Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
I am a really lucky person. As a young child, my parents hauled my brother and I through airports, mountains, resorts, unknown cities and through backwood forests whenever they had a chance. It’s a rare gift, because it makes you unafraid of the world. Too often, I meet people who only discovered their wanderlust after making their way overseas during a study abroad trip in college. For me, studying abroad was no big thing - I was a veteran of being in unusual places by my twenties.
Earlier this month, I was reminded of my great fortune when my two dear friends joined me on an adventure to Las Coloradas, Mexico. I didn’t think twice about renting a car in Mexico. Or driving three hours to a remote part of the country. Or using my rusty Spanish to figure out if it was a safe region or not. My friends didn’t even tell me until we were on our way back that they were a little bit afraid of this decision, which I appreciated. The fact is: Nothing will make you feel more confident about your decision than people keeping their reservations to themselves.
But here’s the thing: It was totally worth it.
Going to Las Colaradas is not for the faint of heart. It requires driving through some fairly remote areas of Mexico. There are entire hour stretches with no gas stations, no rest stops, no nothing. It’s a challenge, to be sure. And with that, there is very limited cell reception.
So you don’t want to get lost. But you also don’t want to miss the opportunity to see something so perfect.
And that’s what really brings me to my point. If you’re a creative, you spend so much time inundating yourself with inspiration. My first step on any new client or any new project is to start a search of visual inspiration. I scour Vimeo. I play video after video on YouTube. I scroll through photos and graphics on Pinterest for hours. I put endless visual ideas into my mind. I let them swirl around and eventually, I start creating myself.
All these visual ideas are right there, at my finger tips. That constant access to the beautiful, creative work of others is a double edged resource, though. It’s a delicate balance between being inspired and falling into feelings of inadequacy. And once those feelings of not quite being good enough or not being able to reach the bar set in, it’s next to impossible to push them out.
Until you get your damn smartphone off the grid.
And you see something so amazing that no image on Pinterest can compare to - that no video can compete with - that no script can overwhelm you. And that’s why these adventures are ultimately worth it. Not just because you get to see something amazing, but you get to FEEL the beauty of something without judgement of yourself or the person that created it. Instead, you experience beauty exactly as it is - right in front of you.
The next time you find yourself creatively exhausted, go see something beautiful. And ideally do it without any hope of cell phone service.
Natalie Dormer is on her way to being a nerd goddess. Between Game of Thrones, Elementary and Mockingjay - she’s absolutely everywhere. And, personally, I couldn’t be happier.
If you ever look in the mirror and grown audibly or in your head, be kind to yourself. And heed Dormer’s words:
Dormer and I share one trait: a crooked smile. It’s not that we try… our mouths are just asymmetrical. For a while, mean pre-teens called me Elvis in school. And no, it wasn’t meant to be kind. But the fact that she rocks it so proudly reminds me to quit hating it so damn much.
Life is too damn short.
Bon Mot I haven’t liked myself very much lately. It’s normal to go through periods of self-reflection and feel like you don’t recognize yourself. It’s important in these moments to remember we are human and loving ourselves is the greatest gift we could give our own heart. Not a manicure. Not a new dress. Not concert tickets. Just acceptance.
Recite This is a nifty website that lets you create some free printable posters with inspirational quotes. Here’s a few I whipped up. That you are free to download and post on your wall.
Sometimes we nerds get into routines. Or ruts. Or just a quicksand of sameness. When you live life around movie premiere dates, favorite show nights and Wednesdays at the comic book store - it’s easy to become bored with yourself - no matter HOW much you love your fandom.
I suggest we all try the things we see in our favorite media. Take an animation class. Go simulate flying on a ziplining tour. Go shopping for your next Cosplay outfit. It will help.
When I was New to Who, I thought the show could never live up to the hype. How could a family friendly show with weird, lanky actors be so great? Yup. I was wrong.
The thing that I’ve come to love about the show is the quality of the writing. Instead of a regular “Thankful Four” Friday post, I thought I’d do something a little different and share four examples of amazing writing on the show that is subtle, humorous, honest and heart wrenching.
