Last night, I attended a salsa-themed birthday party for two friends. Most of the attendees were salseros who I’ve known since moving to Austin, but only see every blue moon. So, as social custom dictates, we all greeted each other and inquired what the other had been up to since we last saw each other. I joyfully told people, especially men, that I had recently decided to be a comic stripper.
The light that briefly flashed in their eyes was totally worth the juvenile manner of saying that I’m researching about how to be a cartoonist. They shared their vision of me being on the pole, telling jokes and removing clothes. One guy even suggested that I could have punchlines tattooed on my body; so if a joke bombed, I’d at least have the entertainment factor of removing some clothing to help the joke out. Of course, I didn’t bother to point out the problem of having a bad punchline or any punchline TATTOOED to some area of my body.
One male friend warned/teased me that I was making a big mistake to pursue stripping and encouraged other guys to dissuade me from being a comedic stripper. He actually had more fun with my latest creative endeavor than I did.
Women, on the other hand, completely got the joke behind my “job title” and knew that I was talking about creating a comic strip. Some even asked about the subject matter.
I believe that most of my creative outlets begin with a need to express an idea, whether it’s a story or blend some luxurious paint together to bring forth an image from my mind to the present as much as my skills will allow. I birthed this comic strip idea to vent my frustrations with the state of public school education.
Nonteachers tend to think that the main source of any teacher’s frustration must be the students, but challenging students are the easiest situation to deal with. The growing emphasis on standardized testing, a shrinking educational budget and increasing classroom size are all easily more challenging to deal with singularly, but they don’t take turns. Their combined effects destroy the so-called “rigor” for which the educational system strives. I’ve heard repeatedly how less money, more students, fewer teachers and more standardized testing will lead to a more rigorous education.
Now it’s long overdue to bring this farce to a comic strip. Why should I allow such good material to keep me up at night, tormenting me with its sheer disregard of logical sense when I could easily type up a comic strip script?
I’ve written one script so far and my first challenge will be to end every strip with humor. I want the silver lining to be humor. With a little humor, I will sleep better at night and my future readers will more than likely tell the “joke” to others and hopefully engage in conversation about the educational concern I’m discussing in the strip.
A few people at the birthday party asked me about the financial viability of being a cartoonist. I just smiled and told them that I was just excited to have a new creative pursuit. I totally believe that as long as I do something I love, everything will work out.