A Freelancer’s Dream
By: Novrisa Wulan.
Tags: Work, Freelancers

I never had guessed I want to be a freelancer when I grow up. All I sure of was, I’m going to be a writer. Or an author. Growing up after college, I eventually know that there is a title called Content Writer, Copywriter, and the like out there. That’s what I’ve become now.

I’ve been working as a Content Writer on SEO project and a Copywriter on some social media project. I worked at a digital marketing agency for 2 years and 8 months. I handled mostly the article generation. Because that’s what I’m aiming for in a career--to write in longer form. Of that term, 'write’, seems so broad and I haven’t figured which kinds of writing I’ve 'visioned' for in my life, for whom I write, for what I dedicate my writing life. I’ve no ideas yet.



However, I couldn’t continue my journey in that agency because of my condition. I’ve never been diagnosed to any personality disorders, but I’d get easily stressed around new people especially the ones that are too loud, too fussy, too dominate, or too 'extroverted’. I would shy away from most of them. I don’t know why. I’m scared of speaking up my mind out loud. I don’t know what condition this is.

My friends said, and they agree unanimously, that I do have writing talents. I like writing fictional stories. I produced horror and thriller stories. Psychological thriller always fascinates me so I tried to write of that genre. Well, I wrote romance, comedy, teenlit stuff. But it’s just some blitz in my teenage life. I changed soon when I start learning about psychology.

Now I’m 32. I’ll hit 33 this year, November. The birth of social media has lead me to retrospection now and then. In comparison to my peers--college peers especially, I may be the 'latest' to develop a career. Most of them have been working for more than 5 years, maybe 10 years. Me? I graduated in 2013 because I took second college. I worked since 2014. Most of my peers graduated in 2009-2010. I’m 3-4 years behind.

I’m not sorry I’m behind. I’m an 'everything-happens-for-a-reason' type of person. I let go of regrets. Why, my life might’ve changed if I took the same path as them, but I don’t know that, right? I befriends with people who’s 3-5 years younger than me, but I manage to fit in their lifestyle. After all, not much has changed within 3-5 years.

While some people from my generation have been managers, teachers, and executives, I managed to be a freelancer. I have a vague vision of working in an office. As I told you, I want to be a writer. It becomes clearer to me now, that I don’t want to be someone who works behind the desk for other people’s business. I want to be an author, like Stephen King the author.

I’ve imagined how I make ends meet in my retirement: a typewriter, a cuppa coffee, and mind full of vivid imagination. Maybe I’ll be going from one café to another, sitting on an armchair in a porch looking through natural views from atop. That’s how I imagine a mature life. Mapan (established), or so I thought.

Reality bites hard though. I made USD428.86 last year (say 1 USD=16,337 rupiah) from freelance projects only with a 7-inch phablet and a Bluetooth keyboard. I survive my job that way. I’m making a living. But I have made half of my imagination to life: writing in bed, a cuppa coffee, and visual views from the tv; Netflix and YouTube.