Destiny’s REAL Child: How Graphic Design Found ME
Typically, when someone asks you how you came to be who you are or how you arrived at the nondescript decision to exclusively do what it is you do for a living, there’s some wildly charismatic and interactive story about how you ‘always knew you’d be’ where you are. Well, not for me. When i was a kid, I had no idea what a graphic designer was. As a matter of fact, as a kid, I was oblivious to the inevitable fact that one day, the wake up calls, prepared breakfasts, picked out school clothes and ready made, no responsibility having, childhood living days would come to a screeching halt. (Insert scream here!!!) Do I wish I had been forewarned? Yes. Do I regret how I came to be…no? It’s actually not that deep. Well, let me just tell you how it all happened. Remember when I said that I had no idea what a graphic designer was? That was the truth (and I still dont’. That’s a later post. Stay tuned *shameless plug*). I had alwasy been an artistic child. Art camp, vivid imagination, the works. In class I would always doodle on my papers and draw pictures of girls.
Call me an early feminist in training, but my subject matter was simply the result of my environment. I was raised by a single mom and had so many beautiful, strong women around me. Not that there weren’t men, but the women were phenomenal! Any who. When it was time to go off to college, things didn’t happen the way I thought they should. My scholarship was held up for some reason, so I stayed home an extra semester. I couldn’t figure out why this was happening. Not me. Not the girl in top 10% of her class and Senior Hall of Fame. Impossible. But it was very possible. And real. I went through months and months of depression, dead-end job searches, and low self esteem. Finally, I found a job! Things started turning around for me, slowly but surely. When the next semester rolled around I re-enrolled in school and finally attended. My major was Graphic Communications & Technological Systems. I took a graphic design class my last semester in high school and thought it was interesting. After a few months of studying at North Carolina A&T, I realized that my major wasn’t what I thought it was. Sure, it was interesting. But it wasn’t what I thought it would be. Because of the fact that I came to this realization in the middle of the semester, I couldn’t change my major. So, I enjoyed what I learned and took in campus life. Eventually the semester came to an end and so did my time at NCAT. I didn’t feel as though my time there benefited me the way I needed it to. Fast forward past the summer and I transferred to Georgia State University in Atlanta. I don’t know how or when, but I enrolled in the Ernest G Welch School of Design and started taking core classes and prerequisites. One day I had to choose an elective. I chose GRD 1. I haven’t looked back since. I had so much fun learning about graphic design that I subconsciously decided to continue on the path to becoming one. I actually showcased my portfolio and applied to the progem, but didn’t make it in. Did that stop me? No. I am now a proud alumna of GSU with a career in my field, which I obtained only 5 months after gradution (Once you get to that point you’ll understand me for the goddess that I am :)) and I freelance with the hopes of working for myself full time VERY VERY soon. And I never once knew I’d be here. I wasn’t looking for graphic design, but graphic design found me.
The point of this is that you may not know what you want to do. And that’s okay. You may be like me, some ‘kid’. Halfway between high school and college. At the brink of childhood and the frontier of something quite new. Literally between a rock and a hard place. Follow your gut. It’ll never steer you wrong. Well, most of the time. Don’t shy away from those decisions that flirt with the not so ‘norm’. You’ll regret it. Yes, there are people who plan their lives from A to Z, top to bottom, front to back, and have a plan for everything. But try this, ask the first person you see today about their plan for life. I’ll bet you $100 they’ll laugh in your face. (You can send my winnings via papal to the email listed above). No one can foresee the future. You can plan the most elaborate event to the t and it could happen the exact opposite. In the words of the epic Andre Benjamin, “You can plan a pretty picnic but you can’t predict the weather”. I’m not saying to never plan. Rarely has any successful person gotten to where they are by pure luck or chance. But have balance. Life takes us on a journey. Don’t fight it. It’s your job to be willing and open enough to go on the journey, intelligent enough to learn from it, knowledgeable enough to prepare based on what you learn, and inventive enough to be innovative. Take the road less travelled. Talk to people who’ve been where you are. There is no one straight path to success. When I worked retail, I met so many people who eventually became design clients of mine. Had I treated my job nonchalantly or the customers as underlings who didn’t understand the complexity of my career ambitions, I would have missed out on some great people. Those customers have helped to build my business to what it is today, which will one day be the business of my dreams. Did I dream about the hard work, long, sleepless nights, disgruntled customers, countless restless days, etc? No. It came with the territory. Dream your dreams, but also live your life. You never know where the road you’re on takes you.
Once you arrive, pay it forward.
