APPLICANT #23: Is J Lauren Jackson the Young & Free SC Spokesperson?
Y&F SC TeamJ Lauren Jackson is a 24-year-old from St. Helena, South Carolina.
Here is J Lauren's video application:
Here is J Lauren's current situation:
"I graduated from Winthrop University in 2006 with a Painting and Sculpture degree. I have been back in South Carolina [currently living in St. Helena] for a few months now. I spent 3 years out in Los Angeles working in the film industry. I was out networking almost every night, meeting lots of people, marketing myself while having a great time! Working non-union brought about hard times for a new comer such as myself when the strikes began to happen and the economy started to collapse. "Its Not Fair!" - I used to scream all the time because I could not seem to find a job. I cant keep complaining and being negative so I decided to come back and get all my ducks in a row.
So now, I currently spend my days volunteering at a middle school teaching film editing, stop motion photography, set design, and encouraging the kids to 'get creative!'. I thank my uncle for this, he invited me to come inside his classroom. It feels good to know you have an impact on someones life, however small. Im here looking to find a job to get me back on track, do any kind of networking possible so as I can get back into film. I dont have too many friends left down here, so my time is also devoted to trying to meet new people! Its pretty difficult in Beaufort, there isnt much for people my age to get into."
Here is J Lauren's blog post:
"I’ve been listening to Ladyhawks’ song ‘My Delirium’ over and over again. Its not necessarily a powerful song but you can definitely get up and dance to it; dynamic groove – not powerful but dynamic. I first heard it the other day while driving around on what otherwise would have been a greatly drole evening if I were not with amazing friends. It was loud inside that car between the music, the windows down, and the three of us yammering on in random conversation. We were having a dance party inside the vehicle – I swear that little Prius was jiving back and forth. Jess was zooming through his iPhone for music, completely indecisive on what to put on. Amanda finally turned around and yelled, “Just pick something already!” I am pretty sure we listened to ‘My delirium’ six times over. It wasn’t the music that rumbled my memory; it was that I was with people I love and had not been with in what seems an eternity.
The three of us had been apart for over seven years figuring stuff out, trying new things, attempting to start our lives as independents – somehow ending right back where we all started. Amanda had left for Raleigh, N.C. working as a Seu Chef, Jess left for the Military, and I left to L.A. to peruse my career in film. We are all in-between jobs at the moment, unsure if we should start over or keep on trucking. Being at this juncture in life is something that also brings us even closer; we can relate to each other’s plight - we all feel stuck.
Standing alone, in-between work in an economy that doesn’t look as if it will pick up any time soon makes us individually feel stuck but together we can talk about it, perk each other up and help each other power through what we feel is immobile. Having small get togethers where we blast the music super loud, flicker the lights on and off pretending we’re at some hip club, laughing with each other makes the world static for a moment.
Standing alone we feel we are immobile, without work or a place in society as a working/giving citizen makes us feel useless, and without each other, us as friends – a strong, loving, creative unit gives us power and strength to understand that these notions are untrue. We let each other know things will work out. Eventually, ill get tired of listening to Ladyhawk and move onto something else to dance to. Months will go by and one by one each of us will begin to figure things out. The good thing is that when moral gets low and the economy is still rearing its ugly head I know I can turn to my buddies for the support and fun that we all need.
J Lauren"
The Y&F SC Team
