As a kid, I remember winning a copy of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for the Nintendo GameCube as a prize from my dad’s company’s Christmas party. At the time, I didn’t even own a GameCube to play the game on. This chance victory, however, gave me a good reason to convince my dad to buy me the console. Ever since then, video games have played a role in my life.

I’ve put days worth of time into Call of Duty, kicked some ass in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and swore allegiance to the brotherhood repeatedly in Assassin’s Creed.

Nonetheless, I’m not someone you would call an avid gamer anymore, but I do understand the language of video games, am relatively aware of what is going on in the industry and have periods of time where I seriously indulge in gaming. …

Before the real article starts, I would like to state that this was something I had written in September shortly after the summer was complete. However, I did not post it because I felt that it was not written well and was too hard to understand due to some jargon.

This is being posted now with edits because I’d rather have this out in the world, than not at all.

In a previous post, I had publicly announced that a larger-scale project was coming from me this summer. It didn’t come. I had expected my summer to be filled with plenty of time for me to do my personal projects, a ton of reading and to learn to play my new electric guitar. …

Fjord, a “design and innovation consultancy” as described by their website, visited my university today. I had never heard of this company before and now, I’m surprised how I hadn’t heard of them. They have over 25 studios with over 1300 employees. Design firms this large rarely exist (IDEO is the obvious example). But, now that I have heard one of their employees speak about the company, I am keenly interested in learning more about what they do.

Randy Rodriguez, the designer from Fjord that spoke to us, talked about many important and fascinating subject areas for modern designers. …

I have never been one to read regularly. This was in part to many reasons. Firstly, I thought it was hard to find books that were interesting despite the abundance that exists. I also wouldn’t consider myself the best reader. Not only do I get distracted rather quickly, but I am also quite slow at reading. All of this compounded with the fact that I had never really developed a hobby of reading.

In the last year and a half, I thought it was time for me to start taking up the habit of reading. At first, I was obsessing with self-help books, which are fine to be interested in, but it was a mistake to be solely invested in them. Now, I try to alternate between fiction and non-fiction (currently interested in psychology and generally avoiding self-help). …

Going to an art/design school in the US was not an easy choice for me, especially considering the financials of attending university in America as well as the fact that I was leaving everyone close to me back in Canada. I was scared and nervous, but there was also this sense of excitement. My life was going to change drastically.

After finishing my first quarter (instead of two semesters of about 15 weeks each, I have 3 quarters that are 10 weeks long) at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), I can confidently say I am very happy with my choice for many reasons. I know not everyone will agree with me and that this only represents my time here. Some will even say that design school has nothing to teach you that cannot be learned by yourself using the internet and books. …

2016 was a special year — the most productive year of my life so far.

There are many things that can be said about 2016. The normal ups and downs of a year were present. The downs seemed to be quite big ones this last year because, well, the presidential election in America and the mourning of many notable people (Prince, Carrie Fisher, etc.). Yet, this year has been a special one for me.

Happiness

The happiest years of my life were back when I was in grade 7 and 8. I had this sense of unity and friendship that I will forever cherish. My classmates were more like my friends than they were acquaintances. Thinking back on these times makes me miss them, even though I was not the exact individual I wanted to be back then. …

As I slowly absorbed the ambient murmur of the bus, we pulled up on my stop. Despite being -10 degrees Celsius outside, I anticipated the 12-minute walk ahead of me. My house was not too far but my thoughts seemed even closer.

Commute is hated among many — most people actually. I’m part of the small percentage that loves their commute. But, this is most likely attributed to my commute being by bus and walking. Driving seems like a pain honestly; it is generally the most useless time of one’s day, at least in my opinion.

In one of my favorite podcasts, Late Nights with Trav and Los, Travis has said that his commute is extremely important for him. His commute is a combination of many methods that don’t involve driving. In this time, he is able to edit videos, make music, and reply to comments on his coding YouTube channel, DevTips. …

As a beginner to many things, I often find myself struggling to create what I envision creating. The ability to create is not a gift bestowed upon a few “Chosen Ones”. The people that create amazing things started off creating some pretty subpar projects initially. Experience ends up playing a crucial part in whether the product one creates is good or not. A beginner’s vision cannot be translated into something tangible right off the bat due to his lack of experience. Experience brings technical skills and understanding that cannot be otherwise achieved.

In Sara Dietschy’s Latest, That Creative Life, she interviews Chase Jarvis, an interesting photographer and entrepreneur. Their talk on this gap between what you envision and create was very interesting. Chase talked about how his gap in creation, as he learned more about his craft, got smaller continuously. …