FULL TRANSPARENCY
UPDATE 6/21/19
Wow.
So, my last “weekly” update was on June 1, 2019, and I haven’t really gotten everything down packed yet. But that’s okay, and I’m happy with okay.
I’ve been achieving a lot of little goals that are building on building blocks that I am placing for myself. It’s these steps that will help me complete those monstrous future goals of mine.
I believe in being fully transparent, and I believe I usually am. So, here’s what I’ve been working on.
Goal #1: Working on the Website
I’ve been at work this entire summer trying to make dylanlepore.com the best it can possibly be for my freelance work and my brand as The Part-Time Gamer.
I’ve taken ideas an implemented them on my site from countless others while finding my own friendly “hi, how are you” neighborly voice to flow through my website. I’ve also been trying to strategically set a base price for the work I do and thinking about how much I think I’m worth … however, that doesn’t mean I won’t work for FREE. It just depends on the job (meaning: does the job provide me more value taking it for free than not taking it at all because they couldn’t pay me). If working for free not only gets my foot in the door but also in the room, I think that’s a pretty good deal.
We’re Open!
One other thing that I have recently been working on is … *DRUM ROLL PLEASE* … a merch store!
Yes, you heard it here.
You can buy The Part-Time Gamer merchandise … if you want. The store is currently in beta, but it’s live right now and open for you to browse and buy. Currently, everything is in the color white, and different colors will be added as time goes on.
When you purchase from the store, I get a share of what is bought, but I set the prices, and I have made them as low as they can get to the original cost of the company making them, in return, I get a very very small profit – like $0.50 small.
Here is the link: https://teespring.com/stores/dylan-lepore *For the full blog post, click the link in the bio or sign up for my Friday Weekly Newsletter.
UPDATE 6/1/19: Well, it’s official. I’m 21.
It has been 21 years since I’ve been born and it flew by. Isn’t that crazy how fast time flys?
One minute you’re in a field catching flyer flies, the next you are running a media business through a laptop. Mind blown!
Truth be told, I wanted to become a veterinarian due to the simple idea that I liked animals. However, that was not enough to sufficiently motivate me to choose that path. So in 2013, I finally decided to figure this crap out, and so I did.
I heard of the phrase “do what you love,” but how could I do that when so many people around me didn’t? Well, at a point in my life, I discovered a new phrase, “screw it!” So, I thought about my love of playing videogames and how I was playing them differently than others. I was never the Call of Duty, Battlefield, or Halo gamer, but a gamer-driven by story, action, characters, worlds, and great concepts, but I didn’t know how to make videogames, write a videogame, or even program one, and I certainly didn’t have an interest in programming.
I scoured the internet for possible ideas and journalism came up. I knew I could talk about videogames, but my writing was awful, and I had minimal video editing or making skills.
For full transparency, here is a review I just copied and pasted from an old Google Doc back in 2014, “Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition is better version of the ps3 game on the ps4. You play as a man or a woman looking down at them at a sky view. Destroying in zombies in your path.You have an arsenal of weapons and upgrade you can get from collecting stuff throughout the game.For the ps4 edition there’s a new mode where you can broadcast yourself and someone watching your broadcast can mess with your game, help you or not the choice is not yours.” It’s terrible, and I refuse anyone that says otherwise.
However, I have learned a lot since I took that initiative back in the Summer of 2013. I mean, I am the freaking Editor-in-Chief of a college newspaper now, so that should say something about how far I’ve come!
So with, I hope you learn how to say “screw it” and continue to pursue doing what you love. I’ll be here just making crap and being 21. 😉
UPDATE 5/24/19 - Welcome to the end of the second week of #Summer. The days seem like they're flying by ... probably because of all the endless #socialmedia feed scrolling. That stuff is honestly addictive.
I find myself sometimes getting frustrated because 2 or 4 hours have gone by and I have done nothing. However, I've gotten to learn when to just put the phone down and make or do something, and honestly, I've been pretty productive! To be fair, though, I never really use my phone when I am at a #restaurant, in the car, or at the movies. In fact, and this may scare some of you, but I turn it off as well! *OH MY GOD, WHAT IF ... WHAT IF ... WHAT IF ...* #Smartphones have only been out for about 30 years, I think we lasted pretty long without them.
Anyway, this week I've finally cleaned my room since I got back from college, including going through all my clothes, stuff, and things and selling or throwing them away. That's the main reason why the Tuesday Blog post was late, the Wednesday video was late, and the Thursday Afternoon Games Chat was late too. It's something that I just needed to get done.
I mean, when I move after I graduate from #college in 19 months I cannot take everything with me. That's just crazy, but as this is my last official Summer as a student, I'm trying to make the best of it and prepare myself for what lies ahead. Even though I graduate in December 2020, that Summer before I'll be more focused on applying for jobs and preparing myself to finally leave and continue this career I have.
So with that, I hope you find some help through my rambling and maybe a laugh or two. I'll see you guys next Friday.
Best,
Dylan Lepore
P.S. Tomorrow is my #birthday, and I'll finally be turning 21! So yeah ...
UPDATE 5/19/19: Well guys, it has been a great start to my first #Summer week. I have made three videos, two #podcasts, and four articles, plus my weekly #Instagram post.
I have also continued to update my website, write up a freelance contract, and narrow down what I do and how I do it. It's pretty cool, and I'm starting to get more and more clients to help them build something awesome!
As I've been working and working, of course, you get into a funk, which I always try shaking off by doing something outside of my box of this laptop and chair. However, I love that I get to cover #videogames, take #photos, and build websites for a living - it drives me to do more and do it better.
I had Chinese last night with the Fortune cookie stating, "No-one is ever too old to learn, but many people keep putting it off anyway." Simply put, if you want to do or make something ... just do it and do it now!
Nobody has the answers, and nobody takes the same path, the people who get to where they want to be, got there by putting in the work and not listening to the voice in the back of their head saying "what if," "we gotta wait," "now isn't the right time," or "you're not good enough." LIFE IS HARD, but you can make it easier.
Best,
Dylan Lepore
I am done for the school year, and it sure has been a long one! 😁
I have had more sleepless nights than I care to count running @the_tartan newspaper and studying for the next test, exam, quiz, what have you, and it has truly been an experience like no other. 😅
Now, with school out of the equation, at least for 3 more months, I can focus on my personal development, #writing, building up my freelance business, playing lots of #videogames, and taking out some time to finally ... you know ... SLEEP! 😴
If you'd like to follow my journey, please head on over to my link in the bio ⬆ to my website. I will be posting videos, blog posts, 📷 photos like this one, and articles I've written for other sites every single week! I'm also available for hire *WINK* *WINK*. 😉
I'm planning on killing it this #summer, and I can't wait to start.
#killingit #thebeginning
