Thursday, August 13, 2009
Rejected...Over and Over Again
I've had my share of rejection when it comes to a career in animation. I got rejected once getting into CalArts, but tried again and got in. I never got a film in the Producer's Show - CalArt's annual showcase for industry execs. I didn't get any callbacks for any of my portfolios until my senior year. I got rejected for a story internship position at Pixar, before I tried again. And when I finally did the internship, I wasn't chosen to stay. Then I worked at Blue Sky and got fired. After that, I did a bunch of odd jobs that spanned from doing commercial work, moping around the house, chasing small children... until my current gig now as a story artist at LAIKA.
If I look at the pattern, I should be worried, since every good thing has an end. But I should also not be too worried, since every bad thing also has an end. Like the universe, your career expands and contracts.
I can jump into all kinds of theories on what I did right and what I did wrong. But right now, I just wanted to use that re-cap as an example of what one should expect. Just when the dead of winter seems like it would never end, a weed sprouts from the snow.
-v
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Shows that successful people don't give up or let a single rejection discourage them from pursuing their goals. I like. Glad you're writing this, sir.
ReplyDelete"Trying is the first step towards failure!" - Homer Simpson
ReplyDeleteThanks, guys! Good ol' Homer Simpson...
ReplyDeletegreat post. As a beggining art student I look forward to this cycle.
ReplyDeleteSee, for me, the last few times have been characterized by when I have a comfort epiphany, like buying a slice of pizza or getting groceries after a day of work, and thinking: "Ahh, I feel somewhat like life is normalizing a little." That's when things have tended to belly up.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, is probably more of me not having a secured foundation first before moving on to comforts like pizza and/or groceries. I've had a hard time calibrating what amount of suffrage... no wait, that's women's voting rights...
...What I mean is: suffering... Right - suffering - which I have to go through before I can consider a piece of that capitalist comfort pie to be mine. Is it more the apprentice-level that folks should expect for 6 months, 1 year, or several years before they can consider themselves permanent players in the career game? Or is it more akin to indentured servitude or serf?...
Lame as it sounds, this is probably what's fueling the whole debate in this country at the moment over how far folks want to play in the American Progress game: Bust your ass via capitalist entrepreneurism, or have some form of European socialism so as not to sweat it so much?
It's probably safe to say that those who play football as all-star QBs or full-string linebackers will rag on the benchwarmers for not hustling like Rudy on a smack binge out on the field come playoff time. Of course, there are those who have a hard time getting onto the team in the first place, or who don't even find the game attractive enough to want to sit in the stands and watch. And we all know how that gig plays out in high school.
Anyhow, this is dragging on. I'm glad you brought this up. It's something that I've thought about for awhile, and I think that as we're ponder over it for our own chosen profession (thank God that we can choose our path at least that much), it's a question that kind of touches upon the larger issue in our culture at present: How much should I spend of my life in order to receive from my country/culture? When/where is the eventual payoff? Or is it a Vegas style gamble, where the House always wins?...
But then again, the words of JFK come to mind. While trying to goad a bunch of engineering nerds at NASA to launch Werner Von Braun and several fighter pilot jocks up to the moon, he said something that must've made even the Soviets rustle in their ushchankas: "Ask not what your country can do for you..."
Steve - I'm glad I can be helpful! Yes, expect this cycle and own it.
ReplyDeleteKyle - looks like you got a thesis going here, buddy!
What keeps you going?
ReplyDelete