as i live and breathe design

Recently over the Christmas holiday I was relaxing in my favourite armchair sipping wine with my mom, while my dad and the two boys from next door played with Legos in front of the fireplace. I began to wonder about how the activities we engaged in, and the toys we played with as children, shape the people that we grow up to be.

I never really played with many toys as a child because they could never hold my attention long enough for me to be satisfied. There were, however, a few staple items that always remained. The toys that always seemed to keep my interest were Legos, crayons, and puzzles. Interestingly enough, all these items seem to have very similar traits, they are toys that require construction, or a sense of imagination. So the question becomes, was it these toys that lead me to an education in design?

Throughout my life I have continually asked myself if people thought and visualized the same way I did. For example, did they notice that the marble pattern in the wallpaper looked like a lamb? Or, did they see the small cat crossing the ditch while scanning the landscape along the highway? Did they too assign specific colours to the letters of the alphabet in their mind? After years of wonder I have come to the conclusion that this isn’t the way everyone thinks. At first I began to panic, why am I so weird? Why do I do this? Why can’t I just be like the rest of my friends?

After almost six years of an education in media and design I have come to terms with the way I think, visualize, and create. I no longer want to be “just like the rest of my friends,” I want to be completely different. So whether or not it was these toys that directed me toward an education design, I find myself in a place where I can put these characteristics to use. I can use these special ways of thinking and visualizing to create and communicate… how cool is that?