I really have no idea how to take compliments about my video work.
I believe that we are all fragile souls at the core no matter how thick the walls are that we put around our true selves. I've got plenty of walls, and most are thick. But when someone tells me that I'm good at what I do, sometimes it cuts right to that fragile part of my soul and makes me want to break down and cry. If that ever happened, through my tears I would just say "THANK YOU!" It means so much to me to hear that. I never expect compliments for my work and often times they catch me off guard. My journey just to receive a meaningful compliment has been so long. Most of the time I had no idea what I wanted to do or even how to get there. It all started as a hobby by making videos for fun with my friends for fun and posting them to youtube. I went to community college, not film school. I worked at a camp by myself for 3 years with cheap cameras and 8 year old iMacs. I didn't know what a c-stand was until about 2 years ago. Basically I did almost nothing before I moved to Lincoln that validated me in my work, but I kept going after it because some people believed in me. When it comes down to it, I'm just a guy who loves making videos and wants to keep getting better. The drive I have to be better has only grown as I've improved. It's insatiable. My journey is really just beginning.
Sometimes I have a hard time believing the compliments, because I really struggle to look at my own work objectively. But if it's true and I possess an ounce of talent, I can only credit the God who gave me the talent and is helping me improve. Really, it has nothing to do with me. Don't tell me I'm awesome, because I'm not. Tell God He's awesome. My goal is simply to make the best videos I can with the talent God has given me. It's unreasonable to believe that I can make an awesome video every single time. I'm going fail. As validating as compliments can seem, my only true validation is found in knowing that I'm only able to create because of my Creator. My work is for His glory, not my own.
