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I should be stressed out. I should be worried about getting everything done before graduation but I'm not. It is all going to get done. I know myself too well. I won't let anything go undone. 

Easter weekend was different this year. Usually I spend it with my family, visiting my cousins, and enjoying the "Spring" weather back home... implying that home doesn't ever see the season... it goes straight from semi-cold to hot. 

This past Easter weekend was spent learning languages. No, not dialects from around the world, more like a special interest "love language." By this I mean the love of design: action script, CSS and HTML were on the forefront of my mind for 72 hours. 

I took a long run on Friday afternoon to clear my head and get out all the built up energy that was accumulating over the week. Afterwards, I sat in front of the computer, learning codes and building our Web site for Meredith Corporation. I really can't be more pleased with our current product. It isn't finished yet, but by next Wednesday it will be and I will probably be more excited.

 

Some people learn more from other people but in my 21 years of life I have learned that if I jump right in, I'll figure out how make something/anything work. As I've gotten older I have become a bit wiser. I realize and believe you can't do everything alone -- if you think you can, you'll go crazy trying. 

Working with a team of people for numerous projects this semester has had its ups and downs, its challenges and its successes but the result isn't the big picture -- it's what I have gained through the process. Seriously, I have learned a great deal from my peers this semester and I credit them with a lot of my creative inspiration. They have opened my eyes to a lot more design elements and ways of execution. This is one of, if not the biggest reason I love what I do -- I'll never stop learning, and I'll never know it all, and that's so cool!! 

So if Adobe comes out with CS5 in a month (which as far as I know, nothing of the sort is happening) I might complain because that would be ridiculous, but in reality, I would be so excited to learn the new shortcuts and updates. 

This past week we have been discussing conversations we have all had with design directors, graphic artists, and many others in the industry. Not only have I posted two countdowns until graduation around my house, I have been looking at apartments in New York every night before I go to bed --- but I promise I have a life, although design is and always will be a huge part. I interviewed Kristin Fitzpatrick, design director of Marie Claire magazine earlier today and just thinking about my future makes me smile subconsciously. 

The country might be in recession but it won't stop me. The job market might be tougher now that than in the past, but the good news is --- the real estate is lower that it has been in a long time in New York.  I am literally on the edge of my seat waiting, a tad bit impatiently, until I move. Columbia, you have been good to be for four years but I believe it is time to move on... hopefully somewhere ten times bigger... at least.