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Dreams Don’t Pay. Reality Costs.
I took a shot at my creative dream job. That dream soon got crushed.
It’s been 2.5 months since I started working full-time for a non-profit. In two weeks, I’ll unlock the holy grail: complementary health benefits. My employer doesn’t offer equal contributions to my retirement plan, and my pay is slightly below average for my profile. But I’m still satisfied — because I couldn’t find better and because this was the least soul-crushing option after I decided to give up my dream of becoming a successful screenwriter.
In 2024, I went all in on my dream. I attended networking events in the film industry, joined Facebook groups for screenwriters, polished my story one more time, joined IMDb, contacted agents, and so on. The results? Zero.
The only email I got was to tell me I hadn’t uploaded my script properly and needed to redo the process — which I did. What came next? Crickets. Not a single reply to say my script was genius or garbage.
By the end of the year, I was disheartened and broke. I had no choice but to accept failure and return to the 9-to-5 grind.
Technically, I did have a choice. I could have been more persistent. I could have contacted more agents, reached out directly to directors, or entered my screenplay into contests. But I also…
