When I was in college and graduate school, I studied digital video and photography. I took a ton of film classes because I thought I wanted to be a filmmaker. Fast forward to present day and even though video content is king, I cannot watch more than 15 seconds to save my life (side note: Feature films are different - I'm an avid movie-goer). Ironically, as much as I loved shooting, I hated actually studying photography yet it remains a passion of mine. Then I discovered blogging, which pretty much allowed me to tackle a new subject every week if I wanted to.
I get bored easily and hate doing the same thing everyday. If I look at my blog or Instagram feed and think my content is getting too predictable, I get frustrated and restless. I hate the saying, "jack of all trades, master of none." Whoever coined that phrase must be the most boring person alive. (Fun fact: the first person to use this figure of speech was the idiotic Robert Greene, who in 1592, dismissively referred to William Shakespeare with this term for being an actor turned playwright. Shows how much he knew.) Wikipedia
Creatives are naturally curious and experimental people, so trying on a lot of different identities, switching majors in school, exploring lots of different career options is normal and should be rewarded rather than penalized. This tendency is looked at as a character flaw rather than a strength. It is mistaken as a lack of focus instead of being seen as intellectually curious. People would roll their eyes at me whenever I talked about a new hobby of mine or a new career I wanted to try out and call me a dilettante. In fact, this very blog has evolved quite a few times in the past 3 years since I started it.
I first heard the term "multipotentialite" from Emilie Wapnick, author of the book How To Be Everything: A Guide For Those Who (Still) Don't Know What They Want To Be When They Grow Up. (Side note: I've often referred to myself as a multi-hypenate.) She says that intellectual curiosity is a staple of multipotentiality so it's rare to find one that isn't interested in learning. And when you have a large range of interests, you are more likely to produce innovative work. Aristotle was trained as a physician before becoming a philosopher, Benjamin Franklin was an inventor and a politician, and Leonardo da Vinci was an artist, mathematician and inventor (among many other things). According to Wapnick, the problem isn't a lack of focus for multipotentialites. It's a lack of resources. Specialists are equipped with loads of career books, counselors who understand them, and the big one - a linear educational system that was built for those who choose to specialize in one thing.
Bringing it back to where I started, photography and blogging are all perfect careers for creative multipotentialites like me and because each field is so interdisciplinary, it's most likely why I was drawn to all of them. Think about it. I get to use multiple skill sets everyday: writing, storyboarding, directing, shooting, editing, business, marketing, research, and more. I dig deep in pop culture, music, film, books, fashion, beauty, modeling, social media, and politics. Am I an expert in any of those fields? Some, yeah. And I've gained notoriety in other fields where I do not consider myself an expert.
Despite all this, I still hate being asked the dreaded but unavoidable "So what do you do?" question. I always feel like the person asking is expecting a very specific answer like, "I'm a doctor or lawyer or nurse or teacher." Instead, they get an answer that sounds more like, "I help __________ do _________ and I also do ____________ and __________ and _____________ and I am getting more into ____________. Hopefully one day I'll get to ________." Personally, I love those kinds of answers because I like it when people don't fit into any one category but I can tell most don't. My feelings used to be hurt but now I treat it like a litmus test. If you don't like my long-winded answer, we are not going to be friends.
Be loud and proud about your refusal to choose a specific career path! Experimentation and the depth of knowledge that results, are great things.
Wardrobe Credits:
Nails by Impress Manicure, as always
False Lashes are Fluff by KBS Cosmetics
*This post was sponsored by ModCloth. Aesthetic Distance is proud to be a part of the #ModClothSquad.
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