The End of a Dream: Why I May Give Up Being a Photographer

[strangenchanted]

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

My camera was stolen. At the beginning and the end, that is the heart of the story. Which is to say that in this, as in almost all things in life, everything boils down to practical considerations.

It was like losing a limb.

Comments

[razz]

This breaks my heart, and I am truly sorry for your loss! But don't give up your dream if it really is your dream. Maybe the camera will turn up (I've seen it happen). Maybe you'll just have to get a new one. Maybe just get a cheap fill-in so you can at least take snapshots until you can get the next best thing. =)

[strangenchanted]

Thanks for commiserating. Still, i must admit i am not too open to these ideas right now... i am far too aware that life is not a Lifetime Movie and things are not just gonna turn out great. I'm okay with that. And giving up... may be necessary, at least for now....

[razz]

No, life is not a Lifetime movie, but giving up on your dream because you lose a material item that helped you achieve it doesn't have to be reality, and living life like you can never ever achieve your dream because of a setback like this seems akin to living a nightmare to me. I mean, when you call this a dream, do you just mean a hobby your passionate about, or something you live to do? If it's a hobby, then I can see that it can be put aside, maybe forever. If you live to do it, however, then I can't imagine just giving up on it totally. Giving up for now--sure, that's one thing. Giving up something you have to do because your creative spirit needs to do it--that's something else entirely.

[strangenchanted]

A dream has to be possible. That's my view, anyway. Right now this one is not.

Something else i didn't mention. I do have another dream, and that is to be free of debt. It's a priority, one i've been focused on for some time. I didn't mention it before coz... i didn't really think of it. But yeah, it is a consideration.

I know that giving up on a dream sounds like a bad thing. But maybe it's not in all cases. That's what i'm questioning lately. I don't know why it feels okay. It's interesting that... at this stage... it does. That says something: maybe something in me is changing, or has changed. I just don't know yet what, or how.

[razz]

A dream has to be dreamable, and from there, you either work toward it, or give up on it. But if it's changing, then I hope you listen to your intuition. I just don't want people to give up on lifelong dreams and goals unless they stop being that

[strangenchanted]

Thanks for your comments, i really do appreciate them. I do see your point, i just cannot agree 100% with it. Have you ever seen the episode of Friends where Jon Favreau (yes, the Iron Man director) has the dream of becoming the Ultimate Fighting Champion? I don't know why that episode has always stuck with me, but it has, and it's not that it made me think that certain dreams are foolish, but that following a dream also entails a price: in Jon Favreau's case, Monica broke up with him

[razz]

Ohhh, I understand. I thought you were going to give up photography forever! As for being successful in the industry, it's like you say--definitions of "successful" change. I consider a beautiful photo to be a success, while others don't consider it a success unless it makes a load of money. Both would be ideal, but like you said, you have to be realistic. And I believe that as long as you're fulfilling yourself first with work you find beautiful, then you're a success. Who knows what happens after that.

[strangenchanted]

But what's your opinion of Jon Favreau's character's dream? Heh. Anyway, just to be clear, i am not an extremist in any way, and i didn't mean to apply that i would never ever take a picture again. I was talking about photography as a career goal. Well, perhaps it can be a goal again in the future. I could be like one of those retirees who decide to earn a degree in their 60s.

[razz]

Ah! As far as that Friend's episode, I've never seen it. I've only seen a few episodes of the show. If Adrian could stand by Rocky and the wives and husbands of firefighters, police officers, and soldiers could stay by their partners, then why couldn't Monica stand by Favreau? I know that goals come with prices, but in this case, Favreau at least had his priorities straight.

I know older people who have gone to school to earn their degrees, and I think it's awesome! They all seem happy, too. =)

[strangenchanted]

I guess Monica thought he was insane. Maybe she was right. In any case, that shows that partners have to believe in the dream too. And of course, some may have their own dreams, and that can cause conflict.

Let me share something Sam Neill said in an old Movieline interview (which i just happened to read recently): "It's unbearably sad to live your life and not be able to do what you really want. And it's a particularly American thing, I think, to advise people to follow their dreams. You ought to be very careful about advising such things, because people have all kinds of entirely unrealistic dreams. As a result, so many people here think of themselves as losers, which is the worst thing you can be called in America."

(He's wrong, though. The actual worst thing you can be called in America is a "douchebag" which refers to a "winner" who is so undeserving and obnoxious that he is a loser in everyone else's eyes.)

[razz]

I like to hear what people who aren't American have to say about Americans. I think where Sam misses the point is that people here think of themselves as losers because they have dreams and never really try to achieve them, and never even try at all. Sure, dreams are unrealistic, but from what I've seen, that's often because they're not bound in reality

[razz]

I guess I should make this relevant to your dream, though. I know a lot of photographers. They're all over my friends list. They love photography, and dreamed to various degrees of finding success in it. They'd just shoot and shoot and share and share, and all of them, to some degree, have found some sort of success in it, whether through a few freelance gigs or continuing work:
dreaming-soul
tabor36
conformistsheep
lord-whimsy
pattersonphoto
shadow-dancer1And one of my favorite quotes for you before I pass out for the day