Perspective.
The world is changing, it always has been.
It’s vital to reflect. Through this deep reflection, we can learn everything we need to know about ourselves. We make up our own realities, and those realities are dictated by our subconscious and conscious perspective about how we view the world.
For example, I started this graphic design journey over a year ago, but have been working and creating since I was young. Through my art, you can see to some degree, how I think about the world. The minute details I’ll place into my work have been driven through my subjective experiences that make up my perspective. For example this drawing below:
I remember clearly the thing that excited me the most when I was younger. It was a driver for me to pursue graphic design this past year.
My dad has a friend who’s worked most of his career in the design industry. Growing up he’d come over with awesome items that he’d designed, along with the most amazing stories about the people that were wearing the stuff he’d created.
Instantly, I fell in love with the idea of creating something that someone else would be interested in wearing. I’d go to bed dreaming about what I wanted my future to look like as a designer. I would take art classes in school and sit there for hours working on projects. I was inspired and amazed at the ability level of the people around me. It helped me draw inspiration for my own projects.
“But, there’s no money in art. It’s not worth pursuing something that you can’t make any money doing.” The issue is, no one was telling me this directly, it was my own assumption that this was the case. So, my dream only ever felt like a dream. My dads friend was just a really talented individual who was naturally better at this type of thing and that’s why he has this role, and that’s why he gets to create amazing products for amazing people.
This was my perspective, and it continued onto my college career. I got a degree in Business because I felt like this had the most opportunities outside of school to make money. I honestly was pretty uninterested in school, I phased through the four years and didn’t feel fulfilled. (I’m guessing a lot of kids felt the same).
This was my perspective. It led me down into a dark pit of my own self-awareness and how the world operated outside of my perspective. I have to some degree, completely restructured the way I view the world. It was insanely lonely and still is at times. I needed to understand why some people have “better” and “easier” times navigating this world.
It all comes down to perspective.
A flip switched in my head when I started deeply observing the people around me. How they interacted with their parents, other friends, and romances. I had to understand that you are only as good as the subjective experiences around you. My perspective was deeply unique, and so is everyone else’s. My grandparents grew up in a different generation, different location, with different friends from my parents. My parents grew up in different locations, with different friends from each other….
Such a simple idea, yet it bothered me deeply. I had to relearn how to think about the world, and understand everything is designed through perspective. Even our realities. Once I realized this the floodgates opened.
I found myself sitting with this amazing opportunity, in an amazing time, with a dream that only I could make happen.
I had to understand that my dad’s friend has his own experiences and his are different from mine. No two experiences operate the same nor should they, each of us have our own trajectories.
I know dreams are just dreams, but regret is a much heavier burden than not trying at all. This is why I continue to pave a way for my dream.
Thank you for your time.
With love,
Kai
Weekly Poem:
A grandfather dies, doesn’t have many possessions except the stuff left in his attic.
He has two grandsons who inherit his belongings.
The first son, the older one, walks into the attic and says to his little brother, “Don’t waste your time, there’s nothing in there.”
The second brother walks into the attic and finds a book called The History of Everything.
Both go on to be financially successful.
Moral of the story, Life’s about perspective.
Don’t pursue things that aren’t worth your time, and don’t pass up on things that may provide you invaluable lessons.
