Coming Full Circle

There is an interesting blog at Before and After magazine that I enjoy. There was an interesting question posed to its audience that got me remembering my past as a designer. The question that was posed was, "How have you made the decisions in your career that got you where you are today? And what’s next?"

My answer to the latter question would have to be, "I don't know?" But to the former…that brings up some memories. I remember the thoughts I had about my decision to get a BFA in graphic design rather than a BS in mathematics. I knew that decision would commit me down a particular path. It was a decision between what I loved to do versus what I thought guaranteed financial stability. That was a scary decision. Then I remember after graduation, sitting on the edge of my bed, thinking about the point of it all. What is life all about? I wanted to be a designer, but for what purpose? To just design and then die.

The answers were not satisfying until I began to take those nagging feelings seriously. ("I better find out why I do what I do, or I will never find any satisfaction in it.") I then remember attending a Bible study where they were discussing the book of Ecclesiastes. And the questions were right before me that I was asking. And it made sense. I have been created for something bigger than this life, doing design. I am made to be something.

Those were watershed experiences that shaped the type of designer I am today.