Going Freelance
Posted by fanaticalteacher on January 4, 2007
Fanatical Teacher has been a Freelance Writer/Researcher for about nine months now. And frankly, he doesn’t have much to show for it at all in terms of financial gain yet. In fact, it wiped out the savings of Fanatical Teacher last year, as clients were not paying on time. But overall, Fanatical Teacher still had one of the best years of his life. Last year was a year of revelation.
Most people think that freelancers have a good life. The Teacher discovered that most people have this notion that freelancers could wake up at any time that they want, and that the schedule that they have depends totally on what they want to do. Although there is truth to that statement, it was discovered by Fanatical Teacher that this is not the entire picture.
Yes, it is true that there is freedom in terms of schedules. The liberty of waking up at one’s pace and not because one has to rush towards the nearest MRT to go to one’s place of work is exhilirating. Yet freelancing is not for the weak of heart either. It involves a greater deal of discipline because all aspects of discipline is determined by oneself. For instance, almost all freelancers I know fret about how they would get through the day, and how they could come up with other projects in order to provide for themselves and their families. Yes, famililes are involved in this too especially if the freelancer happens to be married. Freelancing in the true sense of the word is being a businessman and establishing one’s business.
Fanatical Teacher has great ambitions in life, but behind all the smiles that one can see in this blog, Fanatical Teacher is actually going through birth pains in his quest to establish himself as a reputable freelancer writer/researcher. And it has already been pointed out by Enigma and Dark Materials that since I keep mentioning that I am a writer/researcher in the blog, then it should be done with utmost intergrity with the use of the English language.
Sometimes, Fanatical Teacher thinks about becoming a regular employee again. But then, the past year has taught him that he can do much more on his own. He discovered that he can be disciplined in how he manages his time. He also found out that he needs to be more cautious and prudent with the way he handles his finances. Fanatical Teacher also dreams of working abroad, primarily because he wants to see the world and also so that he could tell his own tale when he comes back to the Philippines. Is it really worth it to become an OFW? Fanatical Teacher has heard enough stories that could paint a picture of a thousand frowns, or echo a million murmurs in the dark that symbolizes the pain and trauma that most OFWs suffer without ever being able to share it to their loved ones.
But for now, Fanatical Teacher will keep doing what he does best. Teaching, writing and doing research work. May this year prove to be fruitful and not just a challenging one for the heart and soul……
nastypen said
Speaking about yourself in the third person? How very Julius Ceasar! hahahahah!
Well, why must you be affected by what others have to say about your writing skills et al.?
Charcter is not defined by your expertise in defining what a gerundial phrase is!
People who nitpick just have too much time in their hands. Sure, you are a teacher but it is not the responsibility of the teacher to be correct all the time.
I had one who said “We have representatives going to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore!” Sure, we were laughing but that does not diminish the point that the teacher has much to impart to us. So syntax errors notwithstanding, teaching is not just information transference but the ability to guide and help students to that spark of inspirations and decisions in life.
Perhaps the nitpickers can just work for CNN as proofreaders which onced had a scrolling headline with the word “Phillipines.” Now, that is something else. That is a news organization. you, fanatical teacher, are just a blogger. Compare and contrast the levels of language and information responsibilities between the two, if you please.
Dark Materials said
Thank you, FT, for taking my advice to heart. I trust that you took my advice well and from hereon would try to write better and more concise pieces befitting your stature, reputation and education.
Like I said before, your lapses would have been totally excusable had you been an average Joe with plenty of time in your hands. It’s just your luck that you happen to be an English teacher (not a Geography teacher and certainly not an Home Economics teacher) and a technical writer (in English and not in Elvish or some other archaic tongue), so (I repeat) nothing less is expected of you.
On blogging, it would have been totally all right to commit mistakes left and right had you kept your thoughts under lock and key, but the cyberspace, unfortunately, is public domain. Whether we like it or not, our thoughts (and all nuggets of wisdom or inanities found in them) would be etched forever out there for the entire world to read through and, God forbid, laugh at.
I’m glad you’ve made a conscious effort since Day 1 not to add a nanobyte of trash to the humongous senselessness that’s already floating out there in cyberspace. My main beef isn’t about your topics or your style, but how you put them across (knowing fully well that the origin of such thoughts is a respected English teacher and an up-and-coming writer).
Whenever in doubt, think of this blog as your calling card to the world. I’m sure you want its entries to be as impeccable and as orderly as the ones you submit to your bosses/clients. You would do yourself a big favor not only in the immediate future, but for generations to come. When you look back at your blog, say, 40 years from now, instead of cringing at your mistakes, you’d be the first to say to yourself without batting an eyelash that “I did a helluva good job!” Wouldn’t that be great?
Finally, a thought to leave you with: In a world sugar-coated with lies and half-truths, which group of people and their opinions would you rather value: those who say what you want to hear or those who say what you ought to hear?
You ponder…