I believe I was in grade two when our teacher went through the class alphabetically and asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up.
I remember answering, I’d be a teacher.
As I got older, I decided, I’d like to be in the arts, a profession like my dad. (He was a signwriter)
My father thought it a bad idea, he said there was no money in the arts, & after high school, my guidance teacher suggested I go into psychology, the family decided, that maybe graphic design could be a good industry to earn money and do art… A best of both really.
ps. The family is still grateful I’m not a psychologist.
I hated being a designer! Not the designing, (well most of it) but the hectic deadlines to create on-demand was exhausting & stressful.
To make matters worse, there wasn’t much creativity going on at all. Most of your day is spent cutting out images of hot chips for menu designs on Photoshop, & doing layouts for black and white fliers.
You very rarely get to design much of anything.
(I did do illustrations of Corneleous the chicken for Kellogg’s, but that was an exceptional day!)
I left the agency, and at my very next graphic design interview, I stood up and walked out.
When the director insisted I turn the pages of my portfolio for him, while he sat at the board table, slurping his hot coffee through his annoying butt lips. This was after he’d kept me waiting forty-five minutes in the lobby with the receptionist. (Who was drier than toast)
I was done!
Amongst other things, like selling lingerie on the weekends & imported licorice at the flea market. I was also fired as a waitress for giving my, ‘Are you joking?’, 42c tip back to the customer.
I decided my God-given talents were being wasted as a bar lady, & I went on my journey to create my own company… where there would be no rules!
I would slurp my own coffee, & would FINALLY do what I loved.
I think it rather strange actually, the seven-year-old me knew it all along…
Maybe we should listen to the inner child a little more.