Solar✨

SO... I wouldn't say Content Creation didn't work out for me. I've had many successes since posting this. Just trying to get by in today's economy is challenging. I was barely getting by on Content Creation and I have gotten nothing in the form of a sponsorship since going full time. All of the offers have been genAI games and chatbots which I do not want to promote or associate with. Any interesting offers sent my way I would reply to but get ghosted or declined because of my rates. The two main successes I've had: TomoLife and more recently Dressmaker has given me temporary boosts, but nothing that would still allow me to put anything away to save and prepare myself for the future, such as taxes or emergencies. I've started looking for a job around May and really started throwing my resume out there around August trying to find similar work to what I was doing. It was AWFUL. Job hunting is a nightmare right now. It was stressing me out about what to do. Fortunately, I found a place that is very close to where I live, LGBTQ+ friendly, and similar to what I did back at my old job for similar and most importantly, consistent pay. I'll still continue to create content as I'll have to maintain both to really get ahead and put away some savings but this time, I don't have to worry so much about my performance and analytics. I can return to doing Content Creation just as a fun hobby that makes a decent amount on the side. I don't have to jump through hoops for sponsors for little in return, faking enthusiasm and boosting a product I care little for. (I do have something coming out tomorrow that I am excited for, stay tuned!) One of the bigger things that I've gained from this experience is that I've become comfortable with setting my boundaries. Speaking up when I am uncomfortable and being able to process and handle conflict. It's helped with curating my community to be respectful while having fun. These last several months have made me look at what I want out of my life and how I want to live the rest of my days. I feel like I can take it much easier on myself and finally return to just doing what I really enjoy doing, which I feel like I've always been doing anyway. Just now, I can do it without the stress and dread of trying to please everyone and every viewer around me. I'm still a content creator, but more like what I used to be when I started, before everything became about engagement baiting and optimization, just someone who posts a thing she enjoys and to share with others... though I may still slip into these practices just because I'm so wrapped in these practices. Anyway, I gave it a shot. I would say as a full time CC, I failed. But these several months doing it has really cleared my mind and give me true goals that I want to strive for. In that, I feel like I succeeded. I want to send a massive thank you to my community through their donations and subscriptions keeping me afloat and the friends around me that supported me during this challenging time.