2/27/12
Stay the course
We all have them. This time of coming to a fork in the road (metaphorically) and deciding which path is the best for us. I've come to that path in the last couple months, and as much as I sometimes want to take it off road down to the low route, we must stick with our initial intentions and follow through. Though this path you have chosen can be a bit questionable, scary, and unknown, something instinctual told you to do it. This intuitive nature you feel could be simple conscious, God (if you're religious), or just simple as your heart and gut. Now, yes, such a cheesy statement is follow your heart, but it can't be more true in sense. Sometimes your heart wants to do exactly opposite what your brain wants to do, but you'll be fine in the long run. Remember, your brain is the one giving the idea that that last shot would be a good idea on Friday night, which inevitably leads to a toilet of your previous dinner, and a nice sad morning of depression and throbbing headache. Don't do it. Your heart generally seems to be the best bet in creating some inertia in your current actions. For someone like me, up and leaving a city after a year instead of the estimated goal of 5 years, was me following my heart. Not many people understood, but in the end its your heart, not theirs, and it doesn't really matter. You must live with the consequences of that decision, not them. Also having to say goodbye to someone that you care about. Always tough, nothing I say on this blog gives any remedy. Only your watch holds that. You think following your heart is following that person that has your heart, but in reality, its still yours, and you control how much control someone has on steering it. Again, be true to yourself, and do what is the best for you to be better. In everything I've dealt with in the last couple months has given me this realization, be the best person I can be. Not for anyone else necessarily, just because I want to be able to lay down at night knowing I bring positivity to this life. I sort of came up with this thought the other day, that your brain is only so big, and can only hold so much memory. Fill it with good memory, instead of wasting space on the bad. Step 1 to helping you keep that frown turned upside down. Second, your heart is only so big, why waste space on hatred when you can love so much more. At the end of the day, love yourself the most, because that is one person you can never part from. Sorry, thats the cards you were dealt, so be a beacon of some sort of good that will draw people in. It really isn't that hard. You hate your job? Turn that into how much you love that drive home from work and having your life. You are angry at your ex? Turn that into happiness of the good you had with them at that point in your life, and generally will teach you to love the right one so much more. Bottom line, we all feel lost at a point. But trust me, no matter how many tempting signs come along on this road you're on right now to turn back or take a detour, keep your pedal down, mind focused, and face smiling, because there is way more light at the end of this tunnel.
3/27/11
The looks of NYC.
I wanted to post some of what I have seen since living in NYC. From touristy to the everyday.
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| Pier onto the East River, a few blocks from my apartment. |
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| The green kicks. |
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| Where I work. |
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| View from the rooftop of my office. |
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| Chinatown rooftop graffiti. |
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| December 26, 2010, first of the blizzard. |
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| My apartment. |
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| My apartment building and stoop. |
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| My setup at work. |
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| Walk through the tunnel from the 1 train to the L train. |
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| View from my bedroom window. |
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| Penguins at American Museum of Natural History. |
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| Bike riding around Prospect Park in Brooklyn. |
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| My cab ride from the airport when I moved into the city. |
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| View from my apartment rooftop in Brooklyn. |
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| Pond in Central Park. |
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| Neighborhood market in Upper West Side. |
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| Outside my office building, before I ever even interviewed. 2nd Floor. |
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| Central Park in the fall. |
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| 5th Ave Apple store. |
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| The Great Lawn at Central Park. |
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| First interview location. |
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| The 1 train at 225th st. |
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| Courtyard of my first apartment building. |
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| On the way to work. |
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| Rockefeller Christmas tree. |
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| My first stop when I get to work. |
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| Where John Lennon was shot, underneath his apartment building. |
1/31/11
We all need a little change.
Change means things are going to be different. Can be as small as adjusting to a new pair of Hanes you have added to the top dresser drawer, or learning to live in an entirely new environment. Or it can be learning to live without.
It's not always easy, but it is indeed one thing that all of us go through at some point in our life. Whether you like it or not.
You change age. You change tastes in music and food. You change grades and schools. It is what life is all about. Obama's entire presidential campaign was themed off the word "Change." Change for the better. Change for the worse.
Change comes sometimes without our control. And other times, we make decisions that spawn it. We have to, and we must understand that the consequences of it we need to endure so that we might, just maybe, reap a lesson of life out of it. Others will disagree with you, look down at you for it, or tell you straight up that you're wrong. But do understand that when you feel in your life that change is due, go with your gut and your heart, and leave your brain at home. Don't think yourself out of tasks that you know need to happen regardless if you like it or not. Because usually, the journey through the darkest places in life teach us the most about ourselves. Not to come off completely dramatic and deep. But God knows we all need to inspect who we are and what we're about every now and again. You need to make sure you are the best representation of what you want to be and be seen as before throwing yourself into social situations where someone might want to analyze you. Because they will.
I have decided that is what I need mostly right now in my life, so I am changing things as well. I need to figure out what I want in life, and what I want to be. Not so much career-wise, but more so human-wise. It is definitely not easy to do, and has already required major change that has been quite difficult to deal with. A little painful mind you. But necessary.
Be sure that you are pleased with who you are as a person before you ever decide to let someone else have you. You may just find yourself slipping down a path that you never intended. And when that does happen, making a decision to do something about it is all on your shoulders, and it might totally suck. Don't wait for someone else to tell you to. If you care about the thoughts of others towards you, to where it's what leads your life and decisions for yourself, change it.
It's not always easy, but it is indeed one thing that all of us go through at some point in our life. Whether you like it or not.
You change age. You change tastes in music and food. You change grades and schools. It is what life is all about. Obama's entire presidential campaign was themed off the word "Change." Change for the better. Change for the worse.
Change comes sometimes without our control. And other times, we make decisions that spawn it. We have to, and we must understand that the consequences of it we need to endure so that we might, just maybe, reap a lesson of life out of it. Others will disagree with you, look down at you for it, or tell you straight up that you're wrong. But do understand that when you feel in your life that change is due, go with your gut and your heart, and leave your brain at home. Don't think yourself out of tasks that you know need to happen regardless if you like it or not. Because usually, the journey through the darkest places in life teach us the most about ourselves. Not to come off completely dramatic and deep. But God knows we all need to inspect who we are and what we're about every now and again. You need to make sure you are the best representation of what you want to be and be seen as before throwing yourself into social situations where someone might want to analyze you. Because they will.
I have decided that is what I need mostly right now in my life, so I am changing things as well. I need to figure out what I want in life, and what I want to be. Not so much career-wise, but more so human-wise. It is definitely not easy to do, and has already required major change that has been quite difficult to deal with. A little painful mind you. But necessary.
Be sure that you are pleased with who you are as a person before you ever decide to let someone else have you. You may just find yourself slipping down a path that you never intended. And when that does happen, making a decision to do something about it is all on your shoulders, and it might totally suck. Don't wait for someone else to tell you to. If you care about the thoughts of others towards you, to where it's what leads your life and decisions for yourself, change it.
1/4/11
Of the bridge and tunnel people. I like it.
I am officially a New Yorker as of December 31, 2010, when I arrived in a budget truck with all my life's possessions. And, I must say, moving to New York is more of a nightmare than I could have ever imagined. With the mix of snow and ice, crazy NYC drivers, being under the weather, a 10-foot budget truck with overused wiper blades and bad shocks, and a $13.50 toll for every bridge and tunnel in and out of the city, it added up to be an experience I thought I would only find at the core of the Earth. Hell that is. But, all in all, it was a learning experience and now I know that you can't pump your own gasoline in New Jersey.
On a better note, I am here and moved into my awesome Williamsburg, Brooklyn apartment. My commute to work is cut in half, and my neighborhood consists of some of the most unique and amazing bars and restaurants in the NYC area. Also, not to mention, just a couple blocks from the water, which is the foundation of my Manhattan skyline view.
Check out some of the pictures of my apartment. I'm working on a little video of my NYC adventure so far, so be on the lookout.
On a better note, I am here and moved into my awesome Williamsburg, Brooklyn apartment. My commute to work is cut in half, and my neighborhood consists of some of the most unique and amazing bars and restaurants in the NYC area. Also, not to mention, just a couple blocks from the water, which is the foundation of my Manhattan skyline view.
Check out some of the pictures of my apartment. I'm working on a little video of my NYC adventure so far, so be on the lookout.
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| The Kitchen |
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| Part of the kitchen and living room. |
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| Through the living room to the two bedrooms. |
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| Bathroom. |
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| Full Kitchen. |
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| My bedroom. |
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| Old fireplace, now DVD holder. |
12/13/10
I made it.
Its been a while since I've written into this template, but I was having withdrawals, and not to mention, I have had a million and a half things happen since I did last. So let's recap the events.
First things first: I graduated from Portfolio Center. It was great. I was very ready to finish. Check out my updated portfolio of work on EricDewyngaert.com.
Second: I went to New York for a portfolio review/celebratory weekend with my fellow graduates. It was halloween weekend, so needless to say, fun times, from what I can remember. I met some great companies, and definitely saw interest in my work, which is what is was all about. I was their from Thursday-Monday evening, and the review fell on the Friday am. I met a recruiter during who set up a meeting with me on Monday am after the review, in which there was an interest for a position. Very long story short, by the time I was La Guardia bound in an accidental stretch limo with some friends, I was considering this being the last time I am leaving New York for a while. I had landed an interview for the next thursday, which I was required to get back to Atlanta, get things in order in about a weeks time, to be able to board a flight that Wednesday back to New York. One way.
Third: I did the move. I landed a sublet on the upper west side of Manhattan with a friend throughout the end of 2010. I put all of my life into 3 suitcases, said my very hard goodbyes, and set sail for my new life that abruptly fell into place. Moving to NYC meant I was going without a job, a temporary home, no family and only a handful of friends, and all of my belongings sitting in storage in Augusta, including my Xterra that I would still be making payments on in my mother's driveway. Still, something told me to go. Years of dreaming for this, those all seamed like petty hurdles for me to figure out, at a later time.
Fourth: As I moved to NYC, I was contacted by another firm who had met me in May at the portfolio review, and again at the review in October, mentioning they wanted me to come by the office to meet some others, which at the time I did not realize was an actual interview, I would be presenting to the Executive Creative Director. I guess the unknown kept me calm. Long story short, I interviewed with both companies, and the Monday before Thanksgiving day, had found a home as a full-time junior designer at Momentum Worldwide in the lower west side of Manhattan, start December 6th. On top of that, I also received a full-time freelance week from another firm for the week prior to start Momentum, in which I made enough money to move into an apartment (paying my 1-month security deposit and first month's rent). Crazy how that worked out.
Fifth: The first week of work could not have gone any more amazing. I was received with huge open arms, friendly faces, a Herman Miller Aeron chair, and the potential to work on some amazing work. That week, I found myself with an offer for an apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which I will be moving into on the 1st of January. I am one stop away from Manhattan on the subway, and have a beautiful view of the Williamsburg bridge from my bedroom window.
Sixth: As the first week of work ended, I was starting to feel like things were becoming evident that I made the right move. On Saturday night, I received a call from a retired dentist in Augusta making me an offer for my Xterra, which was the payoff of the car, taking it off my hands. It was the biggest relief and stress reliever that could have happened.
So, I am very happy needless to say that New York City is indeed my new home. I do miss friends and family, but I am living a long awaited dream and its just as amazing as I could have imagined. I am very thankful and blessed for what has happened for me, and can't wait to see what the new year holds. Stay tuned.
Next agenda item, driving all the rest of my stuff up here. Here are some pictures of life so far:
The video is shot from the rooftop of my office building. It really doesn't do it justice.
First things first: I graduated from Portfolio Center. It was great. I was very ready to finish. Check out my updated portfolio of work on EricDewyngaert.com.
Second: I went to New York for a portfolio review/celebratory weekend with my fellow graduates. It was halloween weekend, so needless to say, fun times, from what I can remember. I met some great companies, and definitely saw interest in my work, which is what is was all about. I was their from Thursday-Monday evening, and the review fell on the Friday am. I met a recruiter during who set up a meeting with me on Monday am after the review, in which there was an interest for a position. Very long story short, by the time I was La Guardia bound in an accidental stretch limo with some friends, I was considering this being the last time I am leaving New York for a while. I had landed an interview for the next thursday, which I was required to get back to Atlanta, get things in order in about a weeks time, to be able to board a flight that Wednesday back to New York. One way.
Third: I did the move. I landed a sublet on the upper west side of Manhattan with a friend throughout the end of 2010. I put all of my life into 3 suitcases, said my very hard goodbyes, and set sail for my new life that abruptly fell into place. Moving to NYC meant I was going without a job, a temporary home, no family and only a handful of friends, and all of my belongings sitting in storage in Augusta, including my Xterra that I would still be making payments on in my mother's driveway. Still, something told me to go. Years of dreaming for this, those all seamed like petty hurdles for me to figure out, at a later time.
Fourth: As I moved to NYC, I was contacted by another firm who had met me in May at the portfolio review, and again at the review in October, mentioning they wanted me to come by the office to meet some others, which at the time I did not realize was an actual interview, I would be presenting to the Executive Creative Director. I guess the unknown kept me calm. Long story short, I interviewed with both companies, and the Monday before Thanksgiving day, had found a home as a full-time junior designer at Momentum Worldwide in the lower west side of Manhattan, start December 6th. On top of that, I also received a full-time freelance week from another firm for the week prior to start Momentum, in which I made enough money to move into an apartment (paying my 1-month security deposit and first month's rent). Crazy how that worked out.
Fifth: The first week of work could not have gone any more amazing. I was received with huge open arms, friendly faces, a Herman Miller Aeron chair, and the potential to work on some amazing work. That week, I found myself with an offer for an apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which I will be moving into on the 1st of January. I am one stop away from Manhattan on the subway, and have a beautiful view of the Williamsburg bridge from my bedroom window.
Sixth: As the first week of work ended, I was starting to feel like things were becoming evident that I made the right move. On Saturday night, I received a call from a retired dentist in Augusta making me an offer for my Xterra, which was the payoff of the car, taking it off my hands. It was the biggest relief and stress reliever that could have happened.
So, I am very happy needless to say that New York City is indeed my new home. I do miss friends and family, but I am living a long awaited dream and its just as amazing as I could have imagined. I am very thankful and blessed for what has happened for me, and can't wait to see what the new year holds. Stay tuned.
Next agenda item, driving all the rest of my stuff up here. Here are some pictures of life so far:
The video is shot from the rooftop of my office building. It really doesn't do it justice.
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| My morning subway commute. Packed. |
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| My friend Kristel and I in Strawberry Fields in Central park on December 8th. Cool experience |
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| My office, well, part of it. |
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| My desk at work. |
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| Staying southern in the laundromat |
10/7/10
Almost there!
One week from today I officially sign off from art school (I present my final portfolio to a body of my fellow students). I graduate the next day, Friday Oct 15. Its going to be a great next couple of weeks. At the end of the month, I along with the rest of my quarter will travel up to NYC for a portfolio review, where hopefully I'll connect with someone to get me up there quick. Here is the poster that my friend Jamie designed for the event.
8/25/10
A sincere thank you
Next week is my last official week of class at Portfolio Center. Wow, 2 years flew by. I am definitely ready as I have been working literally around the clock. I still have a good bit of work to get finished, but I am starting to see a little light at the end. I am pretty excited about the prospective jobs I am looking into once I finish.
I wanted to just take a second and thank the ones that have stood behind me and supported me through this. Though some may not have understood me quitting my full-time job and going back to school, but I know in the end I really can see the ones that stuck with me along the way and as I celebrate this accomplishment, I celebrate it with each of you.
I have made friends at school that have become literally brothers and sisters to me. When you go through emotional turmoil of too much work, the ones that see you at your lowest lows definitely become a little closer to you, regardless if they like it or not.
My mom and sister have been firm foundations on keeping me going, from the very beginning of me quitting my job and finding better in life. Through simple emails, calls, texts, short day visits, and the monetary assistance that I required sometimes, they have become to absolute reason of why I was able to remain strong and driven during the hard road. My uncles and aunts, and grandparents, through facebook or blog posts, or emails, have always let me know of their support. Even though they are pressing hard for me to be a west coaster, I have never had a doubt that they only want me to succeed and be ultimately happy. Through little comments here and there about the crap I was blogging, those are the things that kept me hanging on. My girlfriend, Megan, has been with me through severe ups and downs, and has done everything in her power to make this last leg of school as relaxing and stress free as she can when I'm with her. I love her to death and can't really figure out how I made it this far in life without her. And the loyalty of my friends who knew I had to disappear sometimes because I got under so much work. They stayed with me and now that I start to see where I get my social life back, the ones that kept faith in me through it now have become just like family to me.
Though this may come off as a cheesy post, in the same sense that academy award winners spat off nervously at a microphone, I felt it absolutely necessary.
Hang on to those who hang on to you. God has them in your life for a reason, and the ones that believe in you are part of the who you really are. And I definitely can say that the ones that have supported me I am in huge debt to for the rest of my life, and I will continue to strive upholding the promises I made of being the absolute best person I can be.
Alright, enough of that...holla
I wanted to just take a second and thank the ones that have stood behind me and supported me through this. Though some may not have understood me quitting my full-time job and going back to school, but I know in the end I really can see the ones that stuck with me along the way and as I celebrate this accomplishment, I celebrate it with each of you.
I have made friends at school that have become literally brothers and sisters to me. When you go through emotional turmoil of too much work, the ones that see you at your lowest lows definitely become a little closer to you, regardless if they like it or not.
My mom and sister have been firm foundations on keeping me going, from the very beginning of me quitting my job and finding better in life. Through simple emails, calls, texts, short day visits, and the monetary assistance that I required sometimes, they have become to absolute reason of why I was able to remain strong and driven during the hard road. My uncles and aunts, and grandparents, through facebook or blog posts, or emails, have always let me know of their support. Even though they are pressing hard for me to be a west coaster, I have never had a doubt that they only want me to succeed and be ultimately happy. Through little comments here and there about the crap I was blogging, those are the things that kept me hanging on. My girlfriend, Megan, has been with me through severe ups and downs, and has done everything in her power to make this last leg of school as relaxing and stress free as she can when I'm with her. I love her to death and can't really figure out how I made it this far in life without her. And the loyalty of my friends who knew I had to disappear sometimes because I got under so much work. They stayed with me and now that I start to see where I get my social life back, the ones that kept faith in me through it now have become just like family to me.
Though this may come off as a cheesy post, in the same sense that academy award winners spat off nervously at a microphone, I felt it absolutely necessary.
Hang on to those who hang on to you. God has them in your life for a reason, and the ones that believe in you are part of the who you really are. And I definitely can say that the ones that have supported me I am in huge debt to for the rest of my life, and I will continue to strive upholding the promises I made of being the absolute best person I can be.
Alright, enough of that...holla
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