As the selection day is approaching, I thought I’d reflect on the question…how did I end up here?

First of all, what motivated me? As 2020 kicked in with its own new set of issues, it created circumstances for me to shift away from the more or less predictable outside world routine. And with that, a very pragmatic side of my mind faded away, leaving the space for playfulness and independence. What I was about to learn and the work I was about to create wasn’t going to be born out of the plan and a strategy of getting noticed, improving the world or getting a better job, but simply out of what I found inspiring and relevant to myself and my little circle of people. I simply played with whatever tools were in front of me. And that is what I now know as a free child state of mind. This is the state where the weirdest, the rarest and even the least relevant, but fun ideas are formed. Once you join SCA, Marc will make sure that you know all about it.

The next step for me was to simply…continue exploring. Hear from various creatives, observe and learn the stories of people around me and find out what are their methods of improving their art and their ideas. Coming from a filmmaking background and working in production I have been restricting myself just to this one medium for a while. But this slowly stopped to matter. The idea and the communication themselves, no matter how delivered, became my priority.

A few more projects, online masterclasses and d&ad entry later, I started realising what the role of the creative is…and that this might be something for me. And this is when my call with Marc happened. At this point – I had no expectations. I was simply looking forward to speaking with someone like-minded and experienced in this field.

A few, surprisingly tense weeks later I was offered a place at SCA. And you know what? I had no idea how to feel about it. Only interacting with SCA online and never even stepping a foot in the building, was making this whole idea even more abstract. That’s probably where you are at the moment. And then the questions started forming: do I need another challenge? Am I doing it to satisfy this competition and a win hungry monster inside me? Do I need others to guide me and validate my work? Eventually, I had no choice but to take a break. I forgot about work, I didn’t plan anything. I just read, wrote and talked to people. And somewhere along the way, I found myself again in this playful space of a free child. And in this space, the question of SCA, as well as the future after the course, became very insignificant. Instead, what I saw in front of me was just another playground. It’s a playground full of tools, possibilities, observations…a whole array of new stimulants. And that’s the kind of environment that I’ve been walking towards.

If you’re not selected – that’s fine. You’re already searching and putting effort into recognising what works for you. And this search on its own is going to take you on adventures and it’s going to enrich your thinking.

But if you are one of the lucky few… I hope that nothing will stop you from taking on this challenge.

@GrabowiecZuza