Bloganuary: Write about a challenge you faced and overcame

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Day 14. I’ve had a lot of challenges in my life. Most of them are about education. I have studied things I wanted to. The challenge has been how to stay motivated. I always preferred short educations. The longest has been 2 years. Before I applied, I thought it felt long. In fact, it went pretty quickly. Finding friends has never been an easy task for me. That is a challenge in its self. I have a hard time fitting in. Feeling a part of a group and then trying to stay motivated on the education, that is hard. I’ve noticed through the years that being part of something helps to get through a challenge. I overcame the challenge with help from the teachers and the school psychologist I went to. Without that, I probably wouldn’t have passed the education.

I take you back to 2009, when school started. It was a basic examination in graphic design. Photography was also part of it which is the reason I applied. It was in another city, so I lived in a dorm. I didn’t like to live there. There were too many noisy people. I didn’t have any friends to spend the evenings with. My classmates lived at home. I made my own entertainment. I went outside for walks and so on. The problem with my classmates was that most of them were smokers. It’s a bit unfair for those who don’t. Smokers bond, and they get to know each other that way. Smoking is an awful habit, and I would never start to get friends. All I had in common was education. In time, I get to know them. I’m still in contact with one of them on Facebook. They were friendly people, and we did get along fine. I wished they would have been someone who didn’t smoke. Who knows what they talked about on the breaks. The second year was a little better. There were times I thought about quitting because I felt left out. I wasn’t sure I wanted to study the subject after all. But luckily, I did. There were things I wouldn’t have experienced if I had quit. I got an internship in a local newspaper, and we also learned about portfolios. In 2011 the school was over, but I didn’t continue with graphic design until 2018. I was into photography which was the reason why I studied it in the first place. The education was useful in the future.

I’ve had another challenge that I overcame, but it wasn’t as hard as the one above. In 2016, I studied web design. It was for a year. The challenge in that was when the job learning started. We had one in the Autumn and one in the Spring. We had to find clients by ourselves. I thought I wouldn’t have found anyone, but then I did. The first job learning was complex, but the client was very understanding. Coding was complicated for me. I didn’t know if I could finish the project. Even the start was a challenge. The first one wasn’t crucial. It was only practice. The 2nd job learning was more important. We had to have at least 3 clients. I found two in the end. It would be our last assignment which we would present in front of three evaluators. I was really nervous. I don’t like to do presentations. I don’t know how I got through it, but I did. I passed the course, and I didn’t have to do the presentation again. I had experience with clients and project work, so at least I have something to give. It’s a great feeling when you know you faced a challenge and overcame it. You can be proud of yourself, and the next challenge will feel easier.

Bloganuary: Living boldly in my head

up in the ski jumping tower
Ski jumping tower in Lahti, Finland by ©️Mia Salminen

Day 11. I’m not boldly at all. A lot of things scare me. I’m always being careful. Once, I fractured my left hand when I slipped on ice; after that, I promised myself I never wanted to get hurt that way. All of my hobbies have been safe. I’ve slalom skied, but even then, I wasn’t boldly. It’s better to be safe than sorry. You live longer too. Not that I want to live until I’m 100. People think you need to be bold to feel you’re alive. Everyone doesn’t want to live in danger. I don’t believe in this; live each day like it was your last. There are many things I haven’t done, but I don’t feel I’ve missed anything. How can you miss something you never had? I don’t regret things. What is done is done. There have been experiences I wish I didn’t have, but I have learned from them. For me, living boldly means doing it in my head. Everythings in there goes the way I want.

In certain things, I wish I was bold. I’ve thought since 2018 about becoming an entrepreneur in design. I even went to a course about it. I still haven’t started. It’s fear of losing free time and money problems. What if things don’t go anywhere, and then I have no security. Some say it takes years to become successful. I’ve had doubts about my ability to have a business. I skipped the idea and thought about looking for a job instead. But nothing has come up, so I’m starting to think about the entrepreneur thing again. The thought about working at home and not having to go anywhere sounds good in my head. The reality is different. There is a lot you need to do to get your business out there. You need to stand out. I don’t have anything new to show. I don’t think I’m that good. There are many more experienced people out there. I don’t know what kind of services I would have. You need to be bold and know how to promote the things you create.

My boldness comes from small things. Driving a car or a bike in traffic. Daring to learn new things. Going to concerts which I didn’t do when I was younger. You don’t need to be a daredevil to feel alive. Being boldly in small doses is just as good.