Matthew Henderson

[mhenderson95]

2017

This calendar year treated me well, all in all. It started off rough, moving on from my first job in the design industry and stepping away from everything to put life itself in perspective. Instead of continuing on a path I couldn’t get behind, I stepped aside and traveled. I started in Florida, taking in Tampa and Miami with my tour guide and even better friend, Michael Taylor. Two baseball games in two cities was a good way to start. 

Next, I left for Toronto, first time to the east coast and having an opportunity to see a ton of Blue Jays games, a Toronto FC game, an Argos game and the city itself, crossing paths with tons of people that I have known for years but never met. Each meeting brought a new chapter to the friendships I have had for countless years, and I am incredibly grateful for each meeting. 

Lastly, I went to Rockford, to meet up with another great friend, Dylan Alexander, where I got a chance to visit the iconic Wrigley Field, in the bleachers. Also, we went to a minor league game in Beloit and got my ass handed to me in giant inflatable balls but that’s for another day.

I finished off my travels and went to California with the family in July, a trip we’ve taken many times but never fails to be a success. It was when I got home from that, I was able to find the opportunity I have now with the Langley Events Centre, designing everything under the sun for everything that happens. It’s a dream come true and the perfect spot for me.

The change and the traveling were necessary to take me to the next level, professionally and personally. The leap was hard but the reward was worth it. 2017 had it’s highs and lows, but I am grateful for it.

[mhenderson95]

Saying Goodbye To A Chapter

At some point during the 2011/12 Vancouver Canucks season, then Canucks Army Editor, Thomas Drance, put out a calling for someone to put together a couple simple headers for Canucks Army. I offered, being a student in high school at the time, to do it as an opportunity to do work for something Canucks related. I had already done graphics on my own time, for my own blog, and Thom knew of me and graciously accepted my offer. Little did I know, I’d still have the chance to work with them up until this season. 

I had the opportunity to work with Thom, who gave me every opportunity to succeed and his impact helped me get a couple full-time jobs, including the one I currently have. I had the opportunity to work with some of the best writers I have ever encountered and work with editors Rhys Jessop, Jeff Veillette and most recently J.D. Burke. 

A couple seasons ago, along with all-around incredible person Grainne Downey, we took over the social media for CA, and having the opportunity to interact with Canucks fans during games was as fun as ever, and the chance to work alongside Grainne was and continues to be, something that made Canucks games fun. (Especially last season). Grainne and I were friends before CA, and we continue to be, as I do need someone in my life that I can yell to about this team. I also had the chance to work with Vanessa Jang on social last season, and CA social is in good hands with those two at the helm.

The chance to do graphic design and social media for a website that has grown and grown, and grown since I took over has been a privilege that I greatly appreciated.

Life, however, has gotten too busy, my current work is taking up any time I previously had to work social media and day to day graphics for Canucks Army. I’m not leaving CA all together, you can’t get rid of me that easily. I’ll still be doing some graphics here and there for CA, and look forward to continuing to help out the fantastic writing staff at CA. All it means is I’m saying goodbye to a chapter in my life, saying goodbye to day-to-day duties at CA. 

This has already gone on way longer than it needed to, so I leave with this, one of my first graphics at CA. How this got me any further work is beyond me, because it’s a disaster, but I am forever grateful that it did.

[mhenderson95]

Like most in 2016, this past week has been especially tough. The loss of legends like Ali and Howe, will bring out the emotions inside of you, as the people of the world pay their respects to those that made their lives worthwhile. It inspires you, to one day create a legacy that when your time on this earth is done, people will remember you. For, as we know, death is inevitable, but the memory of you can live on forever through the hearts of those you inspire. Now, it wasn’t until the late news tonight that singer Christina Grimmie had died due to a gunshot wound at a concert that it all really hit home for me. Two sides of the spectrum. Two legends of sport, who lived full, gratifying and inspiring lives passing away. A young girl with the sunrise in her palms has hers taken from her in a senseless tragedy. Like blood, life is crimson. It is every shade of red, it is an auburn sky, it is a burgundy goodbye.  Fragile is used often, to describe the life we lead. Shootings are not new, death is not new. The concept of living is something we need. For all the purple rain and bees and butterflies can paint the sky in that crimson sunset, but without a back story, they are nothing but nature’s castoffs. The opportunity to live, to be your own person, to let your story unfold in front of your eyes is something nobody should have taken from them.

Red is also about love. In loss, we must bring ourselves closer to those we have, and ensure that for every swatch of red you paint the world, you paint some yellow for the sunlight. For we may cry, we may break, we may lose sight of that sun in the sky, but it is there. And though for some, the sun has set, and for others, it is just beginning to rise, as long as it lives on inside of us, we will never be alone.

[mhenderson95]

2015, I’ll miss you

It’s not easy, you know. You sit yourself down, and look at the world without rose-coloured glasses. You clamp down on what you truly want to be doing in five years, ten years, hell maybe even twenty years. But you don’t let yourself be contained or defined by the decisions you make that day, but simply start the path to where you want to go. Prior to 2015, I did just that. I sat myself down and decided that graphic design is what I do, and what I need to be doing for my future. Sure, would it be easier to settle into a part-time job and make enough to get by for a while, and maybe slide into an office job down the road that pays the bills you need to pay? Sure it would be. But easy doesn’t build foundations for your future, it puts band-aids on the problems ahead. And 2014 sucked. 2014 was not a good year for me. But I needed it. I grew from it, I learned from it. I needed it. And having 2014, made 2015 just that much more amazing.

I’m not sad like I used to be. I don’t bury myself down to fill the happiness of others. I don’t let the bad days become the everyday, and the good days flow through now. I have found happiness in the smallest of victories, or the largest of triumphs.

So 2015 was a big year for me personally. I had the opportunity to be a groomsman in one of my best friend’s weddings. I got a chance to go to the US Open in Washington, an experience like none other. I spent time, I laughed with my closest friends and I wouldn’t trade a second of it. But my 2015, from a professional stand point, is also irreplaceable.

I had them opportunity to meet some incredible people in 2015, and grow from relationships I had prior. I met some people that share with me the same love for design, or sports, or life that I do. I met my fellow students, and we didn’t know it at the time but the year 2015 would bring us together like a family, and we would ride through the roller coaster of that program through all it’s flaws and all it’s successes. The projects were easier, knowing I wasn’t the only one up in the middle of the night working on them. I’m not an artist. At least in the traditional sense. I try to draw, I try so hard, but I don’t lie to myself. But I tried this year, and I was rewarded with superiors telling me that I have an eye that can’t be taught. Regardless if it’s drawing or design, that meant the world to me.

And I don’t brag about stuff. I like to keep a low key profile. Success is defined in a million ways. But I can’t help be proud of myself, for graduating with an A average in a year-long, time-intensive program. But I’m also proud of the other people in the class, who did just as well, and fought just as hard. I didn’t do it alone.

I also had a chance to increase my design workload, with Canucks Army, among other things. You can’t ask for a better opportunity to get free reign on testing your design skills, than what Thomas Drance and the rest of the Nation Network has given me the chance to do. I got a chance to work with three blogs, for two days, doing by the second design work for the NHL Draft. That is some of the most fun I’ve ever had.

So, 2016. Bring it on. I know you won’t be easy. And I sure as hell have no idea what it has in store.

But I can’t wait.