Who Am I?
Can you picture the Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland, blowing circles of smoke in Alice’s face, asking the fateful question:
“Who are you?”
This question haunts me at times. Since I can remember, I’ve been asked what I want to be when I grow up, or it’s been something I include when I talk about myself. So who am I (in a professional sense)?
I decided to become a UX designer because I was obsessed with Tumblr. I had a blog, but it wasn’t about creating the content to post or the pictures to re-post, it was about designing it. I really wish I still had it so I could show you, but alas, I deleted it because I wasn’t the same person anymore. The gist of it was that I loved to re-design my blog page all the time, I was constantly looking up different styles and finding out what other people created to get inspiration.
I couldn’t decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. This was a big life crisis for me at the age of 18, at least I thought it was. My uncle was speaking to me about my passions and hobbies, and I thought about how I loved to create new layouts on my blog. That’s when I discovered UX and UI design. Listening to my uncle talk about the UX designers at Whirlpool (where he works) inspired me and it was like a light bulb that went off in my head. I thought, this is what I’m supposed to do.
So I went searching.
I went to Utah State University for two years. I looked into different majors to figure out which one would best suit me. I first tried to be a technical writing major, but turns out I absolutely hate English. Then I went into looking at the Information System’s major. No matter where I looked, no major seemed to hit exactly what I needed, but maybe I was also looking in the wrong place. That’s how I found the Digital Media program at Utah Valley. I looked through their majors and saw what I was searching for. It hit every bullet point on my list and everything the advisor described this major to be, is exactly what my uncle had described to me. I took my first classes and immediately knew that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Now I know that was a long story to how I found out what I wanted to do, and honestly might not have been what you were looking for, but honestly it’s a really part of who I am, and where I am going. Now if you ask me where I plan to be in the next 5–10 years, I can tell you I have a good idea, but obviously things change.
I want to work for a company that I’m passionate about and creates a product that I love using. As you know, I no longer use Tumblr, but I love and use a Pinterest every day. I would love to work for a company that helps creative minds. It’s a community that people go on for so many different reasons, and it just keeps growing. I would like to be working here in the next 5–10 years.
In the meantime, I’m working on side projects with classmates and freelancing. I’m also in the process of creating my own portfolio to show my work and find more clients!
That’s where I am right now, I’m still learning about this career path and what it has to offer. I’m figuring it all out one step at a time, and I’m not going to lie and pretend that I’ve known my whole life or that my mind won’t change in the next year on where I choose to take this path. The most important thing is that I know who I am in a career sense. I love to design things, and I’m always ready for that challenge.
