Featured post

First semester

The last post was almost 3 months ago, that, I am ashamed of and I will save you the excuses, as busy and crazy as final year is I am really...

Tuesday 15 December 2015

First semester

The last post was almost 3 months ago, that, I am ashamed of and I will save you the excuses, as busy and crazy as final year is I am really enjoying it. The work load can seen over whelming but when I know it is all work that will benefit me in the long term, that makes such a difference. I could go as far as saying that this year was the most amount of work I have put in at my home university, I can say this because I completely mean every word. 

When you are passionate or even as simple as interested in a project you will give much more of an effort than trying at a project that you have no interest in, because all you will do is try and you get nowhere with a lack of energy like that. 

My head, my thinking, my thoughts, emotions were far from focused on college when I started in first year, I knew that I wanted to study design and I had never been interested in anything else, when I was in school it was the one subject that had a shimmer of hope of employing me. Although by the time I made it to college I was so exhausted with the years of work to get there, I had lost why I worked so hard to get there; I questioned myself, was it all worth it? do I still want this as a career? where has all my motivation gone? None the less I got a place on my course and I had to make sure to pass first and second year. 

I made it into second year with the idea of applying to study abroad in america, for third year, at that point it was something that interested me as soon as I heard about it those couple of months earlier but there was applying, getting through, affording it and then going. If I didn't have america to look forward to I can be sure I wouldn't have finished second year and graduating would have been a lost goal. 

Once I had my year abroad finished I came back to third year completely refreshed, as my dad always says when times get over whelming; stop, take a step back and sharpen your metaphorical sword. At home everything was set out for me in my degree, I was for the first time allowed to choose fun courses that I wanted to work on, be independent (the real form of independence, when you don't run home on a Friday from college to get your clothes washed by mum) make new friends and have a year that would help inspire me again, allow me to fall in love with design and sharpen that sword that grants me to come back stronger and ready to take on the crucial final year. 

So far I have managed to prove myself right. Along side all these opportunities that I managed to gain whilst away I meet a lot of people that have very similar ideas as me, to dream big and aiming high for that job that might seem almost impossible to anyone else. I was much more positive towards my work and anything that I happened to be working on (now don't get me wrong I have my days where it seems like nothing is working out, waiting on that breakthrough or just pissed off with people and the world around me, well sure don't we all have days like that... I hope so, don't leave my hanging here). 

Now in my final year, I decided to focus a huge amount of my time at the beginning of the semester to choose projects that would help build my portfolio and create work that I was completely interested in. Projects on the side where also of interest, anything that caught my eye, freelancing, logo designs and competitions. In particular photography competitions. I had been fond of photography for a very long time, and when I purchased myself the Canon 600D back in 2012 the interest has just grown. I took my first photography class whilst abroad and I did learn some editing techniques but mostly it pushed me to spend time on taking pictures, when it was a class I made a conscious effort to focus on taking good quality pictures. So back in October a competition appeared on Facebook from a company called 'Connect House' (http://www.connect-ed.life/welcome/they are established in Tokyo. They were looking for a creative photograph that was in line with the categories that were listed, the prize was two weeks accommodation in Tokyo, Japan along with money towards flights. 

This was a fantastic opportunity that I had nothing to loss when applying. I searched through their hashtags and choose the topics that I liked and choose a recent photograph that was perfect for the entry. 




Honestly this is one of my most favourite photograph's that I have had the opportunity to capture. The image got through to become a finalist in the competition and low and behold A week or two after I had entered I got a very exciting message to inform me that I was the winner of the competition.

Well words could not describe the excitement that was surging through me, combined with a healthy dose of shock. The days that followed allowed for the fantastic news to sink in and allow me to come to terms with what is just around the corner. Not only was I getting to go to Japan, a place I had never been to before I was getting the chance to visit one of my very close friends; KIE!!! I haven't seen her since leaving Durango back in May and the cherry on top Emma was going to be in Tokyo at exactly the same time as me; What are the chances? 

Being in final year and trying to squeeze two free weeks in for none other than a holiday, I thought was impossible but don't worry I would make it happen. I had to claim the prize before May and I wasn't finished college until the end of May, therefore my only opportunity was the end of January when I handed in all my coursework. This was the break I needed, sharpening the sword just before beginning the last leg of my degree. 

Flights booked, coursework in full swing and Christmas just around the corner, I had to make time to write this very proud post. Elements are just falling into place, I don't take any of the opportunities that I have for granted; I worked hard to make them happen and this is one I will never forget. Heres to eating sushi and cuddles with Kie and Emma. 

Everything happens for a reason. xx