We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeremy Sawyer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeremy below.
Jeremy , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I think what challenged me most growing up helped set up my resilience. I was adopted into my family at a very young age. I was born in South Korea but grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood in a suburb outside of Boston, MA. My town was not very diverse, or at least not in the areas where I went to grade school. Being that my adopted family is primarily Caucasian, I stood out. I have 3 older siblings. Two of them are biological to my adopted parents. One is also adopted from South Korea, but she is not blood related to me. I was not around many Asians growing up. I knew three other Asians in my town. One was my adopted older sister, and the other two were also adopted from Asia (South Korea and China). Being teased about my looks/race (or confused with being a chink from China, which happened often) became the normal behavior towards me. I remember having heavy amounts of anxiety every morning because I had to get up and head to school. My bus ride had two particular bullies who were relentless about calling me a “chink. One of my bullies would occasionally resort to physical violence against me. I recall how it ate away at my self-esteem and my self-worth. For several years, I refrained from examining any form of reflection or mirror because I despised how I looked. But life doesn’t stop. I had no choice but to embrace each day as it unfolded. Face the fact that this was my reality growing up. Eventually I gained a strong group of childhood friends who stuck by me no matter what. I managed to overcome the moments of tease or bullying, leading to happier interactions with those friends. It eventually taught me that low points can happen but eventually stop (even if they aren’t gone forever), and there would be happier times ahead. From those experiences I would learn to wait things out and push ahead, which laid down the foundation for my overall resilience.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am, career-wise, labelled a digital animator/compositor. My roots are in stop-motion animation, but as the industry focus/job opportunities in New York City changed, I changed along with it. I would learn to become an After Effects character animator, puppeting characters for shows like The Wonder Pets, Little Einsteins, and Team UmiZoomi. I then moved into motion design/animation, where I worked primarily with motion graphics for Nickelodeon’s on-air promo department. I also picked up my compositing skills along the way, which came in handy for several teasers & trailers we created in our department. Eventually, the many rounds of layoffs hit our dept severely, and most of us were let go. I am now freelancing in the same industry. Currently working on a freelance job for my old company, Nickelodeon. I have been fortunate enough to be steadily working since I graduated from RISD. I feel most excited about taking on new challenges and expanding my wheelhouse of skills. It’s always nice to have confidence knowing you can tackle a project without issues. However, the most gratifying experiences I’ve had are when I was forced to learn a new skill—even if I felt as if I was fumbling/failing upward during the process. There is a level of being able to rewire your brain and thought processes when learning something new that is truly fulfilling for me. In addition to working as a digital animator/compositor, I spend most weekends in New York City, where I am a dad to my 14-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, or I am on the West Coast in Northern California, parenting my now 5-year-old daughter. I am a bi-coastal father, always. I usually fly back and forth between coasts on a weekly basis. At times I will stay put on one side of the country, but usually for 1-2 weeks at most. This is probably the most challenging and fulfilling part of my life. My early years and life challenges (resilience) have helped me through this tremendously.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
These qualities include gratitude, patience, and the ability to be truly open-minded. These didn’t arrive all at once. They showed up at different times in my creative and personal journey. However, when they did, all three enriched every aspect of my life. They also complement resilience. These three traits are great for those seeking to grow as artists and people or to last in a constantly changing field. Be open-minded to life, to paths, people, and places that you were not expecting. Be open-minded to experiences that might have a lesson or a view that challenges your beliefs. Allow yourself the options and abilities to expand and grow, and having an open mind can help one achieve that. Be patient with yourself, the community you surround yourself with, and the experiences/projects that you become part of. Be patient with time and growth while understanding it all. Be patient with the process even if it stalls or you feel setbacks. Be grateful for it all, because when the moment passes, there is no going back. Savor it while you can. If it’s a low point, be grateful, knowing that it helped you appreciate what’s to come.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
I’m a few days away from 50 as I answer these questions. I know many folks who have said goodbye to this industry for various reasons. However, I still have a lot to create, give, and do for this type of work and career. Therefore, if I had only a decade to go, I would probably spend my days coming up with projects that included all three of my children. I would rather not live with any regrets because regrets are not a constructive thing to bring with oneself. However, I do wish I had more time with all three of my children. Splitting time on both coasts has shortened time on both sides. Perhaps this would be a decade-long journey that would involve them all.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @_jsawyer__
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jebaiks
Image Credits
Credit, all Nickelodeon projects
Images 1,2 & 6 were designed by Wenting Wu
Images 4,5 & 6 were designed by me.
All images are stills from final animation/compositing done by me.
