As the semester comes to a close, I am left with the feeling that I have at the end of every semester—that I haven’t created anything. No semester has ever gone as quickly as this one seemed to, but I can’t help but look back at how much I have grown as a designer.
Since last year, I feel I have made huge strides in coming closer to reaching my goals and to spending my time on projects that I am passionate about. The project this semester that I had the most fun with was my "Choose Your Own Adventure" website. weekendwithmaeve.com This project required me to solve problems using software and processes that I truly had no experience with (AfterEffects, PHP, using my own server, and illustrating whole environments with a Wacom). This project, though, taught me the most important lessons I have learned about how to problem solve when things go awry, how to use the resources around you, and how to allow yourself to just be creative and enjoy the process.
Throughout the creative process, I went through a lot of second guessing my decisions and thinking my whole website was kitschy and worthless. I had to reach a point where I could find confidence in my decisions and trust my own taste and eye for design.
By the end of it, my roommates were probably just being polite and saying they loved it and didn't mind me staying up to the early hours of the morning with my desk lamp on and my constant keyboard clicking or pencil scratching, but I also have to learn how to accept a complement and stop worrying.
Overall, I am incredibly proud of my progress this past year and have to ignore the self-doubt that is constantly whispering in the back of my head, I have a feeling it isn't going away anytime soon. For now, I am just going to enjoy the process.
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