Young Entrepreneurs

For all those with great ideas, and not so great follow through routines.

Entrepreneur Sophie Boyce talks about starting her own business at age 20.

“Never give up on your goals!”

“Follow your dream!”

“Never let anyone tell you you can’t make it!”

These are all repeated bumper stickers we hear in our twenties. 

Given that our goals and ideals aren’t really clear yet, “follow your dream” is a tricky advice to give at best, the first problem being that most of us don’t actually know what our dream is yet.

I’m a firm believer that to know what you want to do in life, you first have to know what you don’t like doing, thus trying a little bit of everything.

The chances to know what you want to do the rest of your life and following a specific bullet point plan to make that goal come true seams unlikely. 

It seems we early twenty year olds get ideas about what we want to do and pursue every five seconds, some can be pretty brilliant, some difficult, and some plain unrealistic. 

The problem with this recurrent phenomena is that it becomes increasingly difficult to identify which dreams we can and should pursue, and which others to put in the back burner.

As smart, creative young adults, it's important to identify that what we lack, as a generation is not intelligence or wit, but mere effort.


My official diagnostic for our generation?: 
Perseverance Deficit Disorder.

22 year old Sophie Boyce announced she was opening her very own musical theatre school about three years ago.

With some experience working before on film and T.V, she made her graduation short film “Mâché Man” in 2012, releasing it as the first official production from Spirit: Young Performers Company.

The short film, which entered the official London Independent Film Festival selection that same year and the soundtrack, “Made of Paper” performed by 11 year old Oliver Award winner Cleo Demetriou from Matilda the Musical and Les Miserables, received great attention online. The same music video already has more than 30,000 views in Youtube and worked as the perfect presentation card of what Spirit could offer young performers all around the country.

To this day, Spirit is buzzing all around London, already with more than 100 students and every final graduation performance professionally filmed, so the young artists can show it in any future audition.

Spirit has already earned the attention from The Telegraph, naming the article, in honour of it’s founder: “Drama school earns rave reviews on Youtube”.

We asked Sophie a few questions, not only for any young entrepreneur out there but for anyone else in need of a bit of inspiration to make their goal a reality.

inkBox: What made you think of Spirit for the first time?

What did you think it could offer that didn’t exist yet?

S.B: I love musicals. Actually, musical theatre was always a greater passion of mine than film, but I couldn’t sing or dance whilst I could hold a camera and tell people what to do… So I started making films instead! Then I decided I wanted to direct musical films but I didn’t want to sit around waiting for that opportunity to arise, nor work my way up from a runner… I wanted it to happen now. 

I also love working with children and after seeing Matilda the Musical in the West End, I knew I wanted in – I wanted to work with kids like that and produce work to that standard. 

So put the two together, and somehow the idea came about: I could work with kids (the very best kids, hopefully), produce showtunes (original ones, hopefully) and get the camera out – make it a film. And have people watch, hopefully.

inkBox.- What kind of education and information did you need to start the business and where did you get it from?

S.B: I have to admit, I kind of blagged it. My parents told me to attend classes in business and networking, but I never did. As far as education goes, a degree in practical filmmaking helps with the filmmaking part of it… and then surrounding myself with people who are very talented in theatre; advertising choreographer jobs and being lucky enough to generate the interest of West End creatives for the roles. 

Saying this now, I realise why people are surprised when I tell them I started the business by myself. My only experience of performing arts schools really was attending a couple of bad ones myself as a kid. As far as research goes, I had spent years trying to find a good dance-school for my little sister and being continually frustrated that so few performing arts schools seemed to take the kids seriously. So much wasted talent and time. 

I knew what I DIDN’T want Spirit to be, and that was all the information I had really, to begin with. Other than that I just had a very clear image of the type of company we were going to be, the type of videos we were going to make and the type of audience we were going to generate… And then focused on making it happen.

inkBox.- What would you say were the main challenges you first encountered when starting the company?

S.B: Finding customers! 
It’s hard to get people to take a chance on you. 
Right away I was getting the attention of serious stage-parents. But it’s a big risk for a serious stage-parent to take a chance on a brand new endeavour, to put their little star in the hands of a potential failure, and trust the words of a random 20-year-old film school graduate. These parents want the best for their kids, after all. 

The first workshop we did, I had 8 kids and only 3 of them paid. The rest were all kids I practically begged to take scholarships! 

inkBox.- The company has earned so much attention online. Was including social media always a plan for the school?

S.B: Yes. I knew I wanted to build an audience for these kids. I’m still working hard to get that audience to the size I want it to be… But it’s finally heading in the right direction.

There wouldn’t be a business without social media. I don’t know how these other drama schools manage to get anyone through the doors without it! 
With YouTube, our clients can see EXACTLY what they’re signing up for... that’s usually how they know about us. Then I also used Facebook advertising, which worked pretty well, and Instragram is a good one for us as well. 

Nowadays it’s pretty much all word-of-mouth bringing in the kids, but for six months or so I was 100% reliant on social media. 

inkBox.- What would you say is the most useful or important lesson you’ve learned during these two years running a company?

S.B: To be tough and sure of yourself. I’m still working on it. 
I think – maybe because I’m young – people overstep the line a bit; parents want to make ‘suggestions’ (tell me how to run my own company) or they make ridiculous demands or they take a mile. 

I am confident in myself and in my business… but I’m also too polite to some of those people; nodding along and saying ‘I understand’ even when they’re out of line. So I’ve learned I need to be tougher; put my foot down more, say ‘no’, say ‘leave it to me – I’m the expert’, say ‘Please don’t call me at 10.30 on a Friday night’, say ‘no, I will not turn away talented children just so your child can be the star… why on earth would I do that?’.

inkBox.- If you could give an advice now to yourself two years ago, when starting the company, what would it be?

S.B: Charge more money!! Our prices are the same as the average London theatre school – but the kids get so much more from Spirit, and then some. 
Would I have lost potential clients with higher prices? I don’t really think so. I think you are what you sell yourself for – sell yourself high, and people will believe you’re worth it. Then prove to them you’re worth it.

inkBox.- What does the future of Spirit look like? Any new plans?

S.B: I want us to reach more of an audience. 

I want my own studios in Central London. 

I want to watch more of my kids get into more West End shows. 

I want us to put on a full-length musical, and sell out tickets. 

I want to have kids training with me 4 days a week. 

I want our own reality T.V show or web series!

I want a touring musical theatre troupe. 

I want every child I have who is aged 8/9 to be in Matilda the Musical in the next couple of years! 

I want us to perform at West End Live and at Move It, and get a performance slot on a TV talk show. 

I want to hit one million online subscribers. 

I want one of my kids to play Sophie in Stephen Spielberg’s ‘BFG’! 

All of those are my dreams, and most of them are my firm plans.







Inspired enough yet?
After that interview, I should probably get out of bed myself and start making something happen as well...

All Ears: Teddy Blanks

To anyone who's already familiarised with the cheerful, contagious and camp sounds of the Brooklyn based artist Teddy Blanks, I apologise for this uninformative column, but I couldn't resist sharing my late discovery.

Truth is, I've been a huge soundtrack geek ever since puberty.
Few people know this about me. 
It's a taste I developed when I was about 12 years old, and has developed and grown in quite a peculiar -to not say freaky- way.


It started innocently enough; Appreciating a good John Williams, buying the necessary James Newton Howard or Phillip Glass.
Then, It took on a life of it's own.
The harder the soundtrack was to find, the bigger was my thirst.


To this point, I've found myself plenty of times obsessively hunting down pieces of music that were never officially released to the public, sometimes of underwhelming films that nobody really remembers or gives a shit about (let alone their score).

It's a little weird fact about myself, and now it's out there.



However, my little addiction can sometimes lead me to very lucky and pleasant discoveries of a lot of great artists. 

The thing that struck me most when finding the music of Teddy Blanks was just how well he's managed to stay away from the sometimes destructive internet spotlight. If you're lucky you'll find about two tracks of him on Youtube, and only one official -Albeit, adorable- Official music video.

His obscurity took me aback particularly as he is the composer of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Tiny Furniture; Otherwise known as Lena Dunham's first feature film that worked as her golden ticket to the pearly HBO gates... -I apologise for the mixed metaphors-.

Apart from Tiny Furniture's OST, -which has a free download available at the artist's website, that's right, FREE-. Blank also released his first album last year, entitled Therapy. 

Both albums are great, but being the Soundtrack buff that I am, I particularly enjoyed Blank's work on purely instrumental tracks, that manage to be funny and charming with an offbeat sound.

I seriously recommend visiting his website (here) at least to listen to my personal favourite track "The Emperor's New Clothes".


I'd share the song, but it's nowhere to be found on online -The relentless hipster inside of me kinda loves that-.

Therapy can also be found on the iTunes store, as well as the singe "Famous Friends".

The Adaptation Dilemma

It’s a crisis waiting to happen to anyone who’s got that horrific tag: “Not The Relationship Type”.

That being said, this column may not be for everyone. Some may not relate at all with the “intimacy issues” I’m about to describe. Sometimes, it seems that some people are born with the ability to just be in a relationship.

For some of us, however, it’s a little bit more complicated.

I believe I’ve been an independent person my entire life but with time and certain particular challenges, I’ve learnt to not only handle being by myself but enjoy it.

I was 20 years old when I moved to London. I was all by myself, no acquaintances, friends or family. The first three months were very difficult, I was homesick every day, I missed hanging out with my friends and my every day routines and there were days where I wondered, looking in the mirror, what had I gotten myself into, enrolling on a BA that would keep me separated from everything and everyone I loved and knew for at least two and a half years.

But then, as the weeks passed, something began to happen. Being lonely didn’t have the same meaning as it did when I arrived. Magically, I started to find joy in my little new routines -mundane as they were-. Something inside of me, I didn’t even know existed, adjusted quickly, and helped me discover the things I enjoyed the most, without anyone’s help.

Before I knew it, I had mastered how to do everything on my own, not only the basic stuff, like laundry or handling my bank account and finances but also the recreational stuff. Going to the movies, taking long walks, visiting art galleries…  One could almost say that in the midst of loneliness I began to date myself.

I know it sounds pathetic, but it turned out to be pretty fucking great.

Enjoying my independence is something that I will never apologise for. It’s one of the parts that I most love about myself.

All of my close relationships have come to learn that about me. This doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate or enjoy the closeness of my friends or family. But with time, everyone sufficiently close to me learns that there is a moment, after which I need to separate from everyone. Do I need to work? Meditate? Pray? Study? No. I need to do absolutely nothing. By myself. 

Ironically, somewhere along the road to independence, I -quite unexpectedly- developed a dependance to be alone.

My old roommate in London once joked that my idea of paradise was probably an infinite road for me to power walk on, listening to my music.

In some ways I can’t think of a more successful description of me.

Personally I’ve developed a rhythm of life that, requires certain rituals that to others will make absolutely no sense, whatsoever.

An example? I love watching T.V series, in my room, on my laptop. (Never a T.V. Even if there’s one available) while eating cheap, sugary cereal with no milk. 

It’s not logical, but it works for me on every level.

I love it so much that I’m more than willing to watch a series several times afterwards to share it with my loved ones, but only after I’ve watched them by myself under my terms.

This is only one of many weird little activities I must do only on my own, not only for enjoyment but sometimes as a refuge for the crazy and chaotic outside world.

However, the need to have time for yourself can take over and actually work against you. Especially when having to let someone new into your life. 

Opening and sharing yourself can start a spontaneous storm of contradictory emotions.

What if you like to do certain things by yourself and when finding yourself in your first close relationship you begin to struggle to integrate this new person in your set routines?

A part of you that resists to change your life as it is, will inevitably appear.

Does this make you a narcissistic freak incapable of giving or receiving love? 

No, it does not.

It only means that to make space for a new person in your life you will need to:… (drum roll) Adapt. 

Let’s face it: Adaptation sucks.

It’s difficult, sometimes painful and it takes a lot of time.

Never the less, its probably the most important aspect of any kind of evolution. Without it, our species would never have learnt how to breath out of the water. 

Babies would never survive out of the womb.

And I, most definitely would’ve never survived those first three months, all alone in London.

Accepting that we need to change the way we live our lives to be complete human beings is a painful reality, especially if you -like me- are sometimes dead set on staying on your beautiful, peaceful and utterly destructive comfort zone.

Shocking, you’d think that at age 24 I would’ve already realised the pretty simple truth that constant change means self improvement and growth, but truth be told I’m only just realising it now. (I’m kind of slow. This on the other hand, is not news to me at all.)

The question remains, however: How much should we adapt before we compromise the very essence that makes us ourselves?

Haven’t we all seen it? 

The friend that used to be the most fun and adventurous one of the group, and becomes the most insipid and boring, three months into his or her her first relationship.

Having to compromise certain things that you love about yourself for your new relationship to be successful is a pretty scary concept, however if you’ve ever found yourself in this dilemma, I would simply recommend three deep breaths, patience and opening yourself to change. Only time will tell what parts of yourself you can change and what others are simply a part of who you are, and who you’ll always be. 

Jeez, someone put me in the self-help section.

I realise how trite and cheesy this all must sound but these little self involved epiphanies have been coming to me these last few weeks, and I figured, if there’s another stubborn, introvert bastard out there who’s also getting all choked up about letting someone in, I might as well buckle up, start writing and hope that someone out there will relate. 

Remember if it doesn’t work out, there’s always getting a bunch of cats and living happily ever after… 

Sorry, that wasn’t funny.

To lighten the mood in the midst of all this unnecessary anxiety, I leave you with the beautiful Albert Hammond Jr. And his super french new wavevy video. My personal 

best friend to start the week. 

Must go now, if you need me, I’ll be in my room, with a box of Captain Crunch by my side. I will be out in no less than an hour.

Romance: Out Of Style?

All caught up in the romantic genre, I decided to continue down the “Best Books of 2013” by The New Yorker and stumbled upon “A Hundred Summers” by Beatriz Williams.

I will offer a full review once I actually finish the book, but sufficient to say the book is about a love affair that never became, in the 1930’s.

I usually don’t fall for romantic novels, and the ones that I do like I need to take them with the necessary pinch of salt. Otherwise, all of the heartfelt thoughts, actions and emotions of the characters feel like sticky sweet honey that I can’t seem to wash off.

Call it cynicism or plain bitterness, it’s challenging for me to buy the whole romantic thing. Books, films, music and evidently, life in general.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against love. I’ve lived it and know what a true force of nature -or more cynically put, force of hormones- it can be. That being said -and contradictory to what I previously stated- I’m a fan of the classic love stories. (Casablanca, Breakfast at Tiffanies, Roman Holiday, Gone With the Wind) Because, for all it’s epic love gestures and operatic score, it’s seems that, in my mind, people before the 80’s were allowed to be romantic.

Romance became that era. Just like long coats for men and pearl necklaces for women.

What is it about these times that make me think of romance as… flaky? 

If right now you’re thinking:

“This poor lonely guy, I have the BEST boyfriend/girlfriend. He doesn’t have a clue of what he’s writing about…” 

HOLD your horses there, hopeful reader.

True, I am single and true, it might not know what I’m talking about. Never the less, I’m not saying that It’s impossible to find a good relationship. Intimacy, companionship and passion are still very much a real thing, and it happens every day, for some people. 

I’m talking about the old fashioned, big, over the top gestures. 

Waiting for that boy to come back to your home town for months on end, even though you just spent one summer with him. 

Writing to that girl every day, even though you just met her at that one dance but you were baffled by her beauty…

That kind of shit.

So let’s take these overwhelming romantic gestures of the movies for example.

How much romance can exist between two people that meet at a party now as opposed to those that meet 80 years ago?

Well for one thing the guy in the 1930’s couldn’t get home and immediately text the girl. They couldn’t search their name in the google bar, find them on facebook, Youtube, Twitter and quench their fascination by looking at at least 20 pictures of said girl online, creating an immediate personal conclusion of who that girl is.

Modern days have given us the time and the freedom to express ourselves, and in that I think a kind of cynicism was born.

Have we evolved past romance? Was it just a kind of side effect of lack of immediate information about the other person? 

Lots has happened since the Casablanca times. The world realised a lot. Women took a stand against the system, pacifists took action against violence and equality was a thing to fight for, for any race or sexual orientation.

With this, in the western world, persecution itself became persecuted. Information was democratised with the internet, and self expression took on a whole new meaning.

This -it goes without saying- opened the door for amazing opportunities. If there’s something you’re going through, there’s probably already a book, a film, a website and a chat forum discussing the issue at hand, that being said, romance and relationships are probably the most talked about issues in the internet. 

Has the world become too fast paced for something so slow and patient like a truly old fashioned romantic infatuation to bloom these days?

The being separated by your loved one, the writing love letters, and the promises of waiting for that person, no matter what river, mountain or war was the cause of the separation, seem like such unrealistic gestures today.

In the end, intellectualising our feelings as a society has given room for incredible social growth and self awareness, but even in my most bitter and cynical, I wonder if, as a generation we are in fact missing out on the experience that was falling in love and courting the object of your affection the way it was -apparently- done in the old days.

Our expectations when it comes to relationships have gone to getting married and living happily ever after to hoping to have at least ONE good date.

Constant flirting turned into casual sex.

Courting turned into Facebook stalking.

And the fear of a broken heart became the fear of an STI exposure.

Maybe we Millennials need to take a step back and let emotions take front place in our lives. Maybe cynicism is not the way forward but our own demise. To never come to terms with our own emotions and never expressing them in enormous and epic romantic gestures may just be the most detrimental repression of our society.

Maybe we should still actually hope that we might one day find our own Humphrey Bogart or Ingrid Bergman, however devastating the real life experiences may result.

Who knows, maybe we find our very own fairy tale ending… 

Are you convinced?

I was almost, kind of getting there, for a second…

Book Of The Month: "The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P."

Whoever said the mind of guy is simple, should very well give a read at Adelle Waldman’s first novel, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.

Having decided to take a break from the fast paced psychological terror of my usual suspects such as Stephen King and Gillian Flynn, I decided to take a look at the book everyone was talking (and tweeting) about.

Guilty as charged for judging a book by it’s cover, this novel, named one of the best books of 2013 by The New Yorker, can be deceptive at it’s first glance.

The title as well as the fun and modern looking cover art, can suggest that the book will be a light romantic comedy, episodically told, as our hero, Nathaniel, goes from woman to woman. 

Could this be an attempt to flip the coin of an unnecessarily hyped Sex and the City, or a comment on it’s progenies like Lena Dunham’s GIRLS?

Fortunately, I was relieved to find out, neither of my guesses were correct.

The book starts where you would hardly expect it to begin. 

Nathaniel is already late for a dinner party at his ex-girlfriend's, when he abruptly bumps into what we quickly know is an old flame. 

The conversation is minimal, and results on her telling our hero “You’re an asshole”.

There’s a good start.

From then on, Nathaniel meets his friends -All newly successful New York that are more often than not a bit too full of themselves- and meets Hannah. A friendly, attractive girl to whom Nathaniel takes an immediate interest. 

The book from then on focuses on the progression of Nathaniel and Hannah going from friendly, to casually dating, to having a "more serious relationship".

The stakes inevitably begin to rise, despite the fact that there is no other guy, or other woman for that matter. No annoying parents or massive economic or cultural differences that will put in danger the character’s relationship. 

The problem, and conflict of the book, is Nathaniel P. Himself.

Waldman can take true pride in knowing how to get inside the mind of the character and narrate with exquisite timing his ego and self worth as well as his insecurities, fears and confused emotions.

Being a guy who also happens to know what dating other guys is like, I found myself experiencing a roller coaster of extreme reactions, not unlike the emotional journey the protagonist himself has.

Nathaniel’s fleeting and volatile emotions towards the relationship versus how he acts upon them found me feeling infuriated with him, while also feeling terrified at just how much I identified with the parts I most hated about him.

The author’s complete and utter understanding of her main character’s physique lets the reader sit comfortably in the therapists chair, allowing a complete and complex analysis on his neurosis. This results on an inherent lack of surprise at how the plot unfolds, however this doesn’t make it any less interesting or satisfying.

The reason why the plot is at times predictable is because in fact very little actually happens during the book.

The novel's realism doesn’t give a lot of space for actions to be front and centre. 

The reader will hardly care about the characters staying together or splitting up, mainly because the relationship itself is incredibly ambiguous. What the book actually focuses on and where the entire character arc takes place, is inside our hero’s head.

That being said, the book -as any relationship- is not without it’s annoying traits.

As Nathaniel himself talks about having an inherent guilt towards issues such as poverty and social inequality, Waldman also seems to be irritably apologetic about the novel’s plot, that -some could say- is full of first world problems or as one of the character's describes it "Girl Stuff".

The book can spend a good 25 pages analysing the character’s feelings and emotions as well as the rising problems of the relationship, and then, out of nowhere the narrative takes a turn both in tone and content talking about “serious” and “real” issues, like slavery, minimum wage and poverty.

While the main character can have incredibly deep and complex emotions, and there are times where the book is close to bringing a tear to your eye, the characters then have conversations that seem over intellectualised. They talk to each other in a cold and detached manor that can almost remind you a Bret Easton Ellis novel. This back and forth can be frustrating at times, as the book can’t seem to stay in the same tone without feeling ashamed of it’s own content.

Be that as it may, the merit of the book is that Waldman has succeeded in creating an incredibly real man; so much that at times I found it hard to believe this was actually written by a woman.

Her efforts of understanding the male psyche in the context of love and sex have truly paid off. Nathaniel is real. I’ve been Nathaniel. And I've definitely dated a bunch of Nathaniels. 

For all the good, and all the bad.

Waldman’s style is to create incredibly ambiguous scenarios that are perfectly crafted so that the reader can ponder over them and get his or her own very personal conclusion. 

The only thing you’re left with, at the end, is a dyer need for a sequel.

Heads Up!: "Caught Inside, The Tabboo Of Being A Gay Surfer"

Fighting homophobia is not the only task at hand for paving the way to social equality.

This new Australian mini documentary, is a kickstarter that deals with the very important fact that coming out, is not the only (and certainly not the hardest) part of being gay. The hardest part, is staying out.

Caught Inside follows the stories of three Australian surfers who narrate the difficulties of fighting the stereotypes that mainstream society has for gay people.
The film isn't out yet, but here's a sneak peak that states the very important fact that despite what most television or movies are telling you, gay people, (and especially gay men) can in fact be found out of the designer store, in the fabulous events, wearing expensive clothes and bitching about other people for no reason at all.

I hope that this film and many more to come, can disprove the stigmas that mainstream media has perpetuated on homosexual men in general. And if you don't care about any of that, just watch it for the beautiful Australian surfers.

As far as I know, nobody ever died of that...

Young Professionals: How Much Are We Worth?

In the midsts of an seemingly never ending economic recession,  we, twenty year olds need to accept the fact that the fight to get a good job opportunity is getting more and more competitive and brutal.

If you’ve graduated in the past year, specially in the art world or any freelance - like universe and you already have a steady job that you’re mildly happy with, that can pay your own apartment and basic expenses... Then you’ve officially climbed up to the top of my worst enemies. 

I now hate, admire and fear you.

If you’re more in the position I’m in, (flying from job to job, more often than not, the tasks at hand seem uninteresting at best and the pay rate is going from bad to non existent) Then this column will be a bit more identifiable, albeit possibly depressing.

Generationally, we need to understand that we need a lot of work experience, portfolio and CV to nail a good job that can cover the basic needs that probably are no longer being supplied by our caretakers.

True, we haven’t had the time to get the necessary experience, but we also aren’t teenagers anymore. 

We are at an age that is as important as it is frustrating. 

We’re old enough to look for what we need, but young enough not to get it anywhere in the near future.

“Be patient! You have to start somewhere!”
“Rome wasn’t built in a day!”

After all, accepting late gratification means not being a baby anymore. 

(That probably explains why I’m still a two year old in my head…)

Realising that we do need experience and we need to be thankful to anyone that is willing to give it to us, there is a moment in everyone’s unpaid career when you need to put your foot down and say: “Sorry, my work is worth something.”.

For me, it’s a terrifying thing to say out loud, let alone to my employer, mainly because every time I say it, a squeaky little voice inside me asks: “…Is it?”

I hate that fucking squirrel.

If you have a similar problem and an annoying rodent-like creature is asking uncomfortable questions about your capabilities, let me sum it up… (And yes, I do have the answer to this one.):

Yes, it is.

You studied, right?

You have a little piece of paper that states that you are qualified to do a certain job. Write, edit, paint, design, compose, photograph, act… Etc.

You have been validated by an accredited institution that says you’re capable of performing the tasks that are at hand.

That means that you or the next guy around the corner will not deliver the same results. Because you, in fact, do know better.

Even though all the experience you’ve had up until now has been in the safe confinements of a learning institution, it is experience never the less.

True, you might not be the best or an expert yet, and (most annoyingly) You might need to go other routes to get that pay check you’re so desperately needing to settle that debt, pay the rent or simply buy that big mac that always stares at you as you walk by it’s subway advertisement.

How can we fellow freelancers trust that, when we do have 5 years of experience on top of a educational certificate, we will get the jobs we want when every twenty something year old out there will do the same amount of work hours for free?

The artistic industry is basically fucking itself over.

Working for free, -Excluding those rare internships at amazing corporations that will benefit you even more than a payed job, which are quite difficult to encounter- Is plainly not fare.

You are dedicating your talent, time and effort to help create something that will benefit your boss, the company you’re working for and even the client.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not advising anyone out there to EVER take an unpaid job. I myself have done a fistful of duties with no monetary rewards. But that’s when you must weigh the importance of the money you’ll receive to the importance of the job you’re doing, and which one will be more beneficial.

A lot of the times the very networking you’ll get out of an unpaid job will be ten times more valuable than the $50 you’ll get for babysitting the neighbour’s five year old.

What I’m talking about is the persistence of the same employer to take for granted the work that you are so heavily investing your time and creativity in.

Sometimes there’s just no cash. And in the art world there will always be a bunch of creative hopefuls who will come together and invest all their money into one project, hoping that what they’ll get in return will outweigh their investment. And many times, given the right team and material, it does!

I still think I’ll be accepting unpaid jobs even in my late thirties, just because there are so many exciting projects out there that simply don’t have enough cash to pay everyone right away.

What’s important is that the people who hire you are completely and 100% aware of the favour that you’re doing for them, willingly and with a smile on your overworked face. 

Just because you’re doing it now, doesn’t mean that that’s how the deal’s gonna be forever. 

Your work is worth something. 

Maybe you graduated one month ago and that worth is $30 per project. Trust me, soon it will be $50.

The bottom line, that I’ve recently have come to figure out is that every time you work for free and decide to give your work as a present, it’s your choice and no one else’s.

As the young professionals that we are we need to take a stand at some point to our employers, who have indeed been very kind at taking a chance with us and educating us further than our universities, academies or schools. But the ultimate thank you for that very education is saying: “I’ll now be receiving money for the service I’m providing, because you’ve turned me into a true professional. ”.

Very possibly that won't happen today or tomorrow. (If it does, as I previously stated, I will, unapologetically request that you don’t return to this website ever again. I’ll never be able to get the stench of inhuman success out of it).

Working in other areas will not only give you the money that you need but will broaden your patience and work ethic. It will get you used to having a boss, (You’ll probably have a horrible one… Nature just doesn’t get tired of making them.) 

Keeping to a time schedule and having responsibilities that may not interest you but you’ll have to attend to them the same way.

That may not give you the portfolio you’re looking for, but it does make you a lot more viable to the bosses you actually do want to work for some day. (I do set and costume design and I’m currently working as a P.A for a philosopher, so let’s hope to GOD this is true).

In any case, we have to trow ourselves to the professional world. 

This will be as intense as it is terrifying. 

It's difficult not to feel inadequate, awkward and weird -as I usually do in most situations-.

What's important is to just throw yourself to the deep end and see how one step leads to the next one. 

And if your first jobs aren't as satisfying as you thought they would be in high school, the capability of paying for a good drink at the end of the day, at the bar around the corner, to perk up an otherwise un-stimulating day, probably will be.

At least for me, that's always a good place to start.

YOLO: Acronym For A Depressed Generation?

Just in case  you’ve been living under a rock for the past two years, I’ll give a bit of necessary context.

YOLO (Acronym for You Only Live Once) Was first presented in the lyrics of a 2012 song by Drake Feat. Lil’ Wane called “The Motto”.

Having not heard the song until writing this column I tried to pay close attention to the lyrics, see if there was any material worth mentioning.

To my own disappointment the lyrics talk about what most Drake Feat Lil’ Wane songs would talk about.

I apologise to any fans of the mentioned artists in advance, but personally I’ve never warmed up to any song that compulsively talks about an overflowed life of money and pussy. (The fact that I’m poor and gay might have something to do with this aversion…).

“Whatevs, it’s just a song, right?”

“You know we’re only messing around when we do use it, right?

There’s a great saying in spanish,  -Doesn’t translate as cool as it sounds-:

“In between jokes, the truth comes out”.

“Tell Uncle Luke I’m out in Miami tooClubbing hard,  fuckin’ women ain’t much to do”

“Now she want a photo,  

You already know though, 

 You only live once ‒ that’s the motto nigga YOLO”

Deep, right?

Apparently something in there, -in between the lines of having piles of cash and fucking a lot of bitches- Was something that rang… Not only to the fans of the artists during the fleeting lifespan of a hip -top ten- song, but to an entire generation.

Two years later, after the song is no longer played in clubs, bars, stores or radio, people who’ve never even heard the song or know anything about the proceedings of the famous acronym have been using this young word for any spontaneous action they now take.

Where could this phenomenon come from?

Could it be that the songwriters hit the jackpot with a simple word no one had ever used before? Or is there more to it?

The impulse to do irresponsible or illogical actions has always existed. Though now there’s a word to justify them.

Just look at the thousands of hashtags that come up daily in twitter using the word.

The meaning behind YOLO states that there is nothing after our lives. It states that life is fleeting, and therefor meaningless, to a certain extent.

For years the human race has educated itself by stating that for any good action there will be a reward, and for any crime or transgression there will be punishment. 

From being grounded a week because we didn’t do our homework, to spending an eternity in burning flames due to a sinful life, to re-incarnating as the lowest form of life, because of bad karma -depending which temple you pray in-.

If YOLO says that there’s only one life and there’s nothing at the end of the tunnel, no wonder an entire generation is seeking experiences that are as impulsive, spontaneous and self-pleasurable, but also irresponsible, unhealthy or even dangerous.

I’m no expert but I’m willing to bet there are very few 17 year olds out there who are saying “Today I’m vowing to myself that I’ll never have unprotected, anonymous sex, intoxicate myself with any illegal drug or drunk drive in my life! YOLO, man!”

It’s more of a: “Go home with that stranger!”  “Let’s have another shot!”  “Whatever, I’m OK to drive!”  “Sure I’ll try that pill with my drink!”… Why?

“YOLO, YOLO, YOLO!”

Jeez… I’m I the only one who’s a bit worried?

As if being that age isn’t scary and intense enough.

The YOLO is being taken to an extreme and being used as a philosophy of living.

Are we maybe ignoring how shitty this generation of 15 to 20 year olds has had it?

These are kids who grew up in the middle of a seemingly never ending war, constant terrorist attacks and threats and worrying economic crisis. They basically grew up hearing that having the jobs and opportunities their parents had is going to be tough, if not kind of impossible.

Is this maybe a way for demonstrating an inherent depression these kids have been dragging for years?

It’s not the first time the concept has been presented. 

In 1855 Johann Straus II composed one of his most famous waltzes, entitled: “Man Lebt Nur Einmal!” (You Only Live Once!).

One of the best Strokes tracks was entitled with the same name in 2006. (Below is the video, just cuz it's such a fucking great song...)

The fear of wasting one’s life, not seizing opportunities has always existed, however, what’s happening with this acronym is that reckless and irresponsible decisions are now not only being justified but applauded. 

While some people agree with me on all of this, others have told me I’m acting a bit like an over-protective parent of a generation I can have no claim of.

Whatever, the issue has been in my brain for a few weeks now… And I have a blog, so I’m gonna write about it… Because I can, OK? 

YOL… Oh, fuck it.