Change has been a major theme in my life lately.  I graduated college in June, which means for the first time in just over seventeen years I am not in some sort of formal education.  There aren’t “seasonal jobs” anymore, there are only jobs.  No more homework, no more finals, and sleep has become much more necessary. My friends and I are at a crossroads. We’re adjusting to life outside of school, and for many of them, life far away from home.

Another major theme in my life lately is that of passion.  I recently read Gary Vaynerchuk’s outstanding book, “Crush It” (Buy it, it’s worth the $15) and since finishing it I question myself almost daily as to what my passion is.  What topic gets me excited? I could say any number of things, but they feel forced.  I love animation and motion graphics, but is it my passion?  Maybe.  Video Production was my major, and I can talk about it for hours, but am I passionate about production?  Maybe.  I feel that in order to know what you’re truly passionate about, you need to do it.  And not do it as a hobby, or as a student, but do it professionally – do it for a living.  Many of my friends are off attempting to begin their professional careers.  They’re discovering their passions. However, I’m not.  I’m still doing it as a student, and it’s not the Job Market that’s preventing me from doing it professionally.  It’s myself and my skills.

One of my favorite websites, greyscalegorilla, run by Nick Campbell, has been an immense learning tool.  His After Effects and Cinema 4D tutorials have helped further my software knowledge, but it’s what I have learned about the importance of design that has been most significant.  While in school I never once thought about taking a design class; nothing about typography, nothing about color theory, not even a design history class.  My entire focus was on learning the software and how it works.  It wasn’t until a few days ago while reading Nick’s site that I realized how important design is, and how I’m not going to be working professionally until I start to understand design. I could do hundreds of animation projects, but in order for my work to progress, for my work to be noticed, I’m going to need to really understand what I’m doing.

Herein lies more change.  This website is an experiment in discovery.  It has changed nearly two dozen times, and it is changing yet again, but this time in an attempt to discover my passion.  As I journey through my piles of books on design, I’m going to apply what I learn to each post on this website.  Jason Santa Maria’s gorgeous website has given me the idea of the “art directed webblog.”  Each post will be designed differently, not just as an exercise, but as a study of design.  Through this website I hope to track my journey of finding my passion.  Through this website I hope to grow as an artist and designer.  Through this website, I hope to become a professional.

So here’s to a new direction, a new journey, and new discoveries.  Here’s to change.