We recently connected with Yashira Ponce and have shared our conversation below.

Yashira, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I’ve thought about this a lot, especially in my twenties. As an independent filmmaker I’ve had all sorts of jobs, some that align better with my creative skills and some that are not creative at all.

One thing I’ve learned about myself, for better or for worse, is that I have very little tolerance for doing something I don’t want to do. The downside of this is that it can be difficult to maintain a “regular job” since in every job there’s an element of doing something you don’t really care for. The upside is that I have accepted that “regular jobs” aren’t for me. That realization is helping me live in a more authentic way now.

I came to this conclusion while in my final year of grad school, after working several film development internships and securing a steady office job within the film industry. I realized that when an office role, or a 9-5 job is non-creative then that can be personally challenging. Without a creative aspect, these jobs feel limiting and draining because I’m not using all the writing, filmmaking, creative and leadership skills I’ve developed.

A regular job would certainly make life simpler and more organized, providing me with more day to day stability, but I don’t think it would make it easier or better. The artist’s path is one that is project or gig-based and that means there’s a lot of uncertainty and potential chaos. At any given time I’m juggling three to four projects and finding good work-life balance within that can be difficult.

In the future, at a different stage of my life, I might feel differently, but for the time being, my priorities are to use the skills I’ve worked so hard to develop, and to live as authentically as I can.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m an independent film writer and director originally from Honduras and currently based in Los Angeles.

The journey from Honduras to L.A. was a long one. Several years ago, I came to the U.S. to study film at Santa Fe University of Art and Design. I was an exchange student at first, then I was able to get a scholarship and transfer to full-time. Recently, I completed my master’s degree in film production at Loyola Marymount University. Now I work as a filmmaking mentor for Latino Film Institute while juggling several different projects.

Some of these projects include establishing a production company with three other amazing Latina filmmakers, a festival run beginning in March for the thesis film I completed while at LMU, and the completion of a fantasy/romance novel which I hope to finish in the next couple of months.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In the film industry there’s this concept that you should pursue every job, all career opportunities, attend as many networking events as you can, always post on social media to appear relevant, keep your phone on at all times, and always be in the hustle.

I’ve learned that, for myself, not only is that lifestyle inauthentic and a waste of time but it can also lead to burnout. I had the hustle mentality while in grad school and was seriously burned out afterwards.

I think it’s quite sad that this mentality is in the industry. I know from research that about 90% of people in the industry suffer from mental health issues compared to about 65% of the general population. I think that the hustle mentality contributes a lot to that.

Now I’m trying to only pursue career opportunities that I would actually enjoy doing and that align with my values. Recently, I’ve passed on a couple of things that would’ve looked great on paper or on social media. But I realized I didn’t actually want to do them because of the time commitment and because it would throw me off of my work-life balance.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think that someone in a non-creative role might measure success in a different way than a creative person. I measure it in all the regular ways society measures it, such as educational accomplishments, financial stability, home ownership, social life, etc. But then there are other markers from my role as a creative person that are just as important to me, such as my ability to express my creativity, earn my keep through a creative role, work on something I love, and having good mental health.

For example, I started working on a script for a TV show with my husband about seven years ago. We wrote it, then we set it down because something just wasn’t clicking about it. For seven years that story was just simmering in the back of my head and I had no idea what to do with it. Finally, last August, after living more, experiencing more, and developing as a writer, that story finally clicked, and it became the fantasy/romance novel I’m writing now. I would consider that a big success. Someone else might not see that as a success because it doesn’t fit a traditional view of what success is but it’s huge to me as a symbol of my learning and growth as a writer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yashiraponce.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yashiraponce/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashira-ponce/

Image Credits

Alex Alvarado
Alexandra Damiani