learned a lot in the process of creating digital products, meeting new people through coffee chats, and different networking groups.

Security vs Creativity

It is the ultimate tale of opposites and the grass is always greener. When I was struggling to find a full time job after college I had all the time in the world to read, write and create.

Did I utilize it? Sometimes but not as much as I could have.

I know very few people who have the best of both worlds in the sense of being creatively fulfilled and not having to worry about money.

I think everyone can make it work in their own lives even if it seems fruitless when you can't commit as much time as you like to whatever your creative pursuits are.

Carve out the time and keep creating. Learn more about my web designer journey.