Twelve years ago, around this time, I remember having only been in the United States for less than a year when George W. Bush; standing in a podium in front of the white house, concluded his presidential term by welcoming the incoming president and saying “this peaceful transfer of power is one of the hallmarks of a true democracy” that simple statement, to me, it was as much of a cultural shock as the new language, and learning that people from all over the world call this place home.
It’s was a Sunday night in January when I wrote this, it was forty-eight degrees outside, It was a warm night for a winter. That night I found myself unemployed, in love, and young; and like that winter night I felt rather optimist. The ambiguity that surrounded, and sort of still surrounds, my immediate future doesn’t affect my mood, it is a concern but nothing more. I like all the free time I have. It gives me space to unwind, to think about writing, and of projects of my own. I haven’t written for all this past year and that made me feel that I have been missing something. For example, it had been a year since I left college, I worked at my first full-time position, and I met someone I really enjoy being with. One would think I would have loved to write about these experiences, however, that year I have been absent for myself, I had no motivation to write much at all. The routine was killing my spirit, at least that is what I thought, but it wasn’t. Routine can be a good thing. What happened was that the work I was doing was minuscule, I was making changes and barely creating anything. I was doing so much of it did not leave me energy for myself to burn. This past year, at my job, I learned new things and I made good friends but after all it was too little reward for too much demand. The longer I seemed to stay the more comfortable I felt about the work I was doing. I did not like that conformity. Even though it was appealing because it came with a steady check and healthcare!. I felt I was at the verge of feeling miserable, I know I never reached that point. But, my character was being doll down. In that time learned I am curious about many thing outside design and dwelling into those things, for me, are a creative fuel of some sort. Unfortunately, the curious side of me was not being replenished when working on things I do not appreciate. Ideally I like to learn about the subject matter I am working on. Perhaps the search for a meaningful work of art, for a great movie, for an inspiring book, or even meeting interesting people. All that makes me feel creative. I draw inspiration from appreciating other people’s work as much as my own, and above all I have to care about the subject matter. I was not doing a lot of that. Now, in hindsight, I know of few things I will look for in my next jobs. Just so I avoid feeling like that again. I will look for places where I can appreciate the work, where I can work with people I can learn from, and; if is not asking too much, a place with projects that involve advocacy, storytelling, and/or technology.
Peter Verastegui 