The Rejection Pile.

Welcome to the Rejection Pile! Every artist has a path forward, whether that is to an end they desire or not, and the only way forward is through. Many artists choose to only count their wins, but I have always felt that waiting for your wins is too large of a bite to take for most people, myself included. While I recognize that it may not be a popular view, I have found that the greatest successes only come after great hardship and a lot of time spent wringing the juice out of lemons. The reward for your efforts may be refreshing lemonade, a lemon vodka twist, or lemon blueberry waffles, but it doesn’t really matter. You only get there after the hard work. And so here I am, documenting the work.

I recognize that some will use this view as an excuse for a rejection; indeed, I have been told multiple times in my life that my view of rejection as only a speedbump on the path to success is why they choose to reject my efforts, usually without actionable feedback that I could use in order to make future efforts better. I have been told this after job interviews. I was told this after my first driving test. The people who say this seem to have a misguided view that through their rejection of me they are taking part in a game. It is often said with a rolled eye, an air of dismissiveness, or a half-jesting tone. They do not take my efforts seriously.

That’s fine. If that’s the attitude they want to take, I can’t stop them and wouldn’t if I could. Their admission shows that they aren’t someone I would want to work with or for, anyways. I just wish that they knew how badly it reflected on them when they did so.

I will focus on myself, my improvements, and my efforts. Each rejection is an experience point earned, and I will either succeed or I will fail, but either way I will have gone through the wringer.

I look forward to having you along for the ride. Thanks so much for joining me!