By Christine Smith

The SCA roller coasters

You know that feeling of finally sitting on the rollercoaster you have queued for hours to get onto? You’re ready to take off. You’re so excited, your whole body tickles and all kinds of thoughts are running through your head – will I actually enjoy it? Will I make it to the end? What if I throw up? Maybe this is gonna be the most exciting thing ever?

This is how I feel at the moment about SCA. I know I have enjoyed and survived some big rollercoasters in term one and up till this half term. But with D&AD, Future Lions, Chip Shop, my portfolio and all Marc’s extra shit coming up I am starting to get nervous. Not only because i know i have to work hard but also succeed working smart. My physical health has been much better than it is now, that’s for sure. However, excel sheets, physical calendars and slack have become my new workout. Because time management is alpha and omega to master this ride and I am not in the shape I want to be in yet.

But that is not the only roller coaster I am riding at the moment. It feels a bit like I am standing with my feet in two places at the same time. A physical one and an emotional one. The emotional one is constantly competing against the physical one.
The intensity of new relationships is much greater than I expected it to be. I am very lucky to already have the best partner I could wish for and that relationship is as important to take care of as if we were lovers. We are very different but that is what makes it exciting! I feel so blessed. Then comes all the friendships with everyone else in the class. It’s funny how quickly you can feel connected to someone you just met. You come from two different countries, cultures, families and suddenly you find yourself laughing over the same things, liking the same things, getting annoyed by the same things and sharing the same concerns and needs. It’s amazing and I love how this feeds me with positive energy every day. You get me excited in a way I haven’t felt before and it makes me wanna explore things I haven’t done before.

It’s not only my fellow students I feel a connection to – it’s also the mentors.  We are very lucky to have some of the best from the industry and I feel very lucky to get the opportunity to learn so much from all of them.
Though it hurts when you then have to say goodbye to those you felt closest to. Pete Cain was and will always be my number one favourite mentor – professional and personal.  I know he’s gonna come back sooner or later (he’s gonna miss yelling “but what the f*ck does it mean” and doing what he wants without all the adult rules). I still wanna thank him for the best three things he has taught me.

1. Don’t dig too deep into one idea and put all your eggs in that one basket. Explore a lot of different creative routes and follow your gut to find the best one of them.

2. If you really believe in your idea and everyone else doesn’t – prove them wrong. There is no right and wrong in advertising – as long as you have the right arguments and visuals to proof it.

3. Be true to who you are. Do what YOU are good at and what YOU love. Don’t try to please everyone else.

I’m sure the next mentors coming in are amazing. Ann Wixley, Steve Harrison and Steve Henry. Big names. But Pete makes them have an even bigger personality to live up to.

Don’t know where those two rollercoaster are gonna take me after this half term. I just know how important it is to keep both of them balanced and enjoy the ride while I’m on it. We’re already over halfway through and the end of the ride will appear faster than I can imagine. Excited? HELL YEAH!