Pinwheel began about four years ago. I had spent the majority of my twenties trying to fit in to careers that weren't right for me. My activist background was looking for ways to make the world a better place. I tried psychology and health care because I was interested in people and cared about their stories. I appreciated the work being done in these fields, but something wasn't clicking.
The last job I had before this one was in the health care department of the provincial government. I met some incredible people working there. As the government changed and layoffs were upon us, many people took this as an opportunity for an exciting change, but many many people felt hopeless and angry. I was shocked at how many people were suddenly clinging to the jobs they had been complaining about for years, fearing that there was simply nothing else out there. I was lucky; no house, no kids, and ambivalence about my chosen field. It was the perfect time to take a risk. And I figured if I could be just one more person in the world who liked their life, who liked their job, more people would feel it was possible. So I started Pinwheel. It was exciting and terrifying. I had no idea if it would work. But I figured the world is big, even if only 1 in 1000 people liked it and everyone else hated it, that was more than enough. All I had to do was find those 1 in 1000. So for the first little while I focused on Pinwheel. Then it became clear that there were other art projects I wanted to get rolling with, so I eventually got started on that too (www.amyrubin.ca). I'd be lying if I said it was an instant solid income, or that it wasn't a ton of work. But there's not the teeniest little part of me that would trade it. |
© Amy Rubin 2007