Creating For Me

I use art as expression and a stress reliever. I create because I see an idea in my head and need to see it on paper or on a computer screen in order to get it out of my head. When I was an education major, every art teacher I observed and worked with gave me the same advice. They told me to never stop creating. They said that it is so easy to stop doing art for you when you have a full time job. You have other priorities and obligations when you get home and art falls by the wayside. Even though I am no longer pursuing a career in education, the advice still applies. Whatever job I find, I still need to find time in my life for my art. I need to create without rules and guidelines. I need to create for me and me alone in order to keep my passion alive and my mind sane. 

Making My Own Luck

A friend of mine graduated college with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting before he decided it wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life. He was interested in websites and how they worked behind the scenes. He taught himself HTML and CSS using free online tutorials. Nine months later, he saw an ad for a web development internship online. One of the requirements for the application was a web portfolio, which he didn’t have. Instead of giving up, he contacted the company via Facebook and asked if there was anyway he could apply anyway. He told them he was willing to work, unpaid, in order to learn and gain experience. He just wanted to be a part of the web design world. Admiring his enthusiasm and self-motivation, they gave him an interview, which led to a three-month internship, which eventually led to a full time position. He could have accepted the fact that he did not qualify to apply for the position and moved on. Instead, he chose to go after what he wanted. He made his own luck. This story is similar to others I’ve heard throughout this semester. Recent college graduates going after their dream job they feel they aren’t technically qualified for and succeeding. I want that to be me. I want to be able to say that I went after my dream. But, honestly, I don’t know if I have the necessary guts to make my own luck. I probably would have passed over that internship because I didn’t have the necessary components to apply. It scares me that I might pass by my dream job because I’m not bold enough to take risks when the opportunity arises.