thoughts almost a year later.

last march, i lost my job. but we all know that. i do. you do. my neighbors do. everyone does. it's been big news around here. because this job market blows. and in the industry i'm in, you can't just find another job easily. because they don't exist. at the same time i was losing my job, other copywriters were losing their jobs. at other companies. companies i wanted to work for. but one cannot exist on the unemployment "paycheck" alone. trust me. so you get creative.

but this creativity - this new way to make a living freelancing and consulting and more - has to be well-balanced with a consistent effort to find a new job. and the tricky part for me has been that i want to stay in advertising. i love what i do. i want to find another ad agency to call home. i want to be inspired by creative directors and a team of art directors and other copywriters. i want to be a creative director one day. i want to push limits and challenge perception and solve problems in ways that have never been done before.

and if i cave and take a job, say, as a receptionist. or at a company in a completely unrelated field, i might be giving up my dream. because your portfolio is only as good as the worst piece in it. and the longer you stay out of the game in this industry, the harder it is to get back in it.

all this to say that i'm blessed to be somehow staying afloat. i've had a couple of temporary gigs. one at one of the most creative agencies in town. and i've networked. a ton. i've met creative directors i'd only hoped to meet when i was back at my old job. but i haven't only met them. i've shown them my work. i've heard them tell me i'm good. really good. and that they see enormous potential in me.

and this - hearing affirmation of talent. that i'm chasing the right dream. that i'm good at what i want to keep doing. this has been sweeter than any steady paycheck could be.

because it gives me hope.

so i'm telling you that i'm making it. and that you can, too. a silly way of saying don't give up on what you know you want to do.

and, by the way, i strongly believe that looking for a job that is a good fit in this economy is the hardest job i - or you - will ever have to do. but persistence has to pay off eventually. that's just how things work.