I've Been Living

It’s been almost a year since I’ve posted a blog and so much has happened since last May. And I know, I’ve been the worst at keeping this website up-to-date, but once I share what’s been going down, I think I’ve granted myself some grace. Here we go.

Professionally, my career is more on the course I’ve envisioned for myself. In 2011, I had an internship at my university in their marketing department. When I was there I learned so much about graphic design in one year than I had in the 3 years of being in my program (It’s not a dig to my studies, but real-world experiences can teach you a lot more than any classroom can). I loved my time there and I referenced it a lot throughout my career. Well, last fall I saw a job opening there as a senior graphic designer. I wanted to change the direction of my career and focus more on design again (I was doing marketing and graphic design - I know the two can coexist, but I will thrive more on being creative). I applied, interviewed (rather anxiously!), and was offered the position. I left my job of 4 years to jumpstart my career. I say “jumpstart” because I feel like I took a breath of fresh air when I joined my new team. I’ve been here since November and I still love what I do. It’s stresses I can handle and obstacles I know I can overcome. I feel so prepared, even in the moments when I feel a little worried, I get through it. I’m not trying to be too cocky in this, but I’m in my element.

I’m currently working on the alumni magazine right now and the confidence my team has given me is something I have to get used to again because at my last job it was really my one coworker and I boosting each other up. But to have a whole team have my back? It’s freaking awesome. It’s been a reassurance that I do deserve to be surrounded by those who do believe in me. And it’s been a human, real-life reminder that people leave bad/toxic bosses/work environments, not jobs. I was good at my previous role, but I wasn’t growing anymore. I’ve been at my new place for 6 months, soon, and I feel like I’ve really blossomed. I’m happy… professionally, I’m so happy.

In other news. I’ve backed off a bit from my art. Maybe “back off” isn’t the words I want to go with, but I’ve been giving myself more space in-between drawings and challenging myself with different ideas versus quantity. So, quality over quantity, as the saying goes. I love what I’ve been creating and I like that it’s not as often as it was because I’ve been living my life. I mean really living my life. I’ve been in a relationship with a great man for the past 8 months and spending time making memories and discussing our lives and feelings and thoughts has been so rewarding. It’s been a partnership and he’s helped me see me for who I am and the creativity I have to offer. It’s been great and new and different. But it’s mine.

I know I don’t update my website as much anymore, but I have a plan now. A plan to show who I am and what I can do. I have so many drawings to update on here and some of the things I’ve made at work. But I want to wait until we publish the magazine to show some more up-to-date designs on here. But the thing is… I HAVE A PLAN! And I’m so unbelievably excited to share it.