Find Your Voice, Then Find Your Medium
You have a unique “voice” based on your upbringing and personal life experiences (whether you realize it or not). You have a unique point of view — a way of seeing things that is unique to you alone, like a fingerprint. No one can take this away from you. It’s how you see the world. It’s deeply personal and is constantly evolving. Furthermore, I can promise you that you will not have quite the same point of view at age 50 that you did at age 20.
Your “voice” is your own personal view and interpretation of everything: social issues, women’s issues, books, travel, art, style and fashion, education, technology and social media, health and exercise, global warming and environmental issues, spiritual and religious beliefs, sexuality and gender — everything! It’s how you perceive the world based on who you are and your very unique life experiences.
Your voice doesn’t refer literally what you say, it can also refer your style, your music, your art, your wit and sense of humor, your passions, your interests, your political views and your life choices. Furthermore, it refers to the use of your voice (either literally or figuratively) regarding the subjects and issues (big or small, important or frivolous) that are of great interest to you, whether or not these things are of great interest to anyone else.
Our parents try to force their world view on us from a young age, which can be a big influence, in one way or another, for better or worse. Despite this, we still end up with a point of view that is very different from theirs. For one thing, we are a different generation and we grew up in different times. Although we are imprinted by our parents, like baby birds, our world view is formed in a different social, political and economic climate, and possibly a different town or country, with different music, movies, literature and pop culture. So despite being imprinted, we still end up with our own unique voice.
If this sounds remedial, sweetie, then I apologize, but when I was young I never once thought about having my own voice. I never thought that my point of view mattered. I didn’t even realize that I had a “point of view.” I certainly never thought about nurturing my unique vision, my voice, my passions or my interests. I was much more concerned with fitting in and being just like everyone else. Therefore, I basically ended up being (unwittingly), a conduit for everyone else’s voice.
One of the first times it dawned on me that I had my own voice was when I was studying acting in Los Angeles. We usually performed scenes from existing plays or screenplays. After a while, constantly rehearsing and performing someone else’s words began to slightly bother me, like putting on an itchy wool sweater that didn’t fit right and wasn’t even my style. I loved acting, but I didn’t like repeating someone else’s words, some else’s point of view, usually an older white man’s words and point of view — someone like Sam Shepard or Tennessee Williams. Usually the playwright was a man from a completely different generation — a different time and place. I mean, one can only take so many depressing scenes from playwrights like Edward Albee and Arthur Miller before one wants to run screaming from the room! These playwright's words, however eloquent, rarely reflected my experience as a young, single woman living in Los Angeles who preferred comedy! It hit me one day that I'd had enough of being a vehicle for someone else's words — that I too had something to say.
The television shows Project Runway, and Making the Cut provide another great example of visual and creative “point of view.” By the fourth or fifth episode, if Heidi Klum and the other judges don’t start seeing a fashion designer’s unique vision and style, they will lose interest. The judges expect each designer to have their own “point of view” when it comes to fashion. They want each designer to have their own take on fashion, to show them something they haven’t seen before. The same goes with fine art, illustration, filmmaking, music, writing, photography and all other creative endeavors.
But having your own voice doesn’t just apply to the arts, it applies to all industries and endeavors. You have to bring something to the table, dear. You have to do things a little differently, do things better, if possible. You should have something to offer that is unique, even if it’s just slightly different or a more evolved version of something that already exists.
It’s not just important to recognize that you have a unique voice, it’s important to use your voice — to get your ideas out there! If you have an interesting vision, if you have something to say, then find your medium and find a way to say it!
Let your unique voice — your point of view — be your guide in life when you are unsure. Not sure what your point of view is? Try writing a journal, just a page a day and just stream of conscious writing. Just write what’s on your mind, your thoughts, your opinions, what you’re obsessed with at the moment, what bugs you, what makes you smile, what you find extremely fascinating, what attracts you to things, places or people — it doesn’t matter, just write. Make lists if you don’t like to write. I’m a compulsive list maker!
Sometimes, if you’re little older, it helps to go back to your childhood and re-examine what you were obsessed with as a child, what you liked to do more than anything, how you spent your time, and what you cared about before you grew up and worried about making money.
Finding your voice will give you confidence. It will help you figure out who you are and what you really care about, and possibly how you might want to spend your free time. Your voice can be almost anything, but try to keep it positive, sweetie. It can have to do with seeing the world in a very humorous way, or as a crusader for human rights, or as a futurist, or minimalist, an educator, an environmentalist, a motivational speaker, a mentor, an author, a health and fitness guru, a vegan chef — the list is endless.
Just remember darling, no one can tell you how to see the world, you have to think for yourself. Don’t mimic other people and don’t let anyone dictate how you should feel about anything or what you should care about.
Find your voice dear, then find your medium, and then find your market.
#advice #success #creativity #art #writing #feminism
The above post is an excerpt from Rebecca Pavlik’s new book Time to Break Some Rules, Sweetie! a humorous advice book for young women based on her time in Los Angeles working in the entertainment industry. For more details and to view on Amazon click here.