Today’s tidbit: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” — Steve Jobs
I couldn’t agree with this more. I think this was always somewhere in the back of my mind during high school and college. In high school I had no clue what I wanted to do and changed my mind so many times. I didn’t want to settle and couldn’t imagine picking one thing to do. In college I dabbled in many different majors and activities trying to figure out what to pursue. I think some people, like my sister, are born knowing what they want and are meant to do. For others, like me, it takes longer. You just have to keep looking until you find it!

Having changed majors and schools a few times, I learned everything happens at a certain time. You have to stop trying to plan everything, and embrace change and what comes your way. The events following graduation were no exception. As I mentioned in my first blog post, I think both luck and hard work came into play along with being at the right place at the right time. As soon as I graduated college I was able to land an internship at ASCD in Alexandria. Not only did I work along side Lindsey, one of my GMU design friends who I looked up to and admired, but I also had my favorite professor, Reece as my creative director.

While I interned, I continued to work on my portfolio and apply to jobs. July 2011 was a busy month with three interviews and two job offers—one of which I accepted. Sometimes you just know and at that time everything was lining up perfectly. After my interview I went back to my internship at ASCD where everyone was asking me how it went. Within a few hours, I was staring at a job offer on my screen with Lindsey and Reece jumping for joy. It was an amazing feeling! I accepted my first full time job at a design agency, TGD Communications, Inc. in Old Town Alexandria, starting on August 1st.

I have been with TGD over a year now. It is a small enough agency where you are always working on different projects and multitasking, and yet it is large enough that there are always other designers to collaborate with and help. It’s a great balance. I enjoy being able to take a break and walk along the water in Old Town. When the owners’ dog, Olive isn’t here a few colleagues and I rotate bringing our dogs in. Sammy has come to work a few times, which is a nice added bonus. I have worked on a variety of projects with many different designers and clients. While it can be stressful, I am enjoying it and learning something new every day!