Recently, for four years, I worked as a full time freelance illustrator and artist. It was a rollercoaster of a ride, with the ebbs and flows of big and little jobs rolling in, mediated with a whiskey or two at the quieter times. But I felt proud of myself for doing what I always felt I was meant to do. For the first time, my profession and identity were connected like ET to an index finger. It was awesome.

However, cut to the pandemic, to the massive increase in cost of living, to my business not being financially sustainable anymore and to needing a bit more whiskey. Also cut to me getting a job running my local library four days a week in my small country town. This job – while wildly different to my creative pursuits – has given me the stability to have any creativity at all. Since making the shift, this is what I’ve learned.