I would never call myself an expert, and living in the Rockies, far away from the industry, I hardly feel like an insider, but I have been doing what I love for a minute now, an can hopefully give a little insight to my world.

Where I am not an expert, I go to learn more to become closer to one.  If there is something that you love to do, and want to continue to do it, and hopefully get PAID to do it, then also try to become as proficient as you can in that area. There are so many opportunities to learn these days, and I don’t mean only in a classroom, but online there are endless opportunities to reach into other cultures’ lives to see how/what their lives are like, there are inspiration websites for designers, numerous blogs on any aspect of style, educational blogs on how to do anything from sew a t-shirt to film the perfect snowboard cliff drop.  You need to open your eyes and not limit yourselves to which school you are in, where you live, how much money you have in your pocket, or who you know.  If you’re reading this, then you probably have access to a computer online, and therefore you have access to these tools to become more advanced in whatever you’re interested in.  If not, hit up a Barnes and Noble or Borders and find yourself a reading section to learn more about your subject.  The more you learn what others teach, the more you will be able to teach yourself.

One of the things that really interests me over the past few years in all the new social media outlets and tools that are on the rise.  Since everything has been so new, working with people across the country to figure out the best way to utilize these tools has been great.  From Twitter, Gowalla, YouTube, Facebook, Linkedin, all the Google Applications, and the numerous collaborating sites popping up daily to share your work, get feedback, and give feedback to others.  Being online is not only about getting as much as you can from it, but it’s also about giving back what you know.  This collaboration might help you, and others, fine tune what it is you’re going after.  May it be t-shirts graphics, print ads, boardshort designs, website designs, or photographs.  Critique, be critiqued, learn, practice, repeat.