I'm going through a weird time at the moment. It's pretty dark and no fun, but I've been through similar times before and know they're not permanent. So instead of leaning into despair, I'm down to lean into hope this morning.
There's a young gun here in OKC named Colten Sikes. He's a filmmaker I'd met a few years ago and kept following from a distance. This past weekend he'd posted about his recent Emmy win for a project he'd done with Scissortail Media for the Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre at the University of Oklahoma.
One: it's a great piece. I dug the story, the edit, the sound design; the footage was fantastic. Freakin' kudos. Two: more than anything what caught my attention was the openness Colten expressed in being hesitant to even share how excited he was about his success.
"I felt guilty for wanting to celebrate or receive praise." - Colten Sikes
Holy eff that's incredibly relatable. Not sure if you and I live in the same world, but we're in this position where you're only good as your last thing. You're not important unless you're working. You're not important unless you're putting out greatness. It goes completely against reality, especially in our current circumstances. Being on the receiving end of someone else's self-praise is exhausting and never a replacement for good and great work. We're drowning in self-promotion, so humility is a breath of fresh air. Thx dude.
Here's a few other bright spots from this week:
- Sucks to hear about Chadwick Boseman passing this past week, but crazy thankful for example he'd set. Of all the praise and admiration laid out the last few days, this piece of him Surprising Black Panther Fans made me cry (the most).
- Vivid Botanics and Butterflies Encircle Photographer Fares Micue in Striking Self-Portraits
- FKA twigs - sad day