I’d like to take a moment to talk about my personal top 3 skills. I touched on some of these skills in my pitch deck, but since design-wise the slide format doesn’t take well to paragraphs of text, I didn’t get to write it up fully. I’ll use the blog format to flesh things out a bit.
Creative/Visual Design
This is my number-one skill. A lot of artists say this, but I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. I never had access to Photoshop or Illustrator, even well into high school, either because I didn’t have my own computer or because I didn’t have my own money to pay for the programs. As a result, all of my attention went into pencil and paper drawings. My influences were mostly things I saw on TV. My favorite shows were cartoons like Teen Titans, Danny Phantom, Code Lyoko, and Avatar the Last Airbender, just to name a few. I got into anime in middle school, which added another stylistic layer. I studied anatomy and did many life drawings, because all my mentors made sure I knew that learning what goes on physiologically would make it easier to exaggerate some things, tone down others, and push things around until I could develop my own style.
Introducing myself to the digital world of drawing led me to develop skills in graphic design, which I quickly put to use in the several internships and workplaces I’ve dipped my toes in. I found my preference easily—I’m biased towards minimalistic designs and clean, clutter-free layouts. When there’s nothing extra to look at, your attention goes right where the artists wants it, which, especially in the world of marketing, excites me and makes me feel like I’ve done the best job I possibly can.
Drive
I went to college for 3D animation and visual effects, but I was behind some of my classmates at first for not having the technical foundation. I picked up Adobe CC first, because that was my comfort zone, and being comfortable with the skills I already had in a new format, digitally, would be my first step to succeeding amongst my peers. Learning the 3D programs was difficult for me, but I knew that I wouldn’t stand a chance in the real world if I didn’t learn how to adapt. So, I worked harder. My end goal was to make friends, network, get my degree, and go out learning more than when I came in. And, I did.
If I hadn’t been so driven to succeed, then I wouldn’t be where I am now. Even though the rough job market was a hard punch in the gut, I still kept searching for opportunities to make sure people knew how much I could do, how hard I’ve worked, how hard I wanted this. A year after graduating college, my drive is what led me to Praxis. I was searching for something to lead me even further down the path of success, and this program was it.
Flexibility
I won’t ever know everything. If school has taught me anything, it’s that life is full of learning opportunities whether or not you seek them out. In order to stay afloat, you need to pull up yourself up by the bootstraps and get to adapting. I consider myself a flexible person. As I wrote about above, the very beginning of college was difficult for me, precisely because of all the new programs I had to learn and adapt to.
I’ve not had a hard life, but there were some times in my life where things really went bad, and it threw me for a loop for quite a while. However, part of being flexible is learning from your past experiences, be it good or bad, and moving on. If you can’t move with the tide, it’ll force you down. I take pride in my ability to change and adapt, whether it be in my personal or professional life.
Nobody knows where they’re going to end up in life, but having a good set of skills under your belt is sure to lead you in the right direction. I trust myself. I know what I know, and what I don’t—that in itself is valuable. I know that if I stick to my guns, things will go well.