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Creative professionals live a rollercoaster existence—especially when they work as freelancers. Slow years are nerve-wracking, because you’re always hustling for gigs. Busy years can also be nerve-wracking, when clients and subjects demand a great deal of time but don’t interest you. Then there’s the matter of income, which trickles and gushes, depending on your luck. The 1099s pile up. By the end of tax season, my accountant is all but crosseyed.
But sometimes, everything goes right.
I started 2022 on a high note, and each month felt luckier than the last. Opportunities were hurled my way, and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t saying “yes” just to say yes. Goals were hit. Unspeakable dreams came true. And despite some setbacks—a stress fracture in my foot, my first case of COVID—the good vastly outweighed the inconvenient. This has been the most fruitful and pleasurable chapter of my career, which is saying a lot.
To aggregate all these happy twists of fate, I have listed most of them here. Yet this post is a work in progress; as they say in the news industry, “this story is developing.” As new projects go public, I’ll add them to the roundup, along with links and notes. And with luck, this update will grow beyond my current expectations. When you’re on a roll, all you want is to keep rolling.
First Story Appears in Longreads
Sometimes I can’t believe I read all 1,000 pages of Around the World on a Bicycle, by Thomas Stevens. I’m further surprised to have finished an essay about it, bookended by one of my bolder premises. Several publications rejected the essay, and I nearly put the thing on Medium, convinced that it would never find a more prestigious home. And then, much to my amazement, editor Peter Rubin at Longreads—one of my favorite websites—accepted the essay and published it in early 2022.
Unexpected Win at the Block Island Film Festival
I love the Block Island Film Festival, and I was ecstatic to have a second short film selected for screening. I hoped The Invisible Thread would perform well, but I was surprised and overjoyed to receive an award for Best Actor. I performed on stage for years, but I never imagined I’d be a candidate for this particular honor, and the competition was stiff. This was also the first BIFF I got to attend in person, and it was a blast.
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My Day Job Remains a Joy
2023 marks my second year as a full-time videographer at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, where I have continued producing documentaries about notable community members, among other tasks. I couldn’t ask for better supervisors and colleagues, and I’ve learned a great deal about Rhode Island and, by extension, the Jewish diaspora. A favorite project was a promo for the JCC’s fitness center; I’ve always wanted to put together a commercial, and advertising something I care about makes it so much better.
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Product Reviews for Momentum
I started writing for Momentum Magazine in 2021, which stills feels too good to be true. During the COVID lockdown, I’d started blogging about cycling to fill time, only to realize that I loved writing about bicycles. I found Momentum by accident, and the rest is history. In 2022, I started filming ebike reviews for Momentum’s new YouTube account, which has been a blast in every way.
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ROBERT ISENBERG 