Snowflake Challenge #4: Who Am I?
Here we are with Day #4 of the Snowflake Challenge to say a little something about myself. While I have some deets in my journal intro post and in my Tumblr FAQ, here are 10 other random things to add on:
- I've been in fandom for about two decades. That also blows my mind because that is a long ass time. But it's been an amazing journey to see how things change, to branch out, meet new people and yeah. I wouldn't ever trade it for the world, because fandom's been kind of my heartbeat, you know? It's where my people are at, how I feel seen, and it's my happy place.
- HP is my first fandom, and how I started writing drabbles and role playing, believe or not! RP was actually how I learned to become a better writer, and probably why I love writing dialogue first whenever I'm drafting something up. I met some cool people during my RP days, and it was just really fun to "be" a different character and to run with it. I used to played Draco for Houses Unite, Snape for Oblivi8, Seamus for Vu Network and Luna for WTF Drarry. An absolute fav place I used to hang out in... the Dressing Room for multi-fandom shenanigans!
- Making fanart was how I improved my art skills (that I picked up from school), and eventually, I bit the bullet to run my own side art gig. My first time selling my stuff was actually at a HP con craft fair, because I was wanted to see if people even liked or wanted my art. Turns out they did, because I sold out of 75% of my stuff. Fast forward to now, I've branched out to a bunch of different things (ie. prints, stickers, teas, postcards, originals, etc.), and sure I needed to take a couple years hiatus because of RL, but I'm actually relaunching my biz again this year! To new and greater things!
- I got into event planning (a volunteer, professionally once upon a time, and now digitally) because of fandom. I love fests, prompt challenges, webinars and such. But I love comic cons because yeah, it's the heart of where geekiness and fandom is, and I honestly I wouldn't be where I am today without them. I went to quite a few HP cons throughout the years and had the pleasure of meeting folks who I still keep in touch with. But also, having fandom on my actual resume got me every single job I've had to date (because yeah, I used to help out with Muggle Quidditch). Cons were how I got the word out for my art biz. So yes, things are all interconnected somehow. But also, what a way to embrace ALL the fandoms by going to a con (and cosplaying and seeing cool things?! The list goes on).
- The question I sometimes get: have I met any celebs or famous people at events? Yeah, I have. And while I'm not crazy about how comic cons are all about meeting celebs now, I'm glad I've been part of the con and event circuit to have some pretty good interactions with some amazing people who are genuinely nice and who have inspired me. Some of them have rode elevators with me at events or opened doors so I could set up for events/panels. Some of them I've helped run stuff for, and others I've gotten to have super chill convos with because no one was even around. The few folks who have seen my art...my gosh. Worth it.
- My career (ie. email marketing), is sooo not artsy at all. It's pretty data and logic reliant, and depends a lot on collabs and teamwork. Lots of tech knowledge, troubleshooting, copywriting, and trying to project manage things (and people...ugh). But you know what? The things I learned from marketing myself as an artist and throughout the fandom community (aka grassroots marketing) has gotten me pretty far when it comes to strategy. Not a lot of people know where to start, so I'm glad I have something to tap into to get things rolling. Also, regular marketers are actually pretty crap copywriters, I'm not going to lie. I have no idea how writing and editing fell in my lap, but that's been part of every job I've had so far. Good thing writing fic has taught me a few things about SPaG and flow. I'm seeing if I want to still continue with this field this year or if I want to do a minor switch to something else (maybe UX or UI design?), but time will tell. It's never too late to make a change.
- For languages, besides English, I know Spanish, Chinese, Scottish Gaelic and Swedish. The latter I've picked up from learning via Duolingo, and while I had to take a short hiatus, I'm hoping to pick up more learning again next month!
- I'm a paper planner kind of person, so I love all things stationary! Pens, highlighters, markers, washi tape, stickers, you name it! I have such a huge collection of everything, but for the things I don't use, I'm pretty good at finding nice homes for them (thanks to mutuals who like the same things). The Washi Station, Stickii Club and Jetpens are my fav places to get stuff from.
- I loveee tattoos. I have 13, and usually go for black and grey, either neo-traditional or blackwork. I'm hoping I can get my right arm finished up with fillers to be more of a sleeve, and see what I can add on my left arm or my left thigh. Once thing that's tricky is being able to cover up tattoos for job purposes, but so far, I've made things work and still look professional.
- I may have lost count with how many music concerts I've been to, but the first one for me was Sum41. I think my favorite one is Lindsey Stirling and the one that really impressed me was Kansas (because the guys played for us 2 hours straight!).