As of Friday of last week, I have allotted myself time to experiment in voluntary non-standard work pursuits. So yes, I quit my day job.
For the past five months or so, I’ had been working as a marketing specialist for a for-profit educational institution. Some people say five months is too short a time to tell if you like the job or not. But with a daily commute of a whopping two and a half hours and nine hours in a windowless ex-mental institution, I feel that five months was plenty of time.
I wasn’t ungrateful for the job because I really needed the money to buy tools and supplies to support my art making career. It was a good job: I was salaried, had decent benefits and a 401K retirement plan. It was also the first time that I enjoyed the company of my coworkers.
The real issue was time. So while the job paid me money, it cost me time. So here I am, the first day of the rest of my life.
I often find myself in a vicious cycle of self-doubt, especially when it comes to questions surrounding maintaining stability in my life or taking risks. After working three years in LA’s job market, I’ve decided that now’s the time for me to take a risk by experimenting with what it means to be a contemporary artist: the business, the technology and the support communities.
My 25th birthday is later this month and I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life right now than creating art, writing stories and living the good life.
I started volunteering at the Inner City Arts in downtown LA earlier today and right now I’m laser cutting some new artwork at Hexlab Makerspace. Tomorrow, I’m off to Portland, Oregon to check out their Mini Maker Faire this weekend. Life is very rich and I am excited for what the future holds.