when i was 16 or even 18 i had no idea what i want to do with my life. my world evolved around friends, school and partys. if you wished to discover the field of interest you had to read books. internet wasn't as it is today - a magical go-to place that answers all your questions. there was one discovery channel unlike today when 7 channels are focused on different interest groups. when i think of it my friends didn't know what they want to be when they "grow up" as well. today's youth has it all so much easier. the world is just a click away and no wonder they discover at a very young age what is their main interest and what they would like to become career wise.
we all know the fashion blogger prodigy tavi gevinson that gained her recognition at only 14 of age. 14! do you remember what was your main interest at 14? probably boys or what ever boy band was popular back then. of course tavi is just one of them. in paris i meet so many teens or barely 20-year olds that already had an amazing reference list or they at least knew exactly what career they want to pursue and were willing to do anything to do it. so when you're well over 20 and going towards 30, with same amount of experience as teenagers it's kinda hard to compete. it's expected that in your 30's you already have an amazing career and most ppl probably wish to have that, i know i do. the catch is if you figured out what u want to do when you were 16 it's gonna be a lot easier than if you didn't know what to do with your life until 24. time is not your best ally in this case.
the other thing is that now fashion has become so commercial and accessible suddenly everyone wants to work in fashion. photographer, model, make up artist, hair stylist, blogger, wardrobe stylist, designer, editor and journalist... apparently they all sound very appealing. the competition is insane and when you compete with with someone half your age it's even worse. what exactly do you know at 18? about life? about fashion? what kind of experience can you have? fashion is pretty specific so without knowing the basics like history it's hard to fake it. maybe that's the advantage of being a bit older in this business. i for one know that if you put me on a shoot with a celeb when i was 18 it's questionable how professional i would act. there were just different times then and now teens grow up so much faster than we used to. would you trade your crazy teenage years for an early career start?
i think one of the only regrets i have about not knowing what career to pursue at 18 is education. i would sign up to a totally different school, probably go study abroad and that could be a defining point and a way better jumping start. i could have a completely different life. maybe in some parallel universe i do...
* i'm 20 on this picture. clearly i had no idea i'll start my fashion career in a few years...
we all know the fashion blogger prodigy tavi gevinson that gained her recognition at only 14 of age. 14! do you remember what was your main interest at 14? probably boys or what ever boy band was popular back then. of course tavi is just one of them. in paris i meet so many teens or barely 20-year olds that already had an amazing reference list or they at least knew exactly what career they want to pursue and were willing to do anything to do it. so when you're well over 20 and going towards 30, with same amount of experience as teenagers it's kinda hard to compete. it's expected that in your 30's you already have an amazing career and most ppl probably wish to have that, i know i do. the catch is if you figured out what u want to do when you were 16 it's gonna be a lot easier than if you didn't know what to do with your life until 24. time is not your best ally in this case.
the other thing is that now fashion has become so commercial and accessible suddenly everyone wants to work in fashion. photographer, model, make up artist, hair stylist, blogger, wardrobe stylist, designer, editor and journalist... apparently they all sound very appealing. the competition is insane and when you compete with with someone half your age it's even worse. what exactly do you know at 18? about life? about fashion? what kind of experience can you have? fashion is pretty specific so without knowing the basics like history it's hard to fake it. maybe that's the advantage of being a bit older in this business. i for one know that if you put me on a shoot with a celeb when i was 18 it's questionable how professional i would act. there were just different times then and now teens grow up so much faster than we used to. would you trade your crazy teenage years for an early career start?
i think one of the only regrets i have about not knowing what career to pursue at 18 is education. i would sign up to a totally different school, probably go study abroad and that could be a defining point and a way better jumping start. i could have a completely different life. maybe in some parallel universe i do...
* i'm 20 on this picture. clearly i had no idea i'll start my fashion career in a few years...