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What It's Like To Be

From postal worker to film producer, what is it like to do what you do?

My journey as a contortionist
I went through exciting times in my childhood, times where I would push myself to extreme measures and encounter activities beyond the ordinary. Bending and twisting my body in unusual positions in a way of relieving stress but also resisting pain. By doing these extreme activities may look painful to the spectators but I don’t feel any pain at all, I feel very relaxed whenever I do any contortion moves. This made me question myself as to whether I was built different, do I have hyper flexibility, do I have a spine or bones and is this a unique superpower. I always loved the creative aspect of my body as well as wanting to explore more in what my body could handle, exceeding the limitations of my body. From fitting into tiny spaces, to compressing my body in unusual shapes. But also, entertaining the spectators. By performing, this created unexpected and overwhelming reactions towards an audience. I got a lot of reactions and praises from street performing and dance classes which I felt really proud of. I began my journey as a contortionist at a young age in Russia as a I knew that I had a hidden talent and natural flexibility. I felt I could unleash this talent and transform myself into a stronger, limber person which would benefit me both physically and mentally. Through years of intensive training, I realised that in order to achieve anything extreme as a contortionist, it requires lifetime workouts and continuously fighting against pain. It was slightly painful at the start when I practiced doing the splits. 1 week later I managed to do both front and middle splits as well as extreme over splits. I also needed to be aware of the balance in my body. Balancing out both back bending and front bending to avoid any injuries. So I also stretched my body in front bending workouts which gave a great impact on my flexibility. This goes to show that Pain is not going to stop me from accomplishing my goals, so I ignored the pain and stretched the limits my body could encounter. I started travelling through many countries including the US, UAE, Qatar, Poland, Canada and the UK where I originated and many other countries. I took on many levels of training and performances which required intense training. From gymnastics and acrobatics, to Aerial arts and circus performance. Travelling in many countries was a joy as I began to experience different cultures and meeting new people. This was an incredible experience for me as I danced in the air and doing tricks upside down. I was most excited about aerial hoop and aerial silks dancing because of the way I can spin high in the sky while doing crazy flips and tricks. For me, the aerial silks was challenging because of the way I spun and dropped from a high distance and speed was nerve racking, but it was amusing to experience. I loved this whole experience and I intend to carry on performing aerial arts by expanding on my abilities. This made me think that life is better upside down. What I have learnt so far in this journey is that it’s never too late to accomplish your dreams, as long to commit to your goals and take small steps at a time. In addition, it’s mainly based on the amount of effort you put into a certain task so you need to keep pushing yourself to achieve what you want. It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. Now, I am still continuing to stretch and strengthen my body and becoming an extreme contortionist. I find that bending and twisting my body helps me keep motivated and stronger in life, by using stress and pain as a motif to fight against it.
By Anhar ali5 years ago in Journal
Easy Ways to Earn Money as an Artist Online
Art is subjective. There are many ways in which one can make money from it, depending entirely on the person, and the market to which they are catering. Art can range from portraits, music, to sculptures, and everything in between. One cannot define art, nor can one say one piece of art is better than another. We will do our best on this page, however, to explain a few ways in which one could earn money online as an artist, through a number of different styles and techniques.
By George Swagger5 years ago in Journal
Red hot iron: Perspectives of a young blacksmith
My name is Magnus Budge, Of England. I left school at 16, Trained at college as a blacksmith and now I am employed as a Blacksmith near York. Red hot Iron is going to likely be a weekly "blog" about a certain subject - Although this week has two articles; the introduction (This article) and one on Materials in a modern blacksmith's workshop (coming later this weekend).
By Magnus Budge5 years ago in Journal
Being a Deaf/HOH Entrepreneur
How it began: Dec. 2011, I had just graduated UT-Arlington with my MBA, and realized I had zero prospects for employment. Twelve job applications and zero call backs later, I began to panic. As I faked happiness during my graduation ceremony and dinner, my anxiety was at an all-time high, but I didn’t want anyone to know how stressed I truly was. For that reason, when my college friend congratulated me and told me about an internship at her job, I jumped at the opportunity (not caring if it was an unpaid one).
By M'chelle Nicole5 years ago in Journal
An Actor’s Year-Long Journal: Becoming Myself Again
Where do I begin. Well, my name is Michael and I’m in my mid-thirties, that’s a start. I work at a job where I thought I’d only work for 2 to 3 years max, build up my money and savings, then move on to become a full time working actor in New York. Instead, I’m not in New York. I’m still living in my mom’s house right after college. I’m still at the same job, where I recently celebrated my tenth year. Ugh. Year after year, a question in my head gets louder, “What the heck are you doing?” To tell you the truth, I honestly don’t know. What I do know is, every time I make a plan for a better year, I manage to put it off for the next. My procrastination is holding me back and I now know that it needs to stop. It’s finally time to move forward.
By Michael Baylon5 years ago in Journal
Police Scotland Youth Volunteers
Ever since I was about 12 years old, I wanted to become a Police Officer. Growing up with Detective and crime shows such as Rizzoli and Isles, Grimm, Hawaii Five-0, Sherlock, NCIS, Rookie Blue and many more, I admired them and wanted to be one of them.
By J Carter5 years ago in Journal
Becoming a Minority.
It was never my intention to make myself a minority. I always had a chip on my shoulder about my upbringing - as does any teenager who gives up their weekends for their parent’s business – but it never drove me to intentionally seek uncommon pathways. Yet, growing up in business is the very reason I plunged head-first into a pathway without considering the cultural and social peculiarity of my decision. I believed I was capable, that was all the consideration I needed to push off from the start line. This left me running a race without knowing where the finish line was or what I wanted it to look like.
By Ashley Beeby5 years ago in Journal
Starting A Non Profit
I started my nonprofit in 2017 with ambition, but I had no idea I needed much more than that, and still do, to keep the dream alive.
By Jaylynn Smith5 years ago in Journal
Grocery Store Manners
I am sorry to report the state of humanity is swiftly declining. I work in grocery retail and have seen my fair share of the lowest of low. Tons of people everyday try to go above and beyond to create situations so that they can make outlandish complaints just to get a few items for free. The dishonesty and slimy lengths people will go through to lie cheat and steel has me absolutely disgusted.
By Casey Ann Patterson5 years ago in Journal
Dancer at a Desk
The most painful oxymoron if there ever was one. A mover by nature, confined to a ninety degree, mid level, squat-like position. Ankles that remain in dorsiflexion. Lower lumbar pain creeping it’s way into existence day in and day out.
By Cheryl Lyons5 years ago in Journal
Beginnings in I.T.
As the first post of this blog, I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on where/how I began my career. When talking to people who are new to the world of computers (and who are hoping to land a job), I like to share my story of how my career began. I don’t do this for bragging rights or to make them envious of me. Rather it’s so that they may find some inspiration in what I have to say and be able to see that anything is possible once you put your mind to it.
By Mike Wolfe5 years ago in Journal
Support A Small Business
Christmas is right around the corner and a lot of people like to start shopping early. Now, where are you going to buy your presents? Walmart, Target, A Local Shop, Online? Well wherever you are shopping, just remember one thing, small businesses everywhere are dying. Being a small business owner, it is a hard world with all of the bigger businesses and their convenience.
By Nikki Pond5 years ago in Journal