How can we as creatives give back to our younger selves?
We all need to take stock here and there of what we’ve been through, not only to do better for ourselves in the future but also to look to help others who may experience the same obstacles.
We asked our community to do some reminiscing and assessing of the past to find out what would have made their journey to becoming a creative easier.
Self-Reflection
You can’t know yourself if you don’t actively try to self-reflect.
Some of our community members felt that if they had really thought about what they wanted to do, they would have figured it out earlier.
That’s not to say that there’s regret on how their passion came to light, but rather a recommendation to ask yourself what you want regularly and early.
Representation
But maybe you would’ve come around to realizing your potential and passion earlier if you saw someone like you doing so. Representation matters and one of our members said that it’s harder to envisage making it in any field without it.
So the takeaway here is that if you’ve made it, share that story as often as possible so that you might inspire youth in and out of your own community.
Give them the representation they need. And beyond that, if there, still, isn’t anyone for you to look up to, become that person. Self-belief is hard but it can take you far.
Access to Better Tools
Yeah, you might have an interest in music, but if you don’t have any resources it can be hard to nurture that passion. The same goes for any other creative field.
You probably remember how hard it was completing projects with little to nothing. As much as scarcity can force you to be creative with solutions, having better resources makes your journey easier.
So if you know where to get equipment for the low, or access to spaces share that knowledge with each other and the up and comers.
You might just be changing their lives.
Taking Risks
It can take a while for you to finally try something. When it comes to creative fields you might get comfortable doing the same-old because it’s safe, but you never know what medium might force you to make your greatest work yet.
Those who try their hand at everything tend to find that they have more than one skill and more than one artistic love. If you’re a photographer try videography. A painter? Try textiles.
You could be great at more than one thing. And this is something you can continue to do well into your success.
Real Mentorship
You probably remember at some point an old head in the game making you feel inadequate for your inexperience. You might have even asked them for help and they turned you down.
No one likes an insecure successful creative. Now that you have the knowledge to share you can be the mentor you never had.
Find that younger you in those on the come up or just starting out, give them the support they need. Every time you climb it’s important to throw the rope back.