4 ms·
I'm 19 and in the process of looking for exceptional talents my age to work with. As I go through people, I find that publicity is never a real indicator of som
by unalone 17y ago
I'm 19 and in the process of looking for exceptional talents my age to work with. As I go through people, I find that publicity is never a real indicator of somebody's success. Most people who're really good at what they do never learn to promote themselves; a lot of mediocre people develop the skills and take advantage of media laziness to get mentions.
I've never liked people that pull age. I remember when I was thirteen pretending to be in high school because I thought that high school was a big age on the Internet; within a year I'd started to lie about being a college student because I didn't want to be treated differently than the people I talked to. As a result, when I see people whose web pages brand themselves as HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT first and CEO second and don't list any real accomplishments, I feel a sort of sneer, because I know there're just as many people that age who're quietly learning to do things till they become prodigies at the age of 25.
It is fun, though, when somebody discovers your age and fawns over you like you're some little darling prodigy. Not a wholesome fun, more like a smirking "You care more about my age than what I've done?" Some people do it because they think it's polite, but other people sincerely think that young people must be the smartest people on the planet and young people that know better laugh.
- zaidf 17y agoMakes sense. Though as I said in an earlier post, there are some folks that are young, can talk a great story, get a book contract and end up making a decent $ from their writing. I don't see much wrong with that approach though I know some have a problem with that. Just like you, I did not tell my age to clients when I was 14-15. But that was more out of fear. Ones that found out before giving me the project(via sites like rentacoder/elance) would never pick me. So I quit sharing my age until later into the project once I'd knocked their socks off. Ironically, I was able to provide a better service to clients back then than I can today. Today I care wayyy more about money/ROI. Back then I only cared about the actual work. Money was almost zero motivation.
- unalone 17y agoAs a writer myself, I always thought that was kind of an ass-backwards approach. Writing a story about being young is the cheapest and easiest story to write. So props to the people who manage it, but I don't necessarily see that as a success. I find, funnily enough, that the people who succeed the most past being young are the people who find passion in what they do at an early age. So embrace what you love! That's what you'll find it easiest to grow at.