Struggling to magnify your potential?
I’ve been there.
I was told to lower my standards.
Traditional school never came easy to me. I'm dyslexic but didn't know it at the time. When I met with a college career counselor during my senior year of high school, I showed her the list of schools I was applying to. She looked at my numbers and her demeanor shifted. She told me I should lower my standards leaving paralyzing doubt.
My work was ripped to pieces.
If you’ve met a designer, they’ve likely told you horror stories about design critique. This is when you share your work and get feedback. Early in my career, back when we would print things out, a manager yelled at me and ripped my work into pieces, literally. I was paralyzed to take creative risks and share my work moving forward.
I was mentally unstable.
I've experienced countless days when I couldn’t get out of bed. Anxiety and depression were woven into my identity. I woke up more mornings than I can remember with a heavy weight in my chest, feeling trapped in a never-ending cycle of worry and sadness. Despite my best efforts to push through the day, the darkness always seemed to find its way back in. I didn’t have a clear sense of direction or where to turn.
I was stuck in a career I wasn't passionate about.
My childhood dream was to one day work at Google. The wild part about dreams is what presents itself upon achieving that dream. Upon landing my job on as a designer on Google Maps, I realized I wasn’t passionate about it. But, I didn’t have the confidence to take the necessary steps to pursue my true calling. I felt trapped.
Things have radically changed for me since then.
I got accepted to every college I applied to.
I love sharing what I create.
My mental health is thriving.
My career is fueled with curiosity and passion.
That all being said,
my life is far from perfect.
Doors close on me every week.
I get told my ideas won't work.
Hurdles continue to come every day.
The difference is, I now have the tools, resources, and support to manage them with awareness, equanimity, and grit.