I am pursuing several possible career options, some of which arenot feasible in current covid restrictions. The primary focus, and the one I'm least excited about, but the one most likely to lead to an income stream in the near future is as a Personal Support worker. I was approved by the state of Oregon as a PSW for people with development disabilities in December. I just need one or more clients to continue down that path.
However, state rules and regulations for that path lead me to believe that I may not be much better off doing this work than I was at my previous job, a child care teacher. I often felt hamstringed in that job by rules and expectations on how things should be that I didn't feel I could do the job in a way that played to my morals and strengths. So I am pursuing other ventures related to my other skills and interests. The first and most exciting, but also the most challenging, utilizes my computer science skills in combination with my art and storytelling. I am currently teach myself game development using the Unity game engine. I want to create the games that I wish others would make. It has been a difficult journey, and I hope that I can be successful at it, even if it turns out to be nothing but a hobby.
The next project I have been working on is going through my backlog of pictures and working on them in Photoshop. I don't know that this venture will lead to any financial gains. I don't feel like my photography skills are good enough to make a career out of, but it is at least something that brings me joy. Maybe I'll revive my Exploring Oregon blog. I have thought about writing some informational books using my photos. Some of my ideas might have to wait until covid restrictions have lessened and travel is more of an option.
The next pursuit I want to continue is my webcomic. I started my webcomic in 2015 and posted to it regularly until I started working in child care, and no longer had the energy or time to work on it. I tried to do a revival of my comic at the start of the pandemic when I was laid off, but severe depression set in, and I couldn't find the energy or motivation to continue it. I owe it to my patrons to continue working on it. I don't have many, and they don't provide me with much money, other than enough to keep the website going. For those who haven't read it, you can find it at www.geekswillruletheworld.com.
Finally, the last venture I have in mind is one that I can't pursue until after covid restrictions have lifted. Before covid happened, I used to regularly attend karaoke at the bars, and I really loved it. I think that I would really enjoy being a karaoke jockey and running shows for people. However, this venture will require quite a financial investment to break into, not to mention that I don't really know how to learn the skills I need to choose and use the karaoke equipment that I need to be successful. Not to mention how difficult it is to understand copyright laws in regards to what music I am or am not allowed to play at karaoke shows. Lastly, a friend of mine does not think I can be successful at this unless I learn to drive and get a license, which in all honesty has been one of my biggest fears to starting a venture like this.
I suppose I should add this blog as one of my ventures as well. However, I'm not sure I'll ever have an audience large enough to make this worthwhile. I decided to revive this blog mostly as a way of making my voice heard. I have been censoring myself for far too long because I've been afraid of what people will think of me if I speak up, but I have bottled myself up for so long that I am angry and frustrated, and I need to let those feelings out and let them breathe. So I am taking the advice of my therapist and letting my voice be heard, and we'll see how long I decide to keep at this.
