Today we’d like to introduce you to Philip Carrera.
Hi Philip, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Sure, like any artist, my story zigs and zags like a basketweave. I was born in Chicago, bred in Los Angeles, moved to Denver, New York, Miami, and back to LA just because, like my 3rd-grade teacher said, “Philip is a curious boy.” I majored in Architecture at Cal Poly but graduated with a degree in Liberal Studies and ventured into the world of Advertising as a Copywriter. It gets better. A recession pushed me into becoming a 3rd-grade teacher (the toughest job I’ve ever had), but my childhood passion soon led me to becoming a professional Animator, working on cartoons for Playhouse Disney and MTV2. For a minute there, I studied digital painting in hopes of becoming a concept artist for film, but that fell through. The constant hustle and grind took its toll, so I published an animation book with a publisher back East, went to culinary school, and worked in a couple of kitchens in Miami for a few months. But eventually, the call to my original passion – copywriting, was too hard to ignore. So, I moved back to LA and built a copywriting “book” (portfolio) from scratch, and got back in the game. Fast forward a few years, and now I’m a Senior Copywriter and poet-in-progress participating in National Poetry Month – April, where I’m writing 30 poems in 30 days, posting them on YouTube and Instagram, and seeing where I land next. All of my writing can be seen on my website here: https://philipcarrera.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest challenge has probably been reinventing myself with every career change and every move to a new city. That said, I am naturally adaptable, so change is never something I fear. In fact, it’s opened opportunities that otherwise would never have appeared. I’ve also traveled to 15 countries in 5 continents and that helps me view things from different perspectives. You learn to appreciate things more and my experiences contributed to a collection of short stories that I am very proud of. I still have a couple more places on my travel bucket list: India and England, two countries famous for their folktales. I’m also a bit of a foodie in that I’ll try just about anything. And if it’s spicy, even better!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m currently preparing for a poetry project, “30 Poems in 30 Days,” to begin April 1, “National Poetry Month.” The project will be a combination of poem/song and will be posted on my YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@philip.carrera) and Instagram channels and on the “Lyric Lab” section of my website (https://philipcarrera.weebly.com/). Coincidentally, I will also be volunteering at the upcoming Poetry Slam hosted by https://www.getlit.org/ – a 2-day event that is recognized as one of the largest poetry slams in the world, where kids from all around California gather to perform their original spoken word pieces.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My literature teacher at Cal Poly, Dr. Lashgari, was the first person to tell me that I had written something worth publishing. If only I had believed it. My copywriting portfolio teacher, Mike Whitlow, convinced me to pursue copywriting instead of art direction because he said I had a talent for it. One of my former bosses, Anula, hired me after reading one of my short stories. That is when I had this epiphany: when I follow my bliss and work on personal projects, opportunities knock on my door.
Pricing:
- $8.99 for my book of ten short stories
Contact Info:
- Website: https://philipcarrera.weebly.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-c-605974165/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@philip.carrera
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/TEN-Collection-Stories-Philip-Carrera/dp/B0CLK1B52P/ref=sr_1_2?crid=JS2U4NX4OZJ7&keywords=philip+carrera&qid=1699480315&s=books&sprefix=philip+carrera%2Cstripbooks%2C591&sr=1-2
