This was back in 2018 at a community college in Ohio, I think it was Comp 2 with this older guy who wore bow ties. He handed back my first big essay with a C and wrote "you're playing it too safe, take a risk" in the margins. I didn't get it at first because I thought good writing meant being correct and following all the rules. So for the next paper I deliberately started with this weird personal story about a road trip detour instead of a boring thesis statement. He gave me an A and said it had voice finally. Now I always tell myself to write the messy version first and clean it up later, otherwise I just produce something that's technically fine but says nothing. Has anyone else had feedback that forced you to totally rework your process?
I keep seeing how job applications force you into a neat box. They only care about the path that leads directly to them. Like when I skipped mentioning my year doing art shows on my resume. It made me dwell on what a life in art might have been. Now I'm stuck thinking about all the selves I left behind. It's annoying how this process ignores who you are outside their needs. We get so focused on one lane we forget the other exits.
I mess around with making beats on my computer. At one point, I thought about sticking to drum patterns but ended up trying synth waves. Now, I save every loop and sound I don't use in a special folder. Going through it, I notice how my tracks could have sounded totally different. Like last week, I had a chill vibe that I swapped for something more upbeat. The original loop had a calm feel I kind of miss now. This makes me think about what if I had kept that style. My hack is to never delete your discarded ideas. They let you view the alternate paths in your hobby.
I miss the kale and sunflowers that used to thrive there, a shared project that brought neighbors together. Now it's just uniform grass, a tidy but lonely space that makes me wonder about the friendships we might have cultivated instead.
I always figured not having a degree would limit my opportunities permanently. Then I noticed the consistent demand for practical expertise over theoretical knowledge in my line of work. Does anyone else find their non-traditional route more validating than they expected?