1 Year New: The Good

April 1, 2012
I think my boss thought it was April Fool's too.

I was a science geek and could charm the socks off almost any immortalized or stem cell. I had risen among the stars and became the lab manager, but it came to a point where there was just nowhere else to go (without starting grad school at 30). I had climbed the technician ladder for almost 8 years and found myself at the end of a high dive.

Regardless of my fear of heights, I felt the need to jump. So I made my splash and did what any rational person would do. I became a videographer. You know, because filming and editing have soooo much to do with DNA replication. I told myself if I had 20 weddings lined up to film in 2012, I would hang up my pipettors, say goodbye to the world of molecular biology and leave the worries of epigentic effects to others. I reached that goal and turned in my lab notebook a year ago today.

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
I'll start you off with all the good. First, I love being my own boss. Who wouldn't? Especially when you're a control freak like me. I set my own hours and pick my own music. I can take time out to play with our new daughter, the refrigerator is also always close-by for those mid-morning, mid-afternoon and early evening stomach rumbles. Staff meetings are also very simple. I still have to schedule that happy hour for my office, come to think of it.

The work I do is consistently the most fulfilling work I've ever done. How could it not? As a left-handed creative that loves numbers, videography is perfect. The creative storytelling contrasted with the analytical, frame-by-frame editing. The math of camera settings compared to the art of framing a shot. My mind is on a supernova all day and night thinking through story lines for my films. These dark, creative pockets of my mind are finally being explored. The perfect marriage of art and science.

Most of my work is done alone in the home office, so I've started looking to meet people while I'm out shooting and on social network sites like Twitter and Facebook. I have met awesome people out there, even across the country. People I otherwise would have no way of meeting. They have inspired me by the work they do and by taking time to actually respond and connect with me. Makes me feel a little more professional. When I do get out of the house, I love talking to people on the sidelines of sports games, random guests at weddings who tell me stories, and especially getting to know my couples over the course of planning and staying in touch after the wedding.

I'm always learning. Like how Mom should have taught me to swim; just thrown me in the water. This learning is on the go and the the faster, the better. I learn anywhere and anything I can from print to online to people. I didn't know I would have to be my own accountant and marketing agent as well. I'm constantly learning better techniques for shooting and editing. What I love most about this work is that it's going to be a lifetime of learning. There will always be new technologies, new ways to improve, new trends.

I am so happy to have made this switch at this point. The sky is the limit (that's a lie, there are plenty of limitations, but more about that in the next post). This past year has been the most rewarding and the absolutely most difficult work year I've ever had. So that's "The Good". Funny how the draft for "...The Bad and The Ugly" is much much longer right now, but I promise I'll keep it concise.

What do you enjoy about working for yourself? Did you make the leap recently too? It took the encouragement of others in the same boat for me to make the leap and to keep my sanity after doing it. Feel free to get in touch if you want someone to bounce ideas off of for doing what you love full-time. I'm also learning that I have a lot to learn still so if you have advice for me, I'm all ears.