lauren farmer

shitificationn

Q: Kind of a weird question, but what's your life story? It just seems like you've had some amazing experiences and been a lot of places.

A:

Hi, 

LIFE STORY! Wow. I don’t usually answer Tumblr questions publicly but what the hell, I’m bored. 

I was born in a country town in Australia in 1982. When I was 7, my parents, brother and I up and moved to Ft. Wayne, Indiana and lived in a townhouse community where we took family Tai Chi. A year later, we wisened up and moved to Kansas City. We were always meant to return to Australia but one thing led to another and 20 years later…

So middle and high school in Kansas, great midwestern time. I was very shy, barely had any friends. Found my way into theater which really opened me up and gave me the confidence that had eluded me. Yeah. Then I headed out West and went to college at Pepperdine University, a small liberal arts school on the beach in Malibu, California. Studied advertising and interned for a number of high-profile Hollywood producers that treated me like shit. But a great experience. Did a study abroad year in Florence, Italy. That was fun and got to see much of Europe. 

And then I graduated, in 2004. My brother, who had since moved overseas, took me to South America for a backpacking trip where we met my now sister-in-law, Leighanne. I returned to LA, hoping to settle into post-college life but couldn’t quite pull it off. Decided to spend 6 months back in Kansas, working in medical records at a children’s psychiatric hospital. 

One day, my best friend Monika who had moved out to New York after graduation, called me up and said she had an extra room to fill and if I wanted it, it was mine. But she needed to know tomorrow. So I thought about it, and said yes. A week later, my parents drove me out to New York. It was home from that first day. 

I landed my first job in New York as an executive assistant in the Media Sales department of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. That was alright. I stuck it out for a couple of years and then worked my ass off to get over to HBO, into Marketing. First as an assistant, and then ended up on the social media team. Loved it. HBO’s awesome. 

My parents moved back to Australia, and that was hard for me. I was now the only member of my family left in the States.

I started taking photos and one thing led to another, I left HBO to try my hand at full-time photography. It was fun, but I found it difficult to manage the freelance life and I was running out of money. Winter was approaching and I needed a break, so I decided to move to Sydney for 6 months. I knew I’d never be able to fully settle in New York or the States, with my family a world away, if I didn’t at least give it a go living over on this side. So I threw a going-away party and told my friends I’d be back soon. That was 15 months ago. 

I tried freelancing here, but it was tough without the contacts I had worked so hard to build up in New York. Had a great time shooting some of my favourite bands though while they were here for summer festivals. Once again, running out of money, I started casually looking for a job and landed a killer one at the ABC as a social media producer. I’ve been here a year now and have worked on some really, really great projects. 

So here we are now in December 2011. I don’t know what my plan is. I don’t know where I want to be or who I want to be, but I’m learning lots and taking it as it comes. Trying to see as much of the world as I can. That’s about it. 

Why, what’s YOUR life story?

Oh and here’s a photo of my family when we moved to the States in 1990. Matching jumpers, y’all.