During my birthday party thing (which took the form of a Marathon Rabbids and Rock Band evening.) I had a chance to talk to my friend Mike, and it got me to thinking about the situation that I believe many of those in my age group are in... the fact that non-entry-level positions are few and far between and that 75% of the jobs out there are service-sector based. Mike's a pig farmer, and because the value of pork is down so low, he's feeling the hurt... making very little money for doing back breaking work out in the middle of nowhere. He wants to do something else besides just work and sleep, however. He wants to pursue his passions when it comes to fish. Caring for them, catching them, learning about them, the man just likes fish... I mean... who wouldn't? Think of it... this is a design of life that has endured for MILLIONS of years. There are mountains that are YOUNGER than fins and gills. When you look at a fish, you're looking at an evolutionary adaptation that is the starting point for all bone structures existing today. Half of his house is devoted to aquariums, including some Amazonian fish that are intelligent enough to recognize where the easy food comes from. They'll gather at the end of the aquarium you're standing at.
He's faced with sticking it out in a job he quite frankly doesn't like that's unstable, and being faced with the uncertainty of starting his own business out of his home. Right now, it's a good--and bad--time to be creative and original, because the market is saturated with common-needs businesses; the big box stores have it all covered. You name it, they probably sell the most generic kind of it.
Generic.
However, there IS still a market for the specialties, if you can separate yourself from the big boys... provide a service that the others can't or won't. This is what's allowing small stores to keep going; knowledgeable staff who can help people who are new to whatever they're coming to your store for... and not just some pock-marked teenager who tells you to go to a certain department and figure it out yourself.
Manufacturing is a dead zone. Office-level jobs pay less than ever and the old guys in charge are holding onto their positions as long as possible... unless you went to college for medicine or communications, there's no 'easy way in'.
Creating something yourself and trying to make a living from it is possibly one of the most frightening things in the world to attempt. There's no sure thing. You DON'T know where your next meal is coming from, and it's a hell of a lot of work... but... in my gut, I know I would hate myself forever if I didn't TRY.
I can re-submit to Marvel later. I'm already working with Greg as an 'artist', and it's been a learning experience, showing me exactly what it'd feel like to just draw, not write. Now, it's not EXACTLY like that because Greg's a friend and we're partners in comics, and I get to play with a LOT more than I would if I was working on say, the latest train wreck issue of Nightwing. I want to give being an independent a thorough shot before I give up on my dream for the next 10 years or however long it takes me to get sick of doing a job that I'll settle for. In a way, I'm disappointed in myself, but I'm learning as I go. I may have wasted time on deluding myself into thinking I should try being an artist FIRST and THEN try to be an independent, but I DID learn something along the way about increasing my own personal standards for what is 'good enough' and what is "GOOD".
It's been rough getting myself back to work after being down and out and sick for so long, but I'm getting back into the groove, finally getting around to finishing some stuff that should have been done weeks ago.