Hopes for Hobbies and Dons, Hopes for Passion Turns Cons — Concerns of Doing Hobbies As Professional Career
A glimpse of a question has been frolicking inside my mind lately. As someone who once took #writing as a mere hobby, I figured out that turning my hobby into a professional career would completely be a different take. Through times performing as a Content Writer who writes based on specified briefs and niches, my mind keeps repeating the same question after finishing my day-to-day work.
“Would it change the way you see your hobby after living it professionally?”
For me, the answer would have been YES or NO. Yep, it is rather hard to decide on one solid answer as it highly relies on the current circumstances. It is quite infamous that the working environment values mass demand and results to be demonstrated, which slant 180 degrees backwards from our main goals when doing a hobby. Fun.
This is how my hobby should have worked. When I’m happy, I write. When I’m sad, I write.
Writing should have been the thing I’ve always done in my spare moments to chill and sort out my head and all because I love doing it. That is when I have sufficient time and financial stability to support my life-balance agenda. Yet reality caters to a different road.
The joy derived from crafting words and weaving narratives, once an unbridled expression of personal creativity, now comes with the weight of deadlines and client expectations. The very act that used to bring solace has evolved into a skill to be honed and polished. There’s a subtle irony in the fact that the very thing I sought refuge in has become a structured part of my routine.
At times, it felt like I was selling pieces of my soul for a paycheck. The worry of commercial viability overshadowed the simple pleasure of putting pen to paper. My words were no longer solely mine; they belonged to a client or a publication with expectations that didn’t always align with my creative instincts.
“Should I stop? Should I not violate the essence imposed by writing for my self resort?”
Unlike the freedom of writing as a pastime, professional writing also demands consistency. But what if the words refuse to flow and icy fingers strike when fluency is needed most? How do I confront the looming block in the middle of a workday, where every moment spent staring at a blank page feels like wasted time and money?
There is also this underlying anxiety about the potential transformation of my writing style. Will the necessity of meeting deadlines alter the cadence of my words, turning my prose into a mechanical symphony rather than a heartfelt melody?
I am a content writer, and I write to make money. I am also a writer, and although these two things sound similar, I could not find myself smoothly navigating through pursuing them all at once. Confronted by these uncertainties day by day struggles me enough to find balance; and ultimately challenges my self-management.
And as these questions linger as I stand on the precipice of this dual journey, I keep working for insights to ensure that both my career and my beloved hobby flourish side by side.
