A few weeks before my college career ended, a freshman friend asked me what I had taken away from my college experience. After joking about girls, dorm parties and stupid classes we were forced to take, I stumbled upon the general answer: “Do what you love and do it often.” I wish I had taken my own advice going forward.
My insecurities got the best of me. I needed help to hone the knowledge and skills I had accumulated in school. My post-graduation, “I’m finally free” life was short lived when quickly and furiously reality came calling, in the form of a freelance career in which I was completely undercharging myself and taking on clients that somehow managed to take ownership of my time, consequently lowering the quality of my work and belief in my chosen profession. I was coming to the realization that I was free falling head first into what students cautiously refer to as “the real world.”
As fate would have it, an inconspicuous little ad asking for a designer with web experience lead me to the doors here at Mustang a few months ago, and I was offered the job. It turns out that sometimes going it alone isn’t always the best way to maximize your potential; don’t shun the influence of others, particularly those with more experience. Surrounding myself with creative types has restarted my creative process. I now get paid to utilize my education, my skills and my creativity. Under Mustang’s guidance, I found my confidence.
These past two months have given me valuable insight into what I did wrong, and I want to give some fresh advice to those who are about to leave the university bubble for the real world. The value of finding such guidance cannot be overstated. Find a way to participate in your chosen profession. A job or internship is the obvious ideal, but even clubs on campus or meeting with other people in your field will help teach you what else there is to learn, and what kind of people can teach you those things most efficiently. Every day I come into work, I’m thankful that I’m surrounded by people who can help me produce my best work.
Everything came full circle a week into my Mustang career. I noticed, by chance, a typographic picture reading the words that I had spontaneously came up with months prior, hanging behind Chris’ desk. It said, verbatim, “This is your life. Do what you love and do it often.”
I’ll take that advice!