How I am feeling and other musings

These past four days have been amazing. I have learnt so much and met so many fantastic people. I’m not going to lie; the first day was quite tough. There were the usual nerves, will people like me? Am I really good enough? There were also the worries about Coronavirus. Before I started at SCA 2.0 I hadn’t been on a train since the middle of March and I hadn’t seen any friends from university either (I celebrated my birthday with a small virtual party). I am still getting used to the commute and to the constant checks; have I got my hand sanitiser, my masks, my phone, my bag, my lunch.

My desk at Pop Brixton is currently located on the top floor. To get from the bottom to the top of the building you need to ascend the thirty-two steps. Now, whilst this may not seem like much, I am counting this as my exercise for the day. If you think about it, I am probably walking up and down these stairs around twelve times a day. So that’s three hundred and eighty-four steps. Even writing that just now felt like a lot of effort!

Now for a quick recap of what I have learnt this week:

1. Hard work beats talent (This makes sense. Put all your energy in, try things and get them wrong, learn from your mistakes and grow as a creative and more importantly as a person.

2. We sell or we die (a bit harsh, but I agree with the main message).

3. Having one bad day is not a bad thing. But, have three bad days, and something isn’t right.

4. Get into a routine that suits you. This is going to become really important as the weeks go on. I am someone who likes to work to a schedule. I enjoy having deadlines and ‘to do’ lists.

5. I really enjoy free writing. There is something really ‘freeing’, pardon the pun, about just writing continuously. I learnt this from Deanna Rodger. We had an amazing poetry session with Deanna. The theme of the session was future. We were given prompts and told to write.

6. It is really tempting to just listen to your brain, to go with the logical solution and second guess yourself. However, you also need to listen to your heart and your gut. They are also brains and just as important as the brain in your head. (Matt Follows Mindfulness workshop)

7. We made a GIF. I really enjoyed the way Rob, Ian and Justin taught the workshop. Instead of just sitting us down and telling us what to make, we worked as pairs and made a portrait GIF of each other. I got to learn more about my classmates and Photoshop at the same time.

8. Enjoy the first term. This is a time to get to know other creatives, learn things, make mistakes.

9. Listen to the mentors. Listen to Marc, Max, Marcia and Amy. They know what they are talking about and are there to help you. You have the opportunity to learn so much!

10. Don’t see a challenge as a threat, see it as an opportunity.

11. Everything makes a statement

12. My manifesto is me

Thank you