My Manifesto
A set of principles I aspire to live by!
So it’s been a while since I last posted and that’s because I’ve been working on a few things. I’m building up my portfolio of graphic design pieces and typography work - yes I’m teaching myself Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and you know what, I’m absolutely loving it! I’m really loving creating typography posters and the clever use of fonts and shapes that bring a page to life. I’ve been learning a lot on skillshare.com which is an incredible online learning platform where people post tutorials and share their expertise - it’s never been easier to teach yourself new skills! (Check this link if you fancy having a 1-month free trial https://skl.sh/3jxtUL7). You can check out my designs too over on my new graphics page here
I’m thinking that over the next few weeks, I’ll share more and more of my content as I progress. But for this post I want to share something that I’ve developed (using illustrator!) that shows a little bit about me and my growth over the last few years. I’m starting to really understand myself more and like the title says, this is my manifesto, a personal set of principles that I choose or at least hope to live by! So here goes! and a big shout out to Agatha Vieira for the inspiration to create this (https://www.agathavieira.com/)
Be Humble
For me, being humble is all about recognising that there is always so much more to learn. By accepting that I am not the best at what I do, that I am not God’s gift, that I am not the oracle of all knowledge, I can then look for the learnings from each and every experience that I have and better myself. This means I am never in a position (hopefully not) of being arrogant or over-confident. Humility for me is knowing that I am no lesser than and no greater than any other person I meet and therefore I will never look down on someone and never overly look up to someone. I will accept each and every person for who they are and who I perceive them to be and hope that I can learn something from them.
A big part of this humility is understanding that there is a higher power that connects everything together - call it God, call it Spirit, call it whatever but humility is knowing that there is something guiding me that I can tap into. It’s knowing that the skills I possess and that I have developed are a blessing and to never take them for granted and use them to help others.
Be Curious
Ever since I was young, I’ve always had a bit of a restless streak and a bit excitable haha always wanting to do something new, go somewhere new, and not feel bored. This made me naturally curious and inquisitive. Any new thing I picked up or started, I wanted to learn everything about it and be the best! Over the years this has probably played out in the form of my attention span not being so great because my mind is always switching quickly to something new! There is so much to know about and not enough time to know it all haha but no, seriously for me, being curious and asking questions - difficult and disruptive questions - has always been part of what makes me, me. But there’s a bigger part of being curious, and that’s the part of me that’s a dreamer, someone who’s always wondering about how things work, my place in the world, why people do what they do, the more intricate workings of life!
Be Brave
When I think about being brave, it means to have the strength to do what is right and speak up when I need to. Don’t get me wrong, it can be difficult. All too often it’s easier to just do/say or even not say what you think will cause least friction and least headache. But for me bravery is a step above that. Bravery is not backing down from a challenge and it’s about showing that you’re able to do what you need to. with conviction too. Being brave is two-fold, it’s in the action of doing, and it’s in the intent behind it. From my professional life at least, and more so these days in my personal life, being brave is about recognising what you want to change and why (the intent), and showing strength to make that change happen no matter what the obstacle (the action). It’s just as much about breaking down barriers as it is about building bridges.
Be Kind
Kindness is a whole vibe! Being kind, being thoughtful, being considerate of others is all about helping them from a place of joy. Now this is where it gets a bit deep ha! For me, the act of kindness stems from a recognition that every one maybe going through experiences that you will never know about. To be kind is to put yourself on their level and think “what would make me smile right now if I was having a difficult time?”. When I was younger, I heard the phrase “if you can’t say/do anything nice, then don’t say/do anything at all” and this quote really made me think that I should set my intention to always do good and spread good vibes.
So for me, being kind is not just about saying nice things but it’s about reaching out a helping hand when somebody is struggling, it’s about telling someone they’re doing great, it’s about telling someone they have a great shirt today or a great smile (can sometimes verge on flirting but that’s another story! haha) but this next bit is key for me, and it relates to being humble and selfless, it’s about helping somebody out without wanting anything back in return and knowing that nobody else apart from you two people will ever know of that moment in time. and being totally cool with it.
Keep your inner child alive
Now this is a good one! haha I think my friends and family would say I’m a big kid at heart - I’m excitable, I’m easily pleased, and I have real eclectic imagination! and that’s how I allow myself to stay connected to my inner child. I cherish the memories I had as a child, of loving to run around, to play football, and the endless energy I had. and I keep it going! That’s it. It’s a bit like the curiosity principle above, I’ve never stopped being curious with new things, exploring new ideas, going on new adventures half way across the world just to see what’s cool out there! but I’ve also never stopped spending time on the things that I know have always brought me joy - my gaming, my comics, my doodling, and even my x-men/pokemon cards and my POGs (if you know you know!). but the biggest part this principle plays is that, despite the responsibilities I now have as an adult, I make sure that I take time out to do the things that bring back my childhood and stay true to the way I was as a kid - the sheer joy and wonderment at cool music and colours, the pure happiness at just having jokes with my friends, and the excitedness/nervousness of going somewhere new and having endless questions I want to answer! There’s a real art to staying a kid in a grown-up world! haha
Find the silver linings
So I’m very much the optimist and probably the idealist too. I will stride through life, roll with the punches, and have confidence that thing will always work out. And you know what, they always do. And that’s where ‘find the silver linings’ comes from. For me, throughout my life so far, the reason why it always works out - and by that I don’t mean it works out well, I mean it works out how it’s meant to - is that at every stage of a project, or a big moment, or even just your weekend gardening session, there is always something you can find to keep you in high spirits, to remind you that it’s not all bad, that keeps you smiling! A lot of the times, it’s me and my own imagination and thinking about all the great times before and after whatever it is I’m doing. I think what it boils down to is, I’m on this journey of plenty of ups and down and side-to-sides but if I can always find reason to smile and find the good in things, in people, in life, then there’s not all so much to worry about.
Embrace the unknown
Now here’s something that has always been a part of me. It’s similar to being curious and keeping my inner child alive but it has more uncertainty involved. Embracing the unknown for me is all about taking on life head on and doing cool things, interesting things, that sometimes give you the spike in adrenaline or just give you that buzz of excitement. Deciding to have my first professional job based in Paris, having never been and not really speaking the language. Booking a solo trip to Malaysia to just explore across 4 different cities. Climb Sweden’s highest mountain with very little training and prep. The unknown is just another thing to journey through. and that’s why I love it. It will teach me things. It will challenge me. It will grant me the excitement and joy that I need in my life. And here’s the interesting thing - it’s a bit like a circle - because it all starts with having an open mind and being willing to step outside your comfort zone, away from your friends, away from your family, and entering that area of uncertainty where new opportunities appear. And then in doing so, in embracing the unknown and pushing your boundaries, your opportunities help open your mind even further and accept new ways of life, new cultures, new people.
The unknown is never a scary place, just a place that you’re yet to see.
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
There is a subtle difference with this one. Embracing the unknown is the first step to new opportunities. But it’s in the process of those new opportunities where the biggest learning is. In every one of the things I mentioned above - moving to a new country, climbing a mountain, travelling alone in a foreign place - I was uncomfortable. Even way before all these experiences - I moved schools to another town when I was 16, I moved to central London for university at 18 - they all made me uncomfortable. Initially, I was miserable, I hated being away from familiar things and faces. I hated not knowing anyone and it always felt like I couldn’t be my authentic self. But then I learned. I started to realise that being uncomfortable was just the signal of another new chapter in my life and so I started guessing what to expect. Move somewhere new? ok find a sports club and meet people to play footy. Start a new job? ok invite the new team out for dinner and drinks and share some stories and break the ice. Touched down in a new country? ok find a hostel to stay in and meet some other solo travellers and go explore together. The questions here are the steep cliffs. The ‘oh shit, oh shit, oh shit’. and the answers to them are how to climb.
Funny thing is, I’m now always thinking about what my next uncomfortable situation will be and what else I can learn from it and where I can grow.
But. And this is key. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt is that everything, everyone is always changing. For the better, for the worse, there is always change. No change is stagnation. And change brings with it uncomfortable situations. So as much as I may want to go out and look for the uncomfortable challenge, sometimes the uncomfortable will just find me. And I’ve learnt to adapt with it and accept that being uncomfortable is sometimes just as normal as the grass is green so there’s no reason to struggle with it.
Do what makes you happy
And here’s the last part of my manifesto. If you’ve made it this far - thank you!
This one is simple to say but can be sometimes a lot harder to do. It’s all about keeping that fire lit inside of you. For me, it’s going to a rave - deep house music, no lyrics, music is pure bliss, that’s what makes me happy. Losing myself to the music and feeling that energy flow through me. Honestly, of all the things I’ve done and the experiences I’ve had - the happiest memories I have are from raving by myself or with friends. There is just nothing quite like it. I’m not talking about getting drunk or hitting the pills. I’m talking about that connection with the music. That takes everything else away. Even if the music is loud and the bones in my body are vibrating, I feel peaceful. And it makes my soul happy. and that’s it. It might not happen every weekend but once every so often I have to go, just to remind myself that I’m nothing but a bundle of excitable atomic particles trying to find the right energy to resonate with. That’s what makes me happy. haha!
So there you go - that was my manifesto! It’s been a real cathartic experience just writing it all down and seeing it fall into place like “yh that’s me right there” haha but I’m hoping you guys all enjoyed the read and maybe found some inspiration and insight! and if nothing else I hope you enjoyed the graphics I put together too! I’ll be sharing a lot more soon so watch this space!