The road to becoming great in any craft is challenging, especially without a strong support system along the way. I didn't formally attend design school, and got my start learning the fundamentals online. It was a rational start, but knowing what I know now, I would've went a different route.

Almost a year ago, I found myself at a crossroads of whether or not to continue a struggling design career or to pivot back to working in healthcare and community health. I had temporarily lost the faith of my family, and found myself direct-messaging designers that I admired for help.

I was at my lowest.

One designer that I had previously spoken to had consoled me, and sent over an invite to join a small, curated community that they had been part of. It was an incubator for growing talent, and was where I'd be able to push my craft and get my work critiqued by some of the best in the industry. The bar was high, but there wouldn't be any other option than to make myself uncomfortable and present in front of dozens of strangers every other week to seek feedback to grow. It's been the impetus for my drastic growth over the last year.

I am obsessed with the craft of becoming the best designer I can be. This is what I love to do, the hunger and ambition to win has led to a blind faith that things will work out. Pushing myself to be the weakest link in the room has been the best decision I've made in my design career thus far, and it's something that I'll continue to do at all phases of my design career.