So here it goes — that brutally honest blog post that I’ve always feared.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve always searched for new opportunities to excel at what I do. Those new opportunities led to more and more. When do those opportunities turn into something real? When will they lead to a job? The answer is, it’s up to you.
Growing up, I was a national USAV volleyball player and I always thought that I would go to college to play volleyball — and that’s who I would be. That’s obviously not what God had in store for me. Instead, I struggled in high school and I just barely graduated. I never understood the concept of college and I never thought of a “plan B” because I was too busy focusing on other things. I was focused on social media and graphic design because it’s something that I loved. It’s something that I cared about.
While most of you would think that’s dumb and I should have been focusing more on school, you’re not wrong…but you’re not right either. I started college majoring in psychology because I liked it in high school, then I switched my major to English until I decided what I really wanted my major to be. I chose graphic design, go figure.
I transferred to a university and college was finally making sense; I was enjoying it and making good grades. It’s like something finally clicked. Surprisingly, I didn’t learn anything in those classes that I didn’t already know. These classes were hard — I mean really hard. It’s not that the work was difficult, it’s that it was extremely time consuming and I’ve never been good at time management.
Long story short, this major wasn’t going to work out and I didn’t have much time to choose something else. I ended up choosing communications with my primary focus in advertising because that combined my skills of media and design. Ever since, I’ve been extremely happy and I realized that switching my major was one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made.
Here’s where saying “no” has never been an option.
I’ve always had high hopes for my future. I mean — I’ve worked hard; I have designed for Socarrat Paella Bar in New York, Ideal Image Incorporated, NexTravel in New York and many other freelance design jobs. I’ve never said no to a design opportunity because I want as much experience as I can. I want to be able to graduate knowing that I made it and that I didn’t need a bachelors degree in graphic design to succeed. I refuse to give up my dream of being a graphic designer.
But that’s not my only dream. I also dream of being a successful blogger and designer.
So here I am, finishing up my last year of school, constantly searching for internships and working as a social media marketer for a boutique in my hometown. I might not be a success yet, but I refuse to fail, because if I fail — then all of my hard work and trial and error would be for nothing. My struggle through school would be for nothing.
I won’t let it be for nothing.