On being a multi-hyphenate creator
On being a multi-hyphenate creator - 'I am a mélange of many things' - Athena Calderone.
'Stay in your lane!' - I'm sure many of you have this idiom frequented in schools, the workplace, and amongst family. But what exactly does it mean to 'stay in your lane.? Well, according to trusty google, to stay in one's lane means 'To stick with what you know and what you're good at.' While I agree with this warning to some extent, I also take issue with society instructing us to 'stick to one thing' for we are all multi-faceted beings with a plethora of like, interests and hobbies. Furthermore, what we love we may not necessarily be the best at - but should that stop us from pursuing it anyway? Absolutely not, because there is always room for improvement, growth, and expansion. Imagine if, as babies, when we fell over multiple times in the process of trying to stand and walk, we said - "hmm, I'm not good at this; I think I'll just crawl for the rest of my life." There is always space to improve if we merely allow ourselves to perfect our dexterity.
Recently, through the recommendation of a colleague, I came across the fantastic website of Athena Calderone as a self-proclaimed multi-hyphenate creator. This phrase stuck a cord with me because it resonated with me and how I've been feeling about my creative pursuits for an interminable period of time. On being a muti-hyphenate - Athena accurately describes herself as the following: 'an interior designer, author, culinary and visual storyteller, and creative director.'
She articulately explains, 'For years, I was told to find my lane or stick to one food or design—but now I realize that it's at the intersection of these many skill sets and career paths where I feel the most centered.' Reading this sentence made me realise something vital - that the intersectionality of our hobbies, creative pursuits, and talents is the very culmination of what makes our abilities unique. Let me expand - my creative pursuits include photography, cooking, drawing, writing, and poetry; hence I'm multi-faceted. As Athena veraciously put it, I am a multi-hyphenate creator - and if you have more than one creative pursuit, so are you.
So to go against popular advice - don't stay in you're lane, zig, zag in and out of the line until you find the things that set your creative pursuits into hot pursuit. And take a breath in, knowing you do not have to be the best at that pursuit naturally. Still, you do have to love it and enjoy it enough to pursue it while, just like you were as a baby, learning to walk, you fall over multiple times until you stand firmly in that passion and create your unique skill set.
As Athena Calderone eloquently describes the process: "As soon as I found confidence around being more than one thing, my community and my business started to grow. And since launching my podcast "More Than One Thing" around that concept, I realize I'm not alone on this multi-hyphenate journey either."