I’ve always hated long bios. Something about proclaiming to be certain things, and to fall under categories even when as empowering as multi-slashes can be these days. That’s the irony of millennials, don’t you think? Breaking free from certain labels not to revolutionize but just to succumb back to a state of what originally was, just exactly opposite. The oxymoron of our generation’s logical perception of what’s quality is rather exaggerated and understated all at the same time.
There are two kinds of bios, the type that doesn't say enough, and the ones that say nothing. In a time and age, when the first couple of questions that follow when you meet someone new is, “what do you do” or “where do you work”, you can already tell what type of profile I prefer when I purposely make myself stupid for replying with, “so, what’s your favorite ice cream flavor?”
These days, you can literally be anything you want to be. Just write that shit out and slap that title across all of your social media platforms' profiles and all of a sudden you’ve gained all the qualifications to call yourself whatever-so.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for being confident and self-starting as the next 20-something-year-old. I’d love to call myself a photographer one day, a writer, heck I’d love to be a great cook as well. But, I find that when you have a great passion for something, there’s a certain level of respect for those who are leaders in the industry that you just can’t disregard by shamelessly putting yourself on the same pedestal.
Crowded by a bubble of people who wants to be someone and everyone simultaneously - my irony is, I’d rather be a pursuer.
There are two kinds of bios, the type that doesn't say enough, and the ones that say nothing. In a time and age, when the first couple of questions that follow when you meet someone new is, “what do you do” or “where do you work”, you can already tell what type of profile I prefer when I purposely make myself stupid for replying with, “so, what’s your favorite ice cream flavor?”
These days, you can literally be anything you want to be. Just write that shit out and slap that title across all of your social media platforms' profiles and all of a sudden you’ve gained all the qualifications to call yourself whatever-so.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for being confident and self-starting as the next 20-something-year-old. I’d love to call myself a photographer one day, a writer, heck I’d love to be a great cook as well. But, I find that when you have a great passion for something, there’s a certain level of respect for those who are leaders in the industry that you just can’t disregard by shamelessly putting yourself on the same pedestal.
Crowded by a bubble of people who wants to be someone and everyone simultaneously - my irony is, I’d rather be a pursuer.
Typically enough, that’s just as cliche as the next fashion slash photographer slash stylist slash story teller. The reality that I recognize (that I think most people don’t see), is that there is a standard for being qualified that is overlooked when one assumes a certain title for their own. Of course, millennials knows the struggle of what that’s like when interviewing with our seemingly never-good-enough CVs to bosses and corporations that exploit on the idea of super-students. You know, the overachievers that did every extracurriculars and still had straight As. Or even worse, the super-minorities. You know, the really underprivileged that somehow made it.
And if I’m being completely honest, there is no difference between calling myself a singer because I sing (extremely terribly) in the shower than someone with a decent camera and a few thousand followers on Instagram calling themselves a photographer. It’s offensive.
While this sounds like a critical evaluation of my generation of both overqualified and underqualified fellow 20-something-year olds. It's not. See, I feel like this entitlement only exists in places where we are raised to feel like we always need to own something to really have it. The pursuit is no longer about the journey to really emerge and learn and to eventually earn but instead we just take.
With that perception in mind, I just can't help but think that maybe it's not the title that people desire, but rather the idealized recognition of what's associated with occupying a certain job. And you might be thinking, why does that matter, and why am I so frustrated with this. Well, it's because I'm a little bit territorial. It's a part of valuing something so dearly and watch it lose its quality. Kind of like watching a brand you love (Acne Studios) being discredited for so many other great things, and known only for what's arbitrarily insignificant (ahem, pink shopping bags and wool scarves that are bought for the prior mentioned reason). It's interesting, right? To want to be different and to be unique but still, be associated with this sense of perceived 'coolness' that everyone seems to think they are these days.
And if I’m being completely honest, there is no difference between calling myself a singer because I sing (extremely terribly) in the shower than someone with a decent camera and a few thousand followers on Instagram calling themselves a photographer. It’s offensive.
While this sounds like a critical evaluation of my generation of both overqualified and underqualified fellow 20-something-year olds. It's not. See, I feel like this entitlement only exists in places where we are raised to feel like we always need to own something to really have it. The pursuit is no longer about the journey to really emerge and learn and to eventually earn but instead we just take.
With that perception in mind, I just can't help but think that maybe it's not the title that people desire, but rather the idealized recognition of what's associated with occupying a certain job. And you might be thinking, why does that matter, and why am I so frustrated with this. Well, it's because I'm a little bit territorial. It's a part of valuing something so dearly and watch it lose its quality. Kind of like watching a brand you love (Acne Studios) being discredited for so many other great things, and known only for what's arbitrarily insignificant (ahem, pink shopping bags and wool scarves that are bought for the prior mentioned reason). It's interesting, right? To want to be different and to be unique but still, be associated with this sense of perceived 'coolness' that everyone seems to think they are these days.
Scarf: Acne Studios (on sale!)
Dress: Aritzia
Shoes: Sacai (similar, Balenciaga and Isabel Marant)
Jacket: Mango
Bag: Proenza Schouler PS11
Dress: Aritzia
Shoes: Sacai (similar, Balenciaga and Isabel Marant)
Jacket: Mango
Bag: Proenza Schouler PS11
Photos by Lina D
