10 months ago
99
3
Posted On: January 18th 2026, 09:24 pm
Tagged Users:
2016 started as the best year of my life.
After graduating college in 2015, I landed a job at a reality TV production company. By January 2016, I’d already been promoted and offered an unreal opportunity, traveling across Alaska with a film crew for The Science Channel.
I was surrounded by elite cinematographers and producers, exploring one of the most beautiful places in the world. I couldn’t believe this was my life.
The first two months were surreal. I hung out of a Chinook helicopter with a camera strapped to me and landed on a glacier, sailed around Kodiak Island on a Coast Guard rescue boat, heard near-death stories from the crew of Deadliest Catch, rode in military tanks that fired rockets, and saw the largest boat lift in the world. At 23, I felt unstoppable and believed I had a limitless career ahead of me.
Then things changed.
I got lazy. I stayed out late drinking and getting high instead of preparing for shoot days. I missed call times. I forgot critical gear. I became more invested in my “cool life” than doing my job, and had no clue the wake up call that was coming.
One of my responsibilities was logging and backing up footage each night. While rushing to meet the crew who was already out partying, I accidentally deleted footage from that day. I told myself it was only ten minutes of B-roll, that no one would notice.
3 days later, I was on a plane back to New York while the rest of the crew stayed in Alaska. I had been fired from my dream job and I had no one to blame but myself. It took years to stop playing the victim and finally take responsibility for my mistakes.
What followed were years of alcohol and substance abuse that made me unrecognizable. I worked restaurant jobs I hated, too afraid to pursue a creative career again, terrified of losing it all twice.
Today in 2026, video production is my full-time career. But more importantly, I’m a far more honest and responsible person, personally and professionally because of what happened to me in 2016.
If you read this whole story, thank you and take this lesson with you -
Mistakes are inevitable. What you do after they knock you down is what truly matters and defines you.
-JP
After graduating college in 2015, I landed a job at a reality TV production company. By January 2016, I’d already been promoted and offered an unreal opportunity, traveling across Alaska with a film crew for The Science Channel.
I was surrounded by elite cinematographers and producers, exploring one of the most beautiful places in the world. I couldn’t believe this was my life.
The first two months were surreal. I hung out of a Chinook helicopter with a camera strapped to me and landed on a glacier, sailed around Kodiak Island on a Coast Guard rescue boat, heard near-death stories from the crew of Deadliest Catch, rode in military tanks that fired rockets, and saw the largest boat lift in the world. At 23, I felt unstoppable and believed I had a limitless career ahead of me.
Then things changed.
I got lazy. I stayed out late drinking and getting high instead of preparing for shoot days. I missed call times. I forgot critical gear. I became more invested in my “cool life” than doing my job, and had no clue the wake up call that was coming.
One of my responsibilities was logging and backing up footage each night. While rushing to meet the crew who was already out partying, I accidentally deleted footage from that day. I told myself it was only ten minutes of B-roll, that no one would notice.
3 days later, I was on a plane back to New York while the rest of the crew stayed in Alaska. I had been fired from my dream job and I had no one to blame but myself. It took years to stop playing the victim and finally take responsibility for my mistakes.
What followed were years of alcohol and substance abuse that made me unrecognizable. I worked restaurant jobs I hated, too afraid to pursue a creative career again, terrified of losing it all twice.
Today in 2026, video production is my full-time career. But more importantly, I’m a far more honest and responsible person, personally and professionally because of what happened to me in 2016.
If you read this whole story, thank you and take this lesson with you -
Mistakes are inevitable. What you do after they knock you down is what truly matters and defines you.
-JP
Comments (3)
More posts
