Summertime Swirlies
- carusovoa
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
Summer is arguably the most challenging time of the year for me as a voice actor. My young son is out of school, routines are rattled, and long stretches of uninterrupted silence are scarce. Summer also happens to be the time in which I find myself experiencing the most growth. Here are some silver linings I’ve found in the summertime swirlies.
My son loves to play pretend. While he’s home during the summer, we spend hours together creating intricate scenes, fantastical tales, and outlandish characters. This imaginative playground becomes a ripe landscape for taking creative risks and practicing vocal gymnastics. The added bonus is that children almost never withhold their honest opinion and are happy to provide constructive feedback, “No Mom, the snake princess should sound braver when she jumps her racecar over the canyon.”
Summer brings abrupt changes to routine. I’ve learned to embrace irregularity and let my days surprise me. I’ve also learned which key activities are most essential to my business – creative prep, financial check ins, client communication, marketing activities, etc. The fluid nature of the summer schedule gives me an opportunity to tinker with my standard operating procedures and re-evaluate what’s indispensable. Everything else gets de-prioritized and scheduled as a special project for later.
(Reliable) silence is golden when you record from a home studio. I don’t know about you, but summertime in my house is unpredictable, fluctuating between intense bursts of activity and long languid interludes. This inevitably results in me jumping into the booth when a preciously quiet moment becomes available. Sure, I could micro-manage the day and wrestle everything into a tidy schedule, but I’ve found an upside to this change in rhythm. It shakes things up and invites refreshing alacrity into the decision-making process – the perfect foil for overwrought equivocation. It stretches my brain. And besides, why would I want to miss out on the dart gun war?
Bottom line: Summer can be tough on working parents – freelancers and corporate warriors alike. It’s a good reminder that time is precious, everything has its season, and all seasons have something to teach us about ourselves and our work. This summer, I wish you beautiful days full of sunscreen and mosquito bites, quiet nights full of warm breezes, and all the precious memories you can muster.
