I can only speak for myself when I say I was wholly ignorant of the world up until I graduated from undergrad. Up until then everything I did and everything I learned, was a product of my immediate surroundings. My goals were always laid out for me, and the ultimate end product was earning a bachelor degree (in something—my parents were really pulling for pre-med). Up until then, my focus was narrow, immature, and, embarrassingly singular.
That was five years ago. Five years ago I graduated, and almost immediately moved to Chicago to join the workforce. I had no plan other than to rent a three-month sublet in hopes of landing a job in design—and I was terrified. I hustled for about a month and a half before I landed a design internship, which eventually led to a fulltime position. I learned to manage the little money I had, I learned to make cheap meals (read: ramen), I learned to hone my interview skills, and most importantly, I learned humility. This went hand-in-hand with two habits I picked up that would inform my world views:
1) I started consuming media—a lot of it: podcasts, articles, books, music, even crossword puzzles. Actively consuming meant informing and building upon previous knowledge or life experiences I had. Something I try to stress to anyone I mentor is to un-focus and seek out a range of subject matters. I am a designer, but I am not defined exclusively by only design knowledge. Everything I take in enriches my way of thinking and helps inform who I am as a designer. We are often taught to focus in a specialty, but a well-rounded mind sharpens rather than scatters.
2) I actively sought to put myself in social situations. This was not easy as a naturally introverted person, but there’s something to be said about being part of a community. We happen to have a vibrant, supportive design community in Chicago, which encompasses writers, developers, strategists, researchers—the list goes on. I treat my personal time preciously, so I make sure I keep a good balance between social events and “me” time. While I was quick to shirk off social events in past, I’ve come to realize that meeting people is just another form of consuming knowledge. I learn from my contemporaries as much as I do from the media I’m exposed to, and in the process I’ve met some genuinely awesome people.
I may have been a late-bloomer when it came to foraging into my surroundings, but I’ve come a long way since being a fresh-faced graduate. Establishing these habits has enriched my adult life, and will continue to do so. In turn, I try to pay it forward by findings ways in being engaged with the community: that can be as little as attending events, to participating in discussions (Twitter, anyone?), to sharing interesting articles with friends. I am a consumer and producer of thoughts.
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