lyft: life, love, creativity

i took A to the airport this morning

A is a graphic designer originally from new jersey

we touched so many aspects of life

i don’t even really know where to start…

we’ll start here

he grew up being told that anything in the creative / artistic space is not a ‘real’ job,

that life is a struggle being an artist

and nothing more than that

so he listened,

and he pursued things outside of that,

it was not really part of his realm of possibility…

and yet, it’s hard to say it wasn’t, right?

because 2 years into b-school, he decided to go for graphic design

i didn’t get the whole story of what that transition was like,

but basically, he finally acknowledged that he’d always been interested in art

and had an inclination for being creative

and made the jump.

and what a jump it was

he found his way to california, which had always been a dream for him

there were times where he was taking on odd jobs to make ends meet,

and many times when he didn’t know if it would work out

he found a couple different roles in the fashion industry,

which weren’t his favorites

there was burn out and just plain ol’ lack of alignment in his interests

until he landed at his new gig as a merch designer for bands like guns n roses, iron maiden…

and some other metal bands and musicians lol i don’t remember them all

and he’s happy

that makes me happy

he summarized his journey as ‘being really lucky’

i asked him what he meant by that

he said, he met the right people,

like a mentor who was like a father to him,

who taught him things one doesn’t learn in any kind of classroom or institution,

who opened doors for him,

etc

he said, he knows that many people try to make it in this industry,

and not everyone makes it

and so, he felt lucky.

i said, california is lucky to have you, glad you’re here! 🙂

he laughed and said thanks.

i thought that was really beautiful

life is all kinds of things,

ups and downs,

ins and outs,

pushing and pulling

sometimes things don’t work,

or they don’t seem to at the moment,

and sometimes there are people like A who are where they are,

who can look back and see what their journey has been like,

and grasp (or not grasp) the wonder of it all,

being led by a desire,

and everything coming together in an unimaginable way,

even through – or rather, especially through times when there seemed to be no way.

life is amazing.

and then we also talked about his girlfriend,

who he described as: “Just the Best”

ughhhh kill me

just the best

i asked, what’s the best about her for you?

he said, ‘she’s more than a girlfriend,

she’s a partner.’

yes yes yessss

he expounded on that a bit

and i said i TOTALLY understand what he’s talking about

and i bragged about Soul

of course

we basically had a blast hyping each other’s relationship up lolll

the best time

and then i asked a question about his creative process,

what he does in the event that he feels stuck

he said,

“before, i use to think of art and creativity like pulling a rabbit out of a hat,

but now, i see it’s more structure than that.

today, i do research, create mood boards, use pinterest, etc.

basically create with a vision to work with

and then i play around with that.

and the more you do it, the easier it gets.”

i really liked that.

sometimes i get caught up in ‘not feeling like doing/creating something’

even though, i know i really want to,

i really enjoy the act of creating,

etc.

and i used to think it’s because i’m blocked

or i’m lazy

but, i think i haven’t created and established and practiced the art of creating.

that there is a structure for facilitating creativity

a structure that is conducive, helpful, and meaningful to the creative process

i feel like this is such a “duh” thing,

but i really appreciated hearing it from A today.

it allows me some grace for the way i’d beaten myself up unnecessarily

and room to explore and discover a process that works for me.

yaknow?!?!

lol

it was a great convo.

10/10

A – i’m so happy for you. you’re doing amazing and i’m so happy for your relationship. thanks for sharing your story with me!!