YouAlberta
University is a time when you are presented with countless resources and experiences to help you reach as much of the world as possible, yet somehow it’s also a time where the future can look the most narrow. Not only does it seem like you only have one chance at choosing what you want to do in life, you’re also expected to make that decision without having actually experienced what it’s like to lead a life with that career.
In this series, How Did I Get Here?, I will be sitting down (and logging onto Zoom) with individuals that are in careers that have a career path that resembles a roller coaster track more than a sidewalk. For Kate Black, '16 BA, accepting the reality that her future wasn’t going to be as straightforward as she had hoped was not an easy beast to overcome.
“What helped me is accepting that I’m multifaceted,” expressed Kate, who currently works as a communications strategist at the U of A and is a freelance writer for literary magazines such as The Walrus and Maisonneuve Magazine, as well as news publications like The Globe and Mail. Kate was also an editor for The Gateway, a writer for YouAlberta, and an intern for the U of A’s alumni magazine, New Trail, in her undergrad. As she was finishing up her bachelor's degree in women and gender studies, writing was an important part of her identity but making a living doing that seemed out of the question.
“My student self would be very interested and excited to know that I write for a living because I didn't think that was possible, and I didn't really understand how people wrote for a living and what that looked like.” After finishing her undergraduate degree, Kate was accepted into a women and gender studies graduate program at UBC but decided that she didn’t want to go through with it. Instead she found herself working as a fundraiser for the UBC Faculty of Medicine in a job that she did not think was possible: she was their senior writer.
Just like me, Kate has a lot of different interests, ranging from literature to medicine. “I've always been interested in how I can use the skills that I have to support causes that I care about,” Kate says. This is something that I have struggled with continuously in the past, and am still struggling with as I enter my last year of university, especially as someone with interests in a multitude of subjects. For the longest time I tried to align myself with careers that were related to areas that I was interested in. This isn’t inherently bad, but I wish I adopted a viewpoint like Kate’s earlier on in my schooling: taking a good look at my skills and seeing how I could apply those in areas that I cared about rather than trying to perfectly mold myself to fit into a job that I may not be suited for but is in an area that I am interested in.
“What I really like about taking a less direct path is that, as a writer, I'm able to kind of experience all of those worlds.” Hearing Kate say this was like realizing I had been searching for something with my eyes closed. Sure, taking a less traditional approach to life and careers may be more like playing in a jungle gym than taking a walk in the park, but ultimately following your desires and using your skills wisely can lead to a fulfilling life.
By the time Kate had gone back to school and taken her Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing, she was able to navigate her creative and professional self with more ease than in her undergraduate years as she was more aware of what made her feel fulfilled. “When I think of certain things as hobbies, I neglect them,” Kate admits. This is something that strongly resonates with me as someone that has gone through about ten different pandemic hobbies with little to show for.
Kate’s career path as a writer has not been a simple route. Something that’s been true during her career journey, and has become more prevalent during the pandemic, is that “sometimes you just need a job and that's what it is.” Kate offers a comforting thought to help soothe this painful fact of reality: “the one thing that doesn't change is you, you're the person,” encouraging people to think about what they are doing to “fill their own pot”.
Despite being able to find a job where she is able to use her writing skills, Kate admits that her current job doesn’t actually require much creative writing. As a communications strategist, she spends most of her time writing documents that support projects going on at the university and building relationships with donors and alumni. Despite not working in a creative field, the ability to use her skills to make a difference in the world allows her to balance the individualistic aspects of being a freelance creative writer, which she does in her free time, with her job at the university.
Kate’s journey shows that you don’t necessarily have to choose between pursuing a creative career and having food on the table, contrary to the starving artist stereotype. While it is true that there is a lot of risk involved in many creative careers, Kate reassures students that “there are a lot of options to carve a path out for yourself,” referring to the many resources available for students in the arts. These include a number of grant programs and most notably the welcoming community of artists that are willing to support each other in their journeys.
“I think the most valuable skill that I’ve learned from my journey has almost nothing to do with freelancing, but it’s being able to respect myself as a full person.”
It is really easy to lose sight of yourself and your own interests and get caught up in work, whether it’s school or professional work. Kate knows all too well as a freelancer with an office job what it’s like to work to the point of not having any breaks and forgetting to take care of oneself so she emphasizes that it is important to learn how to set boundaries. Kate’s career journey exemplifies the importance of keeping an open mind and viewing one’s self holistically. “I've also learned to respect my full course of interests. Freelancing has taught me to be very curious.”
I’ve always joked that my large collection of interests is due to being a Gemini, but deep down I lived in fear that this meant I would never find a path in life where I was truly content. But learning about Kate’s journey has reaffirmed my love for writing as she reminded me of why I fell in love with writing in the first place: it gives the writer the ability to explore endless topics to their heart’s content. To my delight, it turns out that fulfilling your creative needs while meeting your physical and mental needs is possible! You just need to be flexible in how you reach your goals and know how to use your skills to get there.
Kate's Suggestions for Resources for Artists/Writers:
- The Canada Council for the Arts grant programs
- Who Pays Writers?
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Poetry Foundation (a good place to start if you want to start reading and writing more poetry!)
- Banff Centre's Emerging Writers' Intensive
- Podcasts for writers and creatives: Otherppl, Longform, A Piece of Work with Abbi Jacobson
About Francine
Francine is a fourth year university student in the secondary education program with a major in physics, and is an avid lover of bread and cats. When she's not spending time working and studying, you can catch her reading a book, playing video games, or finding various ways to be a loaf.