Building My Presence Matters More Than I Thought One of the biggest takeaways I got from my strategic presentation course is how important it is to actually build my presence, not just talk about what I want to do. Before this class, I had ideas, projects, and goals, but I wasn’t really putting myself out there in a consistent way. Using platforms like LinkedIn and building my own website showed me that how I present myself matters just as much as the work itself. It’s not en

I used to believe that the person I was during my senior year of high school would stay mostly the same throughout my life. I thought my personality, my habits, and even the way I saw the world would remain consistent. But since then, life has shown me otherwise in the most natural way. Between then and now, I have met so many different people who have influenced how I think, how I communicate, and how I understand myself. I have also had experiences that involved traveling a

Looking back on this course and the program overall, I think the biggest thing I am taking with me is learning how to move with more intention. It was not just about finishing assignments but about thinking about my future and how everything connects to what I want to do long-term. One of my main takeaways is the importance of building and maintaining a personal brand. I learned that it is not enough to have good work. You also need to present yourself consistently across dif

Step 1: Accept where you are and be real about it Japan, 2025 (Photographed by Ace Winters) Sometimes things just suck and there is no way around that. But being at your lowest point is not the end, it just means there is only one direction left and that is up. Instead of running from it, face it. Understand what is going wrong and why. When you accept your situation, you take control of it. That mindset shift matters more than anything. Step 2: Start now, not later (Photogra

In the next 10 years, I see myself doing what I love and running my own media production company. I want to be my own boss and make the kind of projects that really show my vision. I want to have connections all over the world, working with people from different places and learning from them. I want to make work that matters, reaches a lot of people, and leaves a mark. https://st.depositphotos.com/1496410/4798/v/600/depositphotos_47987641-stock-illustration-jubilee-10-years.j

"Always Surround Yourself with people who are better than you" - Donny Osmond (1957 - Present) The first time I heard this quote and its message wasn’t from Donny Osmond himself, even though he’s most commonly credited for it. I actually came across it on my Instagram explore page in a short podcast clip from Pharrell Williams. Pharrell is one of my favorite producers, designers, and creatives of all time, and someone I’ve always looked up to as a role model, so the message i