This Week’s Say

I was asked this week why I changed from studying psychology with the intention to pursue it, to a career shift into the creative industry. Honestly, until I was 18, I thought I was going to be an oral hygienist, before switching to psychology, and then turning to writing and content creation as a creative escape, so it’s no surprise to me that by 24 I had made the switch into a whole new world.

My initial answer was that I didn’t realise I was creative or didn’t allow myself to switch from the left side of the brain to the right side so easily. The dichotomy of the school system had me believing I had to be academic because I had the potential to do great things and therefore didn’t need to be creative. I didn’t believe I was creative or that I could do even greater things with my creativity.

I knew I could be both smart and creative. Because I already was. I could be both serious and quick-witted. Because I already was. I knew I could be both controlled and expressive. because again, I already was. The truth was I was too afraid of failure and of the uncertainty that creativity brings. that the act of creating something, making something up, is so unwritten that it’s impossible to imagine the result. That’s a daunting thing and can be an absurd concept to some. 

I only realised this true fear this weekend, but the reason I am writing, and you’re reading this now, is because I was looking at a non-creative person in my life and trying to figure out what bothers them so much about abstract thoughts. Why they tense up at aimless conversations and thinking outside the box for the sake of it? But I didn’t have to ask them, I know how they feel. I felt the exact same way. 

I won’t try to change that person; it can’t be done. But being confronted with a question like “why the career change?” in a time-sensitive situation forced me to think further than my blurted out, band-aid cure answer. And I love to think (although it’s my kryptonite sometimes), so I think I love the changes I have made.