On Compromising Creativity for Cash/Rewards
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/112200004" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
When my blog started to gain attention among the masses, I had no idea there'd come a time when I'd be writing for various brands when they would ask me to write for them. I wrote about them earlier on because I tend to write about the things I like, and when I came to the point of being approached by brands to write for them, I was excited because now it was not just me reaching out, but i was being given consideration as my words having value. But a really good advice a friends of mine gave me back then was
and his advice has stuck to me like hot glue.
But the recent dilemma that I have been facing is that I just got free after a month hiatus because of my exams and I had so many posts and emails piled up that it just left me wondering about a lot of things. I had stopped buying things since my exam season started and now that I am out of it, I went out with friends and I was literally all over the place. I wanted this, I wanted that, I wanted so many new shoes even though I had bought some amazing pair of sandals, one of kind thing, and even though the sandals' label was gracious enough to send me a free pair, I wanted even more shoes.
I have a soft spot for shoes. For a long time I had a lot of shoes. More pairs than i would wear. So I gave them away. Now that I am left with a smaller shoe collection, I want more.
In those emails that had piled up, I was approached by some brands to write on my blog for them, and in return, I will get money. And the exact same amount of money that would get me the exact shoes I had been lusting after. The money is good, but there was a catch. I would be provided a pre-written post by the PR company and I could not deviate from the content and their directions.
Anyone who reads my blog would know I am a big promoter of creativity. I live and breathe trying to make a world for myself where my creative expression doesn't die. And my blog is one of those places in this stone cold world where I can grow any flower I imagine and write in whatever way suits my need.
But I also feel like the need to have to buy those shoes.
So it left me wondering; is it really worth it to compromise my creative integrity for the sake of a few shoes (that I can buy later if i practice abstinence from shopping)? Is it really something I need to stoop down to, to make my wardrobe grow. I am confused and wondering where I stand right now.
My creativity is what drove me to a point where my blog stands well known. Even if for just one post, is it worth it to harm that image I have created? Does that count as being a sell-out, or does that count as a necessity?
I have decided that I already have a wardrobe more than what I can wear (my med school has a uniform 6 days a week. Lucky me?) and I don't think I need more things that I will eventually end up not wearing.
P.S. I understand I have done this in the past. But maybe that was before I started going through a personal change where my opinion of myself mattered more than what I got in return for ignoring it.
When my blog started to gain attention among the masses, I had no idea there'd come a time when I'd be writing for various brands when they would ask me to write for them. I wrote about them earlier on because I tend to write about the things I like, and when I came to the point of being approached by brands to write for them, I was excited because now it was not just me reaching out, but i was being given consideration as my words having value. But a really good advice a friends of mine gave me back then was
"Do not go commercial at this point in your life, you have too many other things to focus on"
and his advice has stuck to me like hot glue.
But the recent dilemma that I have been facing is that I just got free after a month hiatus because of my exams and I had so many posts and emails piled up that it just left me wondering about a lot of things. I had stopped buying things since my exam season started and now that I am out of it, I went out with friends and I was literally all over the place. I wanted this, I wanted that, I wanted so many new shoes even though I had bought some amazing pair of sandals, one of kind thing, and even though the sandals' label was gracious enough to send me a free pair, I wanted even more shoes.
I have a soft spot for shoes. For a long time I had a lot of shoes. More pairs than i would wear. So I gave them away. Now that I am left with a smaller shoe collection, I want more.
In those emails that had piled up, I was approached by some brands to write on my blog for them, and in return, I will get money. And the exact same amount of money that would get me the exact shoes I had been lusting after. The money is good, but there was a catch. I would be provided a pre-written post by the PR company and I could not deviate from the content and their directions.
Anyone who reads my blog would know I am a big promoter of creativity. I live and breathe trying to make a world for myself where my creative expression doesn't die. And my blog is one of those places in this stone cold world where I can grow any flower I imagine and write in whatever way suits my need.
But I also feel like the need to have to buy those shoes.
So it left me wondering; is it really worth it to compromise my creative integrity for the sake of a few shoes (that I can buy later if i practice abstinence from shopping)? Is it really something I need to stoop down to, to make my wardrobe grow. I am confused and wondering where I stand right now.
My creativity is what drove me to a point where my blog stands well known. Even if for just one post, is it worth it to harm that image I have created? Does that count as being a sell-out, or does that count as a necessity?
I have decided that I already have a wardrobe more than what I can wear (my med school has a uniform 6 days a week. Lucky me?) and I don't think I need more things that I will eventually end up not wearing.
I just have to learn to control my desires.
P.S. I understand I have done this in the past. But maybe that was before I started going through a personal change where my opinion of myself mattered more than what I got in return for ignoring it.