2016 was a weird year.
I think I can speak for all of us when I say it was an unexpected year to say the least. 2016 just seemed to have a blanket of malaise through the full year. There were lots of ups and downs but wow a whole lot of downs. We kind of realized the world is a lot scarier than we gave it credit for. In the age of smart phones, tablets, plugging in, luxurious tech solutions shaming this and that social media memes viral marketing keeping up with the Jone distractions, we kind of got hit in the face with our own mortality, the mortality of others, and the fact that no matter how progressive we think we are as a society we make HUGE mistakes. (See what I did there?)
Freelancing in 2016 was interesting as well. We saw more freelancers join the market more than ever. It’s great that folks are once again taking it upon themselves to carve out their own niche. Isn’t that what modern society was built on? People saying NO- I got this? Creatively I had so far the best year of my career. I met so many wonderful people, worked on many great projects, and improved my portfolio in ways I couldn’t even dream of when I started in 2013. It makes me hungry to do more and hungry for the future. That being said – success doesn’t come over night. I’m personally not at all where I want to be now but instead of jumping the gun I’ve come to grips with walking before I run – even though I have a very run run run attitude. The cream always rises to the top (Oh yeah!) as they say. Freelancing has many bumps in the road but the goal should be knowing that you’re doing what you love and are able to support yourself and your family. Being in New York we have the added bonus of fighting with the city that never sleeps and wrestling it into submission because you know you can conquer whatever is out there waiting. But guess what – New York doesn’t want to beat you down. New York is the Howard “Fats” Brown (From the Twilight Zone Episode “A Game Of Pool.”) New York is the best there is BUT wants to be beaten. It needs you to alleviate the stigma that comes with it. The song rings true “If you can make it there – you can make it anywhere” and I think if you have the mindset to make it in NYC and follow through – you’ll be just fine kiddo. I encourage anyone with a passion to jump in two feet first and ruin their lives trying to make something of themselves in this city.
We lost a lot of great people in 2016 and I’d like to think we gained a lot of perspective. Life’s too short to be an asshole to anyone. Maybe we should be as good as we can to one another and hope that 2017 is the most kick ass year we can have regardless of how you feel about certain things. My mindset is to engage and rearrange. We could also use a serious overhaul on our way through life and what better time than now? I have the privilege of working with a lot of great creative folks and more often than not I get texts, emails, and have conversations regarding the same feelings across the board. Hopefully we have an artful 2017 with tons of laughs, great success, and a lot of fun. Don’t let the haters tear you down. Onward. Forward. March.