You know that rare feeling when you meet someone and instantly think: “This is destiny… We are meant to be friends”?
That’s how I felt in 2007, when I moved into a Brooklyn apartment for the summer and met my roommate, Tim Manley. Tim’s an illustrator, writer, storyteller, educator, actor, performer, genius GIF maker, and full-on multipotentialite.
Tim’s incredibly talented, yet shockingly humble, which is a really nice combo. (I think a bit of self-doubt—not so much that it paralyzes you, but just enough that it keeps you from taking yourself too seriously—leads to more thoughtful and interesting work.)
You can probably tell that I really admire Tim. He takes his creative practice seriously—he seems to treat it like a job, actually. I used to listen to his podcast, Just Between Me and You, when I needed some help getting moving in the morning. He’s also just a great multipotentialite role model, who shifts unapologetically between different formats, genres, and roles.
Tim didn’t ask me to write this post or to promote his work. But the third season of his web series, The Feels, debuts next week and I feel very strongly that you need to see it.
The Feels is a web series about a bi guy with way too many feelings. It features the sort of stories and people we rarely see portrayed in media. It’s also just super well-written, and so moving!
Tim and his co-creator, Naje Lataillade, release one very short episode each day for a month (this year it’s June). Each episode is a moment in the life of this character, Charlie, and through these little moments, you get a bigger picture of Charlie’s life.
Here are a couple short episodes to give you a taste:
Heads up, this next one touches on suicide:
Season three of The Feels starts next week over on YouTube, but you can binge the first two seasons now. Trust me, you’ll be happy you did.
Your Turn
Who inspires you, and why? Got any multipotentialite role models in your life? I would love to hear about them in the comments below.
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This article is part of Genrebend: a new series on Puttylike. In Genrebend we highlight some of our favourite multipotentialite artists and creators who bend and blend genres, media, and roles.
Candice Black says
Totally feel the ideas in this item. I’ve always felt like a disgrace for not fully accepting that any career path takes a monumental amount of focus and passion – but I can’t help it because I really feel like I could try different interests in some context. My interests are so broad and varied – or perhaps they’re not (?) That not getting into various different tasks would betray my potential. Great work on promoting the multi potential individual life. Candice.
Rebekah Nemethy says
I’m both grateful and resentful that you shared this with us today, Emilie. Grateful, because this show is addictingly entertaining and I love it, but resentful because that does, in fact, make it oh-so-bingeable, and I don’t have time to watch them all right now. I’ve subscribed though, so I’ll come back to them at some point, it’s all good.
My favorite multipotentialite is a woman named Melissa Dinwiddie. I go to her creative retreat every year (3 years so far!) and she is the 1st person who made me realize it was ok to be all the things and that you could actually look good doing it, too!
I look forward to meeting more awesome creative people in this new series!!
Emilie says
Heh so sorry, Rebekah. 😉
Melissa’s awesome!!
Jori says
Thanks for sharing “The Feels.” I laughed. I cried. I appreciated the creativity, courage, and contribution.
Emilie says
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it.
Victoria says
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!!
Thank you for sharing!