Temporary
I've been in a 'temporary' job for 7 years.
Whilst my peers from graduation endured the hustle to get jobs in animation, right out of university, I struggled to do anything and collapsed into the first job that paid. My family said it shouldn't last long. I naively told myself I would use it as a chance to 'improve my observational skills', purely for drawing, and speed up my exit plan. I chanted this optimistic idea to friends and family but I knew everyone saw this as a failure.
It was a humbling few years. I'd had plenty of factory-line work but customer-facing is a kind of labour I wasn't prepared for. Old friends said 'what's so hard about making a few coffees?' On tough days I self-soothed with my plans. I made good friends there and almost forgot about leaving until I transferred to a bigger city to 'keep the dream alive.'
When I finally got gigs on the side I hid them from my manager who threatened to trim hours. I worried what colleagues thought; when you're actively leaving it can read as: 'what we do sucks and I think I'm better than this'. I've learned that's not true and absolutely nobody is. Seeing hospitality as an industry for students and temporary-failures damages everyone. It damaged the way I saw all of my work.
Creative industries are laden with people from backgrounds who never have to deviate from their ambitions. I spent years being envious. These days I feel lucky continuing in both industries and proud of what I do in each. I've learned more than I would have on a simpler journey and there's no fewer creative minds in hospitality than anywhere else.
I don't think I'd be myself without either.
Words by Otto Indiana Taylor-Richard
Art by Otto Indiana Taylor-Richard