Gopika Nair T

Interior designer, Interior architect

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End of the year report of life

After relentless writing in my small pocket diaries i have finally decided to write something for the world. I am sure after putting this out into the endless sea called the internet there is going to be instant regret but here we go.

Life has been the absolute worse this last year. 2024 was NOT my year. My superstitious ass would like to believe that it is because its a year with all even numbers, even if you add them all up it still comes to 8 which is an even number. But lets be honest, its not the numbers or the year, its just me and my endless unresolved issues with life.

I got married this year. It was absolutely wonderful, that my friends came from all over just for me. It showed me how much i was cared for. My indian family was not too bad, everyone was just happy to attend my long awaited wedding. It was wonderful. 

But my stupid ass want to believe it couldve been better, planned better and it couldve been PERFECT. It wasnt according to me. Dont get me wrong it might have been perfect to everyone else in the world but to me nothing is perfect. I need to constantly overthink about how things could be better and it has even ruined relationships. How the flowers couldve been nicer or how my dress even though i loved it couldve been better. This is my problem. 

This whole year was just like this. The journey to perfection in myself and it didnt help that i wasnt getting any response from all the jobs ive been applying to. I have applied on an average 3 jobs a day for the past 2 years and that comes upto 2190 job applications and i received just 3 job interviews and no jobs. I am fully qualified with over 4 years of experience and a master’s degree but no job. What have we come to? This is not just my story by the way. There are more educated qualified individuals than there are jobs. But you always see companies putting out ads for vacancies in their companies. I still see some which i saw in the beginning of this year. Are they still looking? Have they fired the one who they hired for the exact same role earlier on this year? What is going on? Why are there always vacancies in companies but no jobs?

So this has been my year. Apart from my wedding i havent done anything for 2024. I mean i am indian so the wedding also was pushed upon me by my parents so it kinda had to happen i guess. I used to be this bright determined person who was bound to reach somewhere in life, but here i am nowhere in life. 

It used to affect me a lot. This new feeling of failure and rejection in my career broke me. I fell to the rock bottom everyone talks about and at this point i am the rock there. Although, there is this weird sense of calm you get once you hit rock bottom and you stay there wallowing for lets say some months. You understand that you have reached rock bottom and there is nowhere to go but up from here. I know i just quoted a cringy movie dialogue or some tumbler quote but its the truth. As adventurous and lively a person i am, right now i am forced to enjoy the mundanity of everyday life, i am forced to see life with a different point of view. I am not saying i am an expert in it yet but it opens up other opportunities. Like i wouldve never i would write about my stupid feelings to the rest of the world. Desperate times right. 

But in all seriousness i think writing about my failure is more important in todays world of social media and only success being flaunted in all its materialistic glory. I think maybe somebody is hitting rock bottom right now and is thinking the world is gonna collapse on them while they sit crying on the bathroom floor trying to cry as quiet as possible because they live in an Asian household. I want to tell them that its gonna hurt like a bitch but you are going to push your self to do better and maybe life is bigger than a shitty year. 

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Using my architectural skills to bake a pie today.

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Final presentation.

After several panic attacks and mental breakdowns later, i finally presented my work. Its sad that its over now. Six months of research, learning new skills and hard work finally resulted in the best work i could do.

I’m extremely proud of myself and all my friends because we really did do our very best work for this final show. I would like to thank all my friends who helped me achieve this work by teaching me so many new skills. I would like to thank my tutor Agatha for guiding me all the way, helping me find my calling in design. Special thanks to UCA for providing me with all the amenities and guidance.

And finally like Snoop Dog said, i would like to thank me for doing all the work.

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Laser cutting really did make my life easier 😌

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Getting ready for the final presentation.

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Time to get creative…..🙃

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For the first time in my life I’ve made a model. Being from a technical background the opportunity to showcase one’s creativity was extremely rare.

In all honesty it wasn’t easy and i wouldn’t say it was perfect either. I came across hurdles which felt unimportant but was very vital to getting the best results.

Example: I realised how simple things like aluminium foil and cardboard can really elevate the model. Aluminium foil looks excellent as water or mirror.

Real plants are anytime better than fake plastic ones. I tried growing some green gram saplings (its a common practice in India to use them in models as they grow really fast ), unfortunately it didn’t grow. My landlord’s Christmas tree came to my rescue.

Angle and lighting is everything.

Even if your model is not so perfect, if you place the camera in all the right angles with the right amount of natural light (try not to use artificial lights) you may get a very realistic and clean shot.

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Presenting the new and renovated Pettmans depository and Athlestan road.

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Happy new year everyone.

Last year has been one of the most life changing years of my life. Shifting my whole life from one country to another taught me how to adapt not only to the climate but also to the people, food and culture. It really gave me a different perspective all together about life and other things. I’m very grateful to have experienced all that i could in the past year and hoping for more in 2023.

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Prototype model of the ground floor of The Pettmans Depository, Margate.

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Had a wonderful Christmas.

Being raised in a Hindu community and household i never really celebrated Christmas apart from the occasional tree decoration and carol singing competitions in school. My classmate and close friend Anlit and my landlord Jane really brought in the Christmas spirit to me. We decorated the tree with Janes 20 year old vintage collection of tree decorations, attended the midnight mass together, prepared so much food and ate together just like a family. It really is a joyous time.

Things i learned this Holiday season

1. You can eat for an hour and a half straight until you are physically not able to move with the weight of the food in your tummy.

2. Christmas is not just about the gifts, it’s about togetherness and sitting down with your family and feasting, spreading joy and love.

3. There is always room for dessert.

Ps: last point is really important.

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PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta !

Courtesy of Pantone Institute

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Magenta has always been one of my favourite colours as it falls under the broad spectrum of reds. I’m really excited to include this beautiful color into my designs.

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Test print outs for the final formative review

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The very last review.

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Light show at The Canterbury Cathedral was brilliantly executed. It opened up a new perspective for me in my design process. Lighting alone can dictate the ambiance, purpose and energy of a space. I really enjoyed and got inspired a lot from this experience. Definitely something everyone should experience.

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Nature is full of surprises.