Well, I have been asked to document a bit of my life, the bit about the famous “industry” that we all live in some way or another. The “industry” that if you live in LA is pretty much the only “industry”.
If you lived in Silicon Valley they wouldn’t know what those peeps from LA are talking about when we refer to the “industry”. That being said, if you are reading this and you don’t know what the heck I am talking about – it is, of course, the “Entertainment Industry” herein referred to as the “industry”. Ok?
I was a busy little bee in my life, always trying to carve out an area in any job where I might see a career. Always trying to do the best I could and really giving it every bit of attention that was required and perhaps that wasn’t required. At 21 I was working at very large bank and doing great! I had a reputable job as a currency trader – a junior trader, mind you and I was on a career path that would take me to the top. My bosses all saw potential in me and were eager to bring me along, invest time and money in educating me and making me and molding me into perhaps the boss?!? I felt amazing. But I didn’t necessarily like the kind of job that I was doing. Didn’t like the gambling aspect of it all and I decided, much to my family’s chagrin, to uproot myself and move to NYC to study fashion design.
I went to a reputable fashion design school and I wound up getting a job there as well. It was part time, so I could afford to go to school (employees didn’t have to pay tuition at the time) and it afforded me the time to invest myself in school, to be really great at what I was studying. I was one of the older students and I realized that even though I had a scholarship to school, the tuition I was paying was affording myself a life that I wanted. Needless to say, I didn’t receive any financial support from my family. They simply couldn’t afford to help me out. (If you think I am bitter about it, think again!)
Paying for myself was empowering and liberating, really.
Paying for everything myself made me feel as though the education I chose was to be taken seriously and I studied hard, made all my deadlines, learned to not procrastinate and put my soul into really making the most of my chosen education.
I learnt, however, that the fashion industry, the one that we see, the glamorous one, is not really at all what to expect leaving fashion design school. There are a few, very few, that really succeed right out of college. Talented they are, I am sure of it, but savvy is probably a better description of their talents.
I wasn’t able to commit myself to years of working as a junior designer in a B-rated company. Becoming a part of the machine was never my intention nor desire. I wanted to do something amazing with my life, something compelling and really special. I wanted to live my life outside of the proverbial box. Unique. I wanted to go to my 20th high school reunion with tales of an amazing career, an amazing life, extraordinary experiences, tales that others didn’t have. I wanted to be me, work a ton, get recognition for my contribution. I wanted to be valued, validated and appreciated. I wanted to excel at a job that I felt passionate about, felt as though I could give it no more that I had to give it. I wanted to be the best I could be and still do something creative, amazing and vivid.
I wanted to work in the “Industry”.
So, I packed my things up in NYC, the year after I graduated from college, with my degree in hand, a little older than your usual grad and I moved to Los Angeles. Just me and my dog.
My Dog
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