Why I’m Going To New York
When I first received the opportunity to go to New York to work at Fueled, I was astonished. Why on earth would a respected company offer me a trial period? After all, I’m definitely not the best student out there. Neither have I created astonishing products or worked with large, international clients.
At first, it seems such an obvious decision. After all, there are people who work years for such an opportunity. Indeed, realistically, there’s quite a chance that working in New York offers you the possibility to launch your career and take it to the next level, though, at the same time, you’re leaving a lot behind.
Your family.
Your friends.
Perhaps even that safe, mediocre environment which suits you well.
It’s impossible to please everyone with the decision you take.
Some urge you to stay, others say you’ll regret the decision if you don’t take this chance.
For me, very early, it was quite obvious that I’d say yes. Despite having signed contracts with Boondoggle (a respected agency within our industry here in Belgium), despite all the possible risks of making this a reality in a very short amount of time.
I want to excel in what I do during my life. There are many ways one can go through life and it’s easy to follow the big, tarmac road ahead of you. The road which is strongly influenced by your peers. It’s a comfortable road. It’s straight, it has the least amount of resistance and most of all, nearly no surprises. For me, it doesn’t matter a whit.
This decision means I’m not taking that path. I’ll be trying to find my own way. I’m sure I’ll frequently slip and fall. Though, I believe it improves the quality of my life by not following the given path. Valhalla is not for the herd.
It’s a wonderful challenge I’m looking at. I’m sure it will help me to become a better person, a better designer, writer, entrepreneur, you name it. If you can’t live your life to the fullest and make every single moment matter for you in some way, what’s the point? It’s that challenge ahead of me, that ambition which forces me to try and be successful. Does that involves risks? Hell it does.
What I know is that I prefer failure over regret, any day.
I’m blessed to have such an opportunity. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot by working with the people at Fueled. Any experience, the good ones and the bad ones, will help me in the long run. I’ll be working in 568 Broadway. It’s the same building of Foursquare and ZocDoc. I understand that I’ve gotten to a point where I’m not just playing around any more. Professionalism is expected.
But most of all, I’m humbled.
It took days before I finally grasped all of this. It all started with this little article, sharing my ideas and vision on how I believe interfaces would change. As I introduced this post, I might not be the best student, or the best designer, or even a good writer, but I think this article proved that I have a vision, that I have insight in what I do and that I’m able to analyze and deeply understand my industry.
I’m grateful, though excited, to prove that this offer wasn’t a mistake.
Perhaps it’s how this all comes together what made me receive this opportunity. I know I’m going to make the best out of this. It’s the beginning of something new. I’m eager see how this story unfolds, but most of all, I’m eager to see how this experience will improve my capabilities.
