How do I start cultivating more creativity in my life?
Achieve boredom substantial discomfort. (this is hard)
How do you get an older dog to like a younger puppy?
I would suggest humiliating them both so severely that they trauma bond over their shared misery. Nothing brings people dogs together like a common enemy.
Advice on taking risks?
The net appears after you jump, always.
How did you handle after grad life? I graduated in May and still haven’t found a job, it sucks out here!
I graduated three Mays ago and I still haven’t found a job. It sucks out here!
Until something comes along, your early 20s are a wonderful playground in which to trial what kind of friend you are, and what kind of exercising you like to do, and what kinds of crafts you enjoy working on, and what tethers you to the ground when you don’t have an institution to structure your life around.
(Most people I know didn’t start working until the year after they graduated. You’ve got time, hang tight.)
How do you keep motivated to shoot or make personal photos?
Lately, I haven’t been shooting at all. I have, however, thought of a few photos I’d like to make when the circumstances align. Until then, I will let the anticipation build, and allow myself to make other things that sound more interesting.
What is the most underrated show or movie that everyone should see, and how to convince them to do so?
I just finished The Curse and none of my efforts at getting my family to watch it have succeeded. Let me know when you figure it out.
Even though I graduated photo, I’ve lost my passion for it all. Do you think a small project could reset the spark it used to have?
Is that passion perhaps trying to redirect itself? Small projects have always given me tremendous boosts of energy, and if you have some idea circling around in the back of your head, there’s really nothing to lose. But ultimately, I think we have far less control over our passions than we would like. Don’t force the spark any one way. Photography is a tool we invented. Art-making is innate.
Advice on a camera to start taking pics with? How would you recommend getting started in general?
If you can find a camera with one single button, I would start there. It is where I seem to have ended.
Advice on not getting FOMO?
Sometimes listening to your friends tell stories from the night you skipped out on is more fun than experiencing the night yourself. For hours they waded through the muck, salvaging details and fragments of something far more dazzling than the entire truth. The next day they carry it to you, excited to present their art piece. Listen to the story being spun before you, weigh in, laugh, and enjoy the best part of the entire going out experience - the debrief - without having to suspend your disbelief because you watched the unfolding yourself.
How has New York been, and how did you make the move work?
I don’t know who you think you’re writing to. I live and work as a swordsmith in Macedonia.
(Only move when you get the feeling that you must, and when that time comes, accept that it will dismantle your entire sense of self for awhile, and then it will be okay.)
How do I level up my taste as an artist?
Give yourself permission to dislike 95% of the art you see. Notice what you dislike and notice when you change your mind. Pay attention to the levels at which you like a piece of art. Pay attention to the correlation between how familiar or knowledgable about a piece of art you are, and how much you like it.
How do I make friends that can help me beat Minecraft?
I saw a video the other day of some kid that played Tetris for so long that the game froze. You should reach out to him. He’s probably bored now that he’s beat Tetris. Introduce him to blocks with three dimensions.
He lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Maybe you just need to live somewhere like Stillwater, Oklahoma.
How do I stop living my life for other people?
Cut out every single person in your life and let no others in.
(Our desire for approval doesn’t have to be such an evil force. Surround yourself, to the best of your ability, with only people you genuinely like and trust and respect. Chances are their hopes for you will somewhat align with your hopes for yourself, and their support will enhance and enrich every decision you make.)
What’s the best way to learn something new?
If you know what you want to learn, ask. If you don’t know what you want to learn, observe.
What to do on a day where you have nothing planned:
I suggest you write. That’s what I’m doing now on my day where I have nothing planned, and the hours are passing by at a comfortable pace.
All my friends think I’m crazy for pursuing a degree in data science when I don’t have any experience coding and I’m not that great at math. Am I the crazy one for trying to pursue a degree that will earn me more money in the future?
If earning more money is truly the only reason you’re pursuing data science, then yes, I think you should take another look at your relationship to work. As far as your lack of prerequisites...I expect the learning portion of obtaining a degree will take care of that.
The urge to prove someone wrong is a powerful motivator. Good luck!
Also am I crazy for having a girlfriend on the west coast who doesn’t ever want to move, when I live on the east coast and don’t ever want to move?
I bet you can get a lottttt of coding done on that 5 1/2 hour flight.
Boy do I love telling people what to do. Thank you for your submissions. They revealed to me a perception of who I am and what I’m good at that differs greatly from my own ideas of myself. What a gift!
Jordan
loved this one! remind me next time to submit ;)
You are such a genius.