Month: August 2018

Absent but still here

MiaLeave a comment
absent but still here
Made in Canva

I haven’t blogged since Monday but even if I’ve been absent, I’ve still been here. Like in real life, if I don’t have anything to say I don’t say anything. A lot of people think I’m absent if I don’t speak. I’m there but I observe. That’s an introvert way. I can be doing something but I still listen. Except if I write something where I need all my senses. I can’t, for example, listen and write at the same time. I can’t be a journalist because I can’t concentrate on two things at once. That’s the only time I can’t multitask. Other times I can do other things at once. Listening to music and writing this blog, like I do right now. I don’t think I could do anything if I didn’t have something in the background. Of course, the music shouldn’t be too loud. Loud noises or talking distract me and I get agitated.

Sometimes being absent from all the stimulations around you is good. Mine is being in nature and only the birds singing. Unfortunately, there seem to be people everywhere. You could be in a solitude place and then a human walks by and spoils the silence. In the country, there could be more silent places but in the city not so much. Then any silent is welcome and you take what you can. In Finland, there are places where you can be absent from the stress because nature is always close. I’m glad I’m not addicted to smartphones. Leaving my phone at home isn’t that hard. I wouldn’t know what the time is but I wouldn’t get be disappointed if I left it at home. When you go to nature, you should be absent from the internet and concentrate on other things. The life is out there and not on your phone. Some people seem to have forgotten that. I was offline all weekend when I went to Stockholm and it was the most relaxing time I’ve had in a long time.

Being absent from everything for a while do you good. If it’s travelling or a short trip to the beach (or whatever you fancy) You can also be absent but still here. Or maybe it’s just a skill some people have. Either way, getting away from your daily life once in a while helps you keep on going.

 

A journey to the unknown

Mia3 Comments
open road
Made in Canva

A journey doesn’t only mean travelling to another city or country. It can also mean a journey to a new life situation or in my case, learning a new skill. It’s not coddiwomple for me because I don’t really know where this road is going. Graphic design is not a new journey for me because I studied it before. But it was such a long time ago so things have changed. I haven’t worked in this industry so this is new to me. I don’t really know how it works. In every school, there are different teachers who have different learning styles. In Helsinki Design School, the people who educate us, have seen the real world in graphic design. Professional teachers don’t have the same experiences as they do.

After learning web design, graphic design seemed to be the next step I wanted to take. One of the reasons was that I wanted to hear professionals opinions about my skills. We have assignments we must do and then the teachers give us feedback on what we have done. At the same time, we learn new things. Last I studied graphic design, photography was my main thing which was the reason why I applied to the school. Things have changed since then and I want different things. I’ve always been praised for my visual skills. That was my strongest suit. Most people in my class haven’t experienced with web design so that’s my advantage. There isn’t much difference between them. The difference is web design is online and graphics in print. I want to concentrate more on the digital side.

Since I’ve had clients before, I’m not totally a rookie in that field. I did it for free so I don’t have experiences with the financial side. I wish I could get paid for doing design but I don’t know if anyone wants to buy my ‘product’ It’s not only about the work. It’s also about marketing which is something I’m not good at. Hiring an outsider to do the work costs money and I don’t have any connections who could do it for free or for a small fee. I don’t think I’ll find any in this school. Finns are not exactly easy with networking. You have to start a conversation to even get any attention but that’s nothing new. Fortunately, there are other ways to network and not just face to face. My classmates all seem to have a lot of experiences and they’re younger than me. The only thing we have in common is wanting to learn graphic design. It’s still early to say what’s gonna happen. It’s quite difficult to get to know people when there’s so many of us and we meet only twice a month.

This journey has just begun and there is a lot to learn. I hope I get better as a designer so I can make a living of it. I already know a lot about creativity. More I see graphic design, more I love it. There’s a lot of good ones out there and I wish I could be as good. When this school is over, I hope this journey will be a coddiwomple because so far my life has gone in different directions without a special goal. I want to combine things I learned in life and get better at it.