Letter from the Creative Director

Dear fellow Wake enjoyer,

As you gaze into that photo of me that looks like I’m holding in a sneeze, picture me smaller, sweatier, and high school-ier. As a child, I picked up hobbies and skills really quickly. I loved to learn. This talent (if you can call it that) led to my fixation on my graphic arts classes in high school. When my peers and teachers praised my work, it motivated me to work even harder.

When it came time to go to college, I knew the only possible plan was Graphic Design. I’ve gained valuable knowledge and a great community of classmates. Now, as I round out my four years, I look back on a lot of work I’ve done with disdain. If you’re an artist, have any artist friends, or just generally care for what you do, you know your biggest critic is you. I’ve struggled with perfectionism all my life, and for the longest time, nothing was ever good enough, so I was never good enough. I noticed a pattern of being proud of myself for a week, then hating what I created for the rest of eternity. Knowing this, I entered my senior year with one goal: be proud of myself for me, not my work. I still wanted to work very hard, but I needed to keep myself in mind.

Last February, I started as Creative Director. The level of responsibility required for this job was daunting, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Making mistakes in a design and not noticing it until 700 copies have been printed is very humbling, but, like, in a fun way. I’m proud of myself and the entirety of our staff for what we’ve accomplished as a collective. The Wake has given me invaluable experiences that will inspire my lifelong career, and I am forever grateful for that.

I’m gaining confi dence and pride in myself and my mistakes. Our feature article this issue, Giving Yourself Grace, reminds me to love me for me. I think I’m still working on the concept of being someone outside of my work. Seperating myself from who I am as a designer has been diffcult and I’m definitely not done. If you find yourself in a similar postion, I recommend letting yourself make bad work every once and a while. Just mess some stuff up! Doing something poorly can be oddly freeing and I think it’s a great exercise in self growth. Celebrate your victories and appreciate your failures for what they are: proof that you’re alive. Love the little things, not just the things that make you money. Love your intimate self, not the person people percieve you as.

And with that oddly sappy ending, I must bid you adieu.

Stay weird,

Laura Kuchar

Creative Director