Find Your Way or Force Your Way

Hey guys, it starts a little sad but keep reading.

Side note, this is not about how to get in. This is just dealing with the journey, how I'm coping.




Lets start with how I got in the mindset to write about this, not to put too much of a downer on my positive approach to job seeking. Two close relatives where hospitalised this week. This made me sink quite low, and at a time when as you might know its hard to get into a full time position, more stress. So my mind battled against itself as I held the hand of someone I really cared about, unsure whether they would be there the next day. But, I did pick them up the next day, cheery as ever.

The day after, restless sleep. The flood gates opened and doubted myself for a short time on my career. Had a lot on my mind and hoped that my part time job would remove my constant thinking of what may be. So I carried on as normal.

Skip forward a few days, I missed my train by 3 minutes. Ran to the stop in hopes of making it. I either walk to the next stop about 3km away or wait an hour for the next train. I walked, reflected on what my career was at this point in time. A little annoyed I still hadn't made it; meaning have the job I wanted - which may seem a little silly of me to claim that as "made it", and a little jealous of others. Didn't like where I was, I felt like I was a stapler, but was always in the drawer and used only as a makeshift ruler occasionally. Never for what I felt I was. But, some people get in easy or hard, sooner or later or never. That's just it. And pause on that for a second.

You can take what options you have and use them, show you can get there or...try something else.

I thought my current situation isn't that bad however. There are some nice enough colleagues at my part time job, hard working people who mop the floors but in their break time get out the books and study. But, some people who spout sectarian speeches or are sarcastically mean. Friendly and not so friendly people or situations are absolutely everywhere. Just getting a job in the games industry won't make everything alright, there will be bad times. Plenty of them. My point is, keep doing what you love and it will take you places good and bad - but enjoy what you do. Find Your Way.

To show you a positive example of what became a not so great situation, let me start with me just leaving uni. Good year, worked hard on everything. Took on extra projects and did extra work for the masters students, side projects, charities, local business etc. Got out, different story. Unemployment hit for a good while, sound familiar? I made games though and a few linear audio projects as well, some small success and it was all for free but no job became of it. Ended up moving back home, which is now my current situation.

So sometimes, I help out my friends and family with techy stuff . One neighbour wanted a website, half a day and was done making a site and popping it up. No worries I said. She happened to be an operatic singer and offered a few lessons in return. Jumped at the chance. Would have never been able to afford her normally nor got the chance living elsewhere. She got me from being an apprehensive singer to projecting my voice in song. I'm also in the final stages of finalising my patent application; with all that unemployment time I learned how to create a prototype with electronics, based on an idea thought up in Uni.

Try your best to use the dealt cards and work at what we can get, is what I'd like to say. Be your friendly and helpful self (characteristics may not apply) and try to ask yourself "Is this what I want to do?". If I have to clean tables or move stock it shall be done, we all could use money to Force Our Way. It might take longer than others to get in, but you will appreciate it when and if it happens. I'll understand that being in a company means getting along with everyone, to better the customers experience and your own. I'll understand whats on the line and what its like to be unemployed if we close the studio, understand that relaxing is a useful time to be creative.

A good tip from John Cleese (auto correcter wanted to spell it as Cheese, made me laugh) said exactly that; which I won't delve into. I find that letting everything go in a sort of "find your center way" can help out. When your just about to sleep, when you let everything go from the day and start to fall asleep. I start to think of solutions to problems, finding new Wways to improve on projects; many times. Then, pop out of bed and scribble messages to myself in the morning, hopefully eligible. Sometimes viewing the situation differently can help.

So, as you can imagine this piece has been edited a lot, changing states of mind and such. I do feel somewhat better for writing it down, going to set aside some family time. Maybe some of you in a similar situation might feel a little better knowing that I've been at this job seeking a few years and I'm still chasing it. We may just need to stop seeing the "made it" as such a fixed idea, more of a "I'm making it, my way".


That's life, and its a little fun that way.

SGW