My entire life I’ve been living with chronic illness. Fortunately, I’ve never had any major issues or hospitalizations but it has absolutely made an enormous impact on who I am today & where I am. Without it, I may have never gone to the Mariners Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Night, never become obsessed with the Mariners & never have sparked an interest in design in the first place.
Throughout my 21 years, I’ve had to solve problems in my life that most people will never experience. Frequent doctor visits, a hefty daily care routine, missing out on much more than I’ve wanted to, among many other things that I’ve had to adapt to.
Pre-COVID when I was really just beginning to get serious about design, I took a lot of things for granted & it never truly set in how different some aspects of life were for me. Now that I’m finally able to work towards something I wanna do in my life, I’m realizing how dealing with my illnesses has helped me become a great problem-solver.
I’m not quite sure yet if it has had any impact on my specific style or the kinds of work I like to do, I still have at least 2 more years of the program after this. However, dealing with the illness during school has made me realize that it’s not going away & if I truly want to be a designer I have to push through with whatever energy I have.
Managing everything back in high school was tough because it was so easy to just give up since it wasn’t stuff I was even interested in. After taking a step back I knew I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted despite still graduating.
I believe that my illnesses have given me the fear of failing & knowing how unpredictable life can be. That sounds bad but I see it as a great thing. These struggles have taught me to give it my all, ask questions, try different things & design what I want to design.
There’s still a long way to go for me. We’re just about a quarter in now while I’m about 4 years removed from my last schooling. Every aspect of my life right now is a huge learning experience & it’s making the program so fun. Although I’m not always going to have the energy or ability to make every assignment or job I do perfect, I’m going to strive to get as close as I can because I never know when I’ll get sick again or just have a day of fatigue. I gotta give it my all now & strive to become the best designer I can be.
