Quote:
Originally Posted by semantik
most people are afraid to create something. That's why they encourage others to do the same old ordinary thing they are doing.
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you know what, that's SO true. I don't know why it is, maybe public school grinds it outta people, but most people think that artists and creative types are magicians. I really believe that. And so you know how some people probably distrust magic, because they don't understand it, and other people think magic is the best thing ever (because they don't understand it). There's nothing magic about making music, or art in general. It's labour. It takes hellah work. And you have to prioritize where you're gonna spend your hard work, be it attaining a certain level of expertise or technical proficiency at your chosen art, or making skrilla on the stock market, or being a good cook, etc.
I play guitar a lot, and occasionally get paid to do so, and it's funny the reactions I get. Actually I'm going on a month-long tour in a couple days, and so when I tell people this they're like "Oh
wow that's crazy! You're so lucky!" etc etc. It's not luck, it's labour. I wasn't born good at guitar, I worked really hard. Maybe what I was born with is the
desire to get good at guitar. And I'm guessin you were born with a similar desire, maybe not with guitar but with music or beats or however you describe it. But yeah, people all of a sudden treat me with more respect when I say I'm going on tour with my band. Which part of me likes (the caveman part of me) but also I almost resent, because why were you treating me with less respect before?
This culture is so fucked-up... like, if you're doing something you love doing and you get lots of pleasure doing it, but you're not any good at it yet, then you're "wasting your time". But if you're good at it (and mostly people think you're good at something if you can make money doing it) then you're a fucking magician. Good friend of mine is a comic artist who's finally getting some renown lately, and he stresses that he's not any better than other people at drawing, he just practises more than other people. And now that his main source of income is drawing comics, all of a sudden he's not "wasting his time" anymore.
The other thing about our culture is that guilt seems to be somehow upheld as a virtue. Guilt and endless striving. Whereas pleasure is a sin. So it's more virtuous to grind away at a job you hate, contributing much more to the economy than to your own happiness. And it's a sin to take a fucking break and do something for yourself, that you love. The assholes are only nice to you if doing what you love generates capital and stimulates the economy (and then they're only nice to you because they smell your success and happiness and want some for themselves). I say fuck the economy and fuck the assholes, and do what you love. Life is hard; you might as well be happy for as much of it as you can manage without fucking other people over.
there's my rant. In short: don't give up. Do what you love. seven