This article is the first installment of our "Tongal Creator Love Letters" series. For Valentine's Day, Tongal Creators are getting candid about their relationship with their craft and the relationships that enhance their craft. This series addresses how Creators fell in and out of love with the work they do, who or what keeps them motivated, and who truly understands them as an artist.
Happy Valentine's Day, Tongal Community!
Love is in the air, so let's celebrate the love that stands the test of time - friendships! With hearts a-flutter, it's the perfect time to honor the greatest love of all bonds of our chosen family, our ride or dies, the good old pals, our friends!
Our friends can be the backbones to our mental and emotional sanity as creators, along with being the best contacts for jobs. Working full time in video production and as a freelance content creator, I know firsthand how important it is to have a solid support system in this fast-paced industry. And what better support system is there than a group of amazing friends? This Valentine’s Day, I want to take a moment to celebrate the people who make our lives brighter and help make our creative dreams a reality- our friends!
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Having friends in the industry is vital for you personally and career wise. They understand the highs and lows of our chosen path and stand by our side in triumph and in failure- both of which should be celebrated. They offer a unique perspective and can be a source of inspiration, motivation, and the best sources of collaboration. Whether it’s bouncing ideas off for our web series or simply grabbing a bite after a long day on set, having friends brings joy and fulfillment to our creative work and life.
But let's be real, maintaining friendships can be challenging when we’re constantly chasing jobs as freelancers or making time for personal projects after work. That's why it's important to prioritize time with friends, just as much as finding brands to work with. This could mean scheduling regular catch-ups phone calls, joining Zoom creative co-working sessions, attending industry events together, or simply sending each other relatable filmmakers memes. Trust me, the benefits of a strong friendship far outweigh the time it may take from work or chasing our dreams.
Life-long Friends
And don’t forget to celebrate all the shapes and sizes of friends. I've got my lifelong friends who knew me before I got into the chaos of creative work and keep me grounded to myself. Although these friends may not relate to all the changes going on in your life and may look at you funny every time you try to explain what you do for work, they still hold an important part in our lives and our hearts. Commemorate these long-term friends with annual get-togethers or weekend trips together! Maybe these aren’t the friends you tell all your meal prep drama too, but you support each other through life’s biggest milestones- like making your childhood hobby into your dream career.
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Work Friends
Then there’s our work friends who know the struggle is real from the moment we log into our email or make our way to set. Whether your creativity is your main job, or you work outside of your field to help pay the creative bills, our coworkers see use at our most stressed and chaotic times in our lives. In fact, as we age we tend to spend more hours with our coworkers than our personal friends and even our partners! So make every excuse to befriend some like minded coworkers like paying for a work lunch, inviting everyone for a bar/restaurant crawl, or a hilarious combination of SFW emojis at the end of a stressful email chain.
Fun Friends
Let’s not forget our hobby, sports, and going out friends who share our passions outside of our work! With these friends, we make lasting memories and reset when we get too deep into the game of life. Never take fun with friends for granted, because these friends can be there for the highs of winning awards and distract us through a period of rejection/lost jobs. Treat these friends to a fun night out or send a TikTok trend that you just HAVE to recreate together in the group chat!
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Friends We Leave Behind
Though it’s hard to say goodbye, even friends who we leave behind hold valuable insights into ourselves. The differences that separate us teach valuable life lessons and provide a different perspective into our relationships. Though you may not reach out directly to these ex-friends, taking time to reflect and honor the good times together is a way to show love for your life that will only help us grow as people.
No matter the type, all of our friends leave a lasting impact on our lives, making us who we are today.
My Friends
So, on this Valentine's Day, I want to encourage the Tongal community to celebrate the love between friends. Reach out to you BFFs and show them some love. Surprise them with a "thinking of you" text, a gift card to their favorite lunch spot, or just give them a loving hug. You could even throw a self love party like I did with my friends this past weekend! We crafted vision boards, chatted about our creative lives, and I even built a small “tunnel of love” when my friends go to pick floating hearts in a walkway with hand written affirmations. At the end of the day, friends are the ones who will always have you back.
Thanks for taking the time to read this quite literal love letter to my friends. I hope you'll spread the love and make this Valentine's Day a memorable one for all of your BFFs too. And as always, happy creating!
Don't you love a bonus? Here's a V-Day card to share with the Creators you care about most!
(#MadeOnTongal by Creator Bethany Borg)
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Note From Tongal: This blog is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Tongal. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here!
