I see a lot of people who tell young people–especially young people who are heading into college–that they should “do what they love.” And they’re right. You should do what you love.
But there’s a world of difference between doing what you love for you, and doing what you love for a paycheck.
I went to undergrad for graphic design and 3-D design–art and more art, I usually say–and I loved it. You know what I didn’t love? Trying to collect my fees from clients. Trying to meet unrealistic, over-simplified or over-specific briefs from people who didn’t know what they were talking about. Coming home, having worked creatively all day, with no creative juice left for the things I wanted to do.
You know what I would tell you instead? Do something that you can be interested in, with people you like.
You don’t have to love it. Loving your work can be a lot, and it often means you have to live in your job 24/7. Some people can do that. Not everyone can, or should. But if you can find work that’s interesting enough that it doesn’t feel tedious, and people you can enjoy spending your 9-5 with, and you can make money, that’s great! It means you can do the things you love for you.
I’m in law school now. It’s interesting work, and difficult, and I like doing it. I like how complicated it gets, and I like the stories it tells. But I don’t come home and read law journals for fun. I come home, and I sculpt, and I draw, and I paint, and I read. I do these things for me.
And I love it.
This is still circulating and it’s been a few years, so let me update. I’m officially a lawyer now, and still not a single regret about this choice. Settling into a stable job is such a gift and a privilege in ways I didn’t expect. I’m not going to repeat the advice given above, but I want to make it clear that having passed through my student years and into my career proper, I stand by this in every respect.
I chose to take a job that was not the most high-paying option available to me, because it wouldn’t require me to bill my time, I would have a better work-life balance, I found the work more engaging, and I really loved the office. It has paid off so much.
I get to walk to work, and most days I leave my laptop behind when I walk home at five. I have a little house with a little garden and a bunch of seedlings sprouting too early for spring. I have two stupid cats and two stupider doves and they make me happy. I put a little money into food and shelter for the neighborhood strays and name all my visiting opossums Harold. My art gets done when I feel inspiration striking, sometimes in the middle of the night, and I let my hobby fund itself without the pressure of deadlines. There is so much joy in making only what I want to. My sleep schedule has stabilized. For the first time in my life, I know the shape my days will take weeks and months away, because my routine is consistent, and I never knew what a peace that was. My job is predictable but never boring, interesting but not consuming, and it’s just a job.
There are people who will tell you–people who have told me–that turning my back on an artistic career or a career you have “potential” in is selling out, or settling.
Let me tell you, friends, I have never felt so settled.
“Doing your best” means “doing what you can without harming your mental and physical health” not “doing something with no regards for your own limits.”
Would it be helpful for non-trans people to take the survey, or should we just stay out of it?
TLDR: if you are cis, signal boost the hell out of this survey instead. signal boost it to various communities, especially ones reaching out to marginalized communities. if you are trans, then please also signal boost the hell out of this survey too.
We need to signal boost this to rural & non-urban-areas so the trans people there get counted, we need API (Asian, Pacific Islander) trans people to get counted. We need bi/pan trans people, we need military veterans, we need other demographics too so please contact the people who are conducting this survey. Here are their information.
You can be in a different country, and still fill out the non-US-citizen survey, as long as you’re trans.
Do Not Hesistate With Any Question or Accessibility Problem, Please Contact & Ask These People:
General USTS team - Equipo general de la USTS ustranssurvey@transequality.org
Josie Caballero – USTS Project Manager – Dirección de Gestión de la USTS jcaballero@transequality.org; 202-804-6057
Sybastian Smith – NCTE National Organizer – Organizador Nacional NCTE ssmith@transequality.org; 202-804-6042
Alex del Rosario – USTS Outreach Manager – Gestión de Difusión de la USTS adelrosario@transequality.org; 202-804-6052
Other Q&A’s that came up during a 2021 November 16th presentation:
firstly, NCTE USTS did not get authority (IRB approval) to go into the protected class of incarcerated trans people
secondly, you don’t have to be a US-citizen to contribute data, but you will be given a non-us-citizen survey.
If you reside in the US but are just temporarily abroad, then you would be able to respond to the US-resident survey. If you are permamently living abroad, you would take the survey for non-US residents.
if you have any other questions about these categories then please contact the USTS team for help.
The rough timeline for the USTS:
Pledge Period is until the end of January
Fielding Period starts around the beginning of February with a 6 week survey window
Report writing with start shortly thereafter and go until end of 2022
You need to be trans to take the survey, but anyone can know a trans person.
[Image Description: A graphic that says, “Pledge to take the U.S. trans survey.” Below that there are hands of various colors including brown, white, black, pink, blue, and purple. At the bottom, it says, “2022 U.S. Trans Survey” End Description]
Stop buying Apple products. I know you’ve used them for most of your life, and I know it’s inconvenient to move to a new brand because in most cases, you cannot take your contacts with you on various chat apps.
I know this is inconvenient. I truly do.
But Apple is not the company it was before. There is now no difference between an Apple computer and a Windows computer in terms of graphic design. I know this for a fact. I had to use both in college 20 years ago, and non-apple computers are now generally better for design work than Apple computers.
Most non-apple companies encourage self-repair of your own devices, while Apple refuses it. I also know this for a fact, as I watched Apple computers become slowly less reparable through the late 90s and early 2000s. Where I was once able to do the repairs on our office computers, we had to start sending out our Apple devices because they started gluing things down on their logic boards. Notably the glue they used was not heat-resistant and led to device damage should the heat sink system fail. But they did this because they wanted to dig more money out of their customers.
Apple software is also designed to fail. I cannot believe people are still buying new devices after the scandal where Apple was slowing their phones in order to force people to purchase new versions.
Apple hardware is designed to become obsolete. Motherboards and logic boards are designed to hold exactly what comes attached to them and will fail if upgrade attempts are made.
Apple refuses to work with software developers despite promises of cross-compatibility. One of the very first coding problems I discovered was to discover a gigantic hole in a software program that made a plotter (giant printer) compatible with iOS. This caused a memory leak, leading to necessary resets of the computer after every 2 feet of printing.
I know that it’s not possible for most of you to just throw your devices away and buy a new one. I wouldn’t be able to do that, either. But eventually there will come a time when you have to upgrade, and I encourage you to take the plunge and purchase a non-apple device. I don’t even have a recommendation for you because literally anything is better than Apple. A rock that you write on is better than an Apple phone.
Unfortunately I expect to be shadow-banned on Apple devices because of this, and I’ll try to report on decreased activity as much as I can.
It’s time to stop trying to beg Apple to change. They won’t. It’s time now to just stop supporting Apple.
25% is better than 0%. trying a little is better than not trying at all. eating a protein bar is better than nothing. using dry shampoo is better than not showering. cleaning one section of your room or house is better than not cleaning any of it. writing a paragraph of your essay is better than not starting it. whatever you can manage today is okay. you can try again tomorrow. little steps are to be proud of.
I'm Yohanna but you can call me Haru 🤗
