Hi, my name is Gunnar Helliesen.
So, here I am, this guy from Norway, who grew up thinking that writing, photography, and the arts, those weren’t real jobs. Or, at least not for me. Not sure where I got that idea, but it’s still with me and I’m still struggling with it. Impostor Syndrome is very real.
![[Gunnar Helliesen]](https://i0.wp.com/www.gunnarhelliesen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/FB-portrett-600x800-200-dpi.jpg?resize=300%2C400&ssl=1)
As luck would have it, I’m also very much into technology and IT, so I turned that into a career instead. Well, one of my careers. I’ve worked as an envelope stuffer, a store clerk, a photojournalist, a bakery van driver, a mail room clerk, an actor, a mainframe operator, a museum founder, a solar energy financing advisor, a business consultant, and as the CEO of a phone company. I’m currently the Network Manager at a private school in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Looking back at all that, I realize that it was just preparing me for my real calling, which is to tell stories. All the people I met, all those meetings I attended, they were all just raw materials. Soft clay for me to use to build, illustrate, and populate worlds.
Which brings me to the subject of passion.
I love taking pictures but I need to write. Both passions started when I was young, and blossomed while I was in high school, back in Norway. I’ve been writing and snapping pictures ever since, but I’ve never allowed myself to think of myself as a writer or a photographer, never mind an author. Until now.
I can’t promise you that you’ll like everything that I write or image, but I can promise you that there’s passion behind every word and every picture.
Thank you for reading, from the bottom of my heart. Your support means more than you know.
Gunnar
