Sink or Swim

A big hi hello everyone! It has been three long months since my last update on SLB, and during that time I didn’t go more than a day without thinking about the blog in some fashion. There would be moments where a burst of inspiration would hit me, or I would see or hear something that I was just itching to share with you all. So you might be wondering what’s the deal with my absence?

This semester I floated to the deep end of the pool, leaving behind my water wings and life vest. Comparing my life at school to swimming may sound a little odd at first, but it’s a metaphor that has stuck in my mind for some time now. I feel like growing up it was common for swimming to be a simplistic analogy for life; “just keep swimming”, “you’re gonna sink or swim”, “you can either choose to tread water or to float”, “jumping into the deep end”, etc. In my second to last semester in school, these sayings are becoming more and more relevant. The wall between my current life and the “real world” is slowly starting to crumble; I am getting small glimpses of what lies ahead, but I am unable to start moving forward. Right now it’s all about choices, state of mind and circumstances.

So what’s the difference between the deep end and everywhere else? The deep end is when shit starts getting real. For a graphic designer, the deep end is when it’s you, your work, and the awaiting judgment of prospective employers. For every senior in college, the deep end is a holding pattern, a time when we can either frantically tread water or float. As for me, I’ve been treading, hoping that eventually I will catch my breath again.

I know this post is laced with nerves and anxiety (not to mention quite the lengthy metaphor); I can assure you, the fun stuff is coming down the pike and I couldn’t be more excited.

While giving a full play-by-play of my last three months would be time-consuming (both to write and to read), I can fast forward to the good bits and provide a musical “synopsis”, if you will:

Think of this audible goodness as a bit of a consolation prize for tolerating my wild musings about the current state of my life and its controlled chaos. Pretty soon, I’ll be back in the kiddie pool, splashing around, umbrella drink in hand, getting my tan on. Right now, I’ve just gotta keep breathing, head faced skyward and arms outstretched.

More adventures to come.