Results and Reflection
Still waiting for the results of my application. It should be out this week or next.
I can't wait to get a break from work, that is if I am allowed to go for full time studies. However, the thought of going back to school is quite daunting. I always thought it was much more stressful in University than my current job.
Im not sure if I will enjoy the course, but I definitely need a break from work. Daily assignments has become mundane and Im afraid it will be the start of decline in the quality of my work and the gradual erosion of my passion for photojournalism. I remember messaging my wife during my trip to China 2 months ago, when I have to interview, shoot and write for a story an NGO. I told her that I finally felt like a true photojournalist. I felt truly alive to be doing some "real" work.
An American photographer whom I got to know online went through the same path as I did. He was with a newspaper for 4 years and left to do free-lance work in Vietnam. It was a plunge he took after seeing the his own downfall as a photojournalist once he reached the 4th year. They have to go look for news pictures once in a while to fill up the pages like we do over here, and he realised that he kept going to the same place in the comfort of his car. And disagreements with editors and people who think they know what readers want to see, resulted in his departure from a comfortable news job.
That sounds so similar to my situation. I have given up trying to fight the system. Its not up to me to save the print media, especially the one I work for. One of my superiors at work once said that our paper will never close down, because we are the only mainstream chinese newspaper in Singapore. I was shocked to hear that, and I told myself never to fall into this "switch off" mode.
I need to feel alive everyday at work, that is why I left the engineering job. It certainly helps to work with and around people that feels the same. How much longer can I keep going? I probably can get the job done and get my paycheck every month. But Its a comfort zone which I need to pull myself out of.
I can't wait to get a break from work, that is if I am allowed to go for full time studies. However, the thought of going back to school is quite daunting. I always thought it was much more stressful in University than my current job.
Im not sure if I will enjoy the course, but I definitely need a break from work. Daily assignments has become mundane and Im afraid it will be the start of decline in the quality of my work and the gradual erosion of my passion for photojournalism. I remember messaging my wife during my trip to China 2 months ago, when I have to interview, shoot and write for a story an NGO. I told her that I finally felt like a true photojournalist. I felt truly alive to be doing some "real" work.
An American photographer whom I got to know online went through the same path as I did. He was with a newspaper for 4 years and left to do free-lance work in Vietnam. It was a plunge he took after seeing the his own downfall as a photojournalist once he reached the 4th year. They have to go look for news pictures once in a while to fill up the pages like we do over here, and he realised that he kept going to the same place in the comfort of his car. And disagreements with editors and people who think they know what readers want to see, resulted in his departure from a comfortable news job.
That sounds so similar to my situation. I have given up trying to fight the system. Its not up to me to save the print media, especially the one I work for. One of my superiors at work once said that our paper will never close down, because we are the only mainstream chinese newspaper in Singapore. I was shocked to hear that, and I told myself never to fall into this "switch off" mode.
I need to feel alive everyday at work, that is why I left the engineering job. It certainly helps to work with and around people that feels the same. How much longer can I keep going? I probably can get the job done and get my paycheck every month. But Its a comfort zone which I need to pull myself out of.
posted by Kwang Peng at 8:31 AM
1 comments
