Part Two: The Event

Two years ago I was on my way to a class when I stopped in to check out the graduating design student portfolio event. After only a few minutes in the room I went outside and sat under the blossoming trees and told myself to breathe. It was overwhelming what I saw in there! The details, the hours they must have spent, the gigantic hurdle I saw before me to be on that level.
So I pulled it together, went back inside and from that day on had one goal in mind: my portfolio would be simple, not overdone, and it would be about what I think design should be. I wasn't even sure what that was yet or how to pull it off, but I was on a quest to figure it out.

On the way I met some really amazing people who made the experience better than I could have imagined. My friends enriched my days and we became a support system. A lot of wise cracks and a lot of tears. With graduation next week I feel a loss because I'll miss the creative interaction school has brought to my life.

My instructors have been beyond compare. It's been a privilege to be able to learn from a group of people who are talented and enthusiastic about design.

My parents are the best kind of people and willing to help any way they can. They have been a listening ear on the other end of the phone as I talked through ideas, frustrations, triumphs and failures.
And Bry. What a great friend. Without his expertise I would never have been able to make my portfolio the way I saw it in my mind. I'm stubborn and like to think I have solutions for everything but I've learned to listen to him because he's proven to have spot on judgment and an excellent way of simplifying things that I make difficult. Follow this link to his blogtopia to see a slice of what my book looks like on the inside. {thnx RC1 for the post!}

Pouring hundreds of hours into this project I was aware of the days quickly evaporating and I'd try to slow down and take more in. I felt like it was going to fast, have I even had time to soak it all in?
I was happy to feel peace of mind settle in when I needed it most. I couldn't compare myself to my peers, we are all too different. I just had to focus on what I could do and do my best. I've never done that before, I've never put it all in. I usually let self doubt or distractions get in the way.

So when it came time for awards and when it got down to one last one to hand out...and my name was called...."First Place Commercial Design - Jenna Rix"... I can't really even begin to tell you how thrilled I was. I know even more now that it wasn't about the little blue square I brought home, it was about the refining experience that led up to it.