Taking Creative Endeavours Seriously

Nearly 11 months ago, I graduated from my English degree, and since then I've been very lucky to always be in work. Not only that, but I have an interesting job where I'm paid to use the degree I worked hard for and enjoyed.

Having said that, I had no idea what kind of impact a full time job would have on my creativity. I've tried to keep up reading, I've written poems when inspiration strikes, and I play piano for a musical improv troupe. But between those things, work, chores and my other hobbies, I've fallen into a routine in which my own creative projects don't feature at all.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy. I'm pretty low maintenance, so it's easy for me to be content on a salary with evenings and weekends free. But, as I approach a year of full-time employment, I've started to wonder whether my own contentment is really the end of the line...

As a kid, I always dreamed of acting or writing novels for a living, and while my job does involve a lot of writing, I shouldn't let go of those aspirations just because my day job is enjoyable and in the right sector.

So, after a few weeks of thinking, I've decided to see my creative endeavours not as a dream, but as something I can achieve through my own actions. In the past week I've done one thing everyday in aid of this cause:

Thur 31st May: Booked onto a level 2 improv course to revive my passion for stage improv

Fri 1st June: Opened a bank account for my community theatre project

Sat 2nd June: Played piano for my troupe (Rhymes Against Humanity) at the Nottingham Playhouse

Sun 3rd June: Started writing a song for the first time in a year or so

Mon 4th June: Bought and began to watch the Aaron Sorkin screenwriting online masterclass

Tue 5th June: Invoiced a client with my new community bank account

Wed 6th June: Wrote this blog post (And it's only early afternoon at the time of writing!)

Call it a quarter-life crisis (it occasionally feels like one :P), but it's so exciting to see my creative endeavours take shape, even at this early stage, and I want to continue taking them seriously, taking proactive steps to make them a reality.

Finally, if you've found yourself in the same position as me, stuck in a rut where you feel like you've let go of what you really want to do, I encourage you to change your thinking. Take small steps, do one little thing every day to make your dreams real. These things don't simply happen, they take work, so make like Shia LeBeouf, and just do it.

Thanks :)