Take A Deep Breath, Reflect, and Take A Chance

By Jeremiah Marcelo

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented changes to the lives of many people around the world. For the vast majority of students, this meant having to adapt to online learning, remote internships and the constant closing and opening of opportunities.

Chelsea Speck, a student in Humber’s Advertising and Graphic Design program, has shown us that although we’re in the midst of a pandemic, it’s not all bad.

I interviewed Chelsea recently regarding how COVID-19 has affected her. A couple of things that we touched on was the pressure to “stay creative” and the need to be as open-minded as possible.

Chelsea touched on how it’s hard to stay creative right now, and I totally agree. As a creative person myself, I believe that it’s important to get outside, converse with people and look at the world around you for inspiration. However, health and safety guidelines have obviously created a little bit of a hurdle there. So although it’s hard to stay creative, there’s still energy to be used and that’s where I think all of us need to start. Chelsea mentioned in the interview that instead of just trying to pump out new work, she’s been taking the time to reposition and ground herself as well as determine what it is that really inspires her.

I think this is an important step in navigating this new landscape: being able to truly look deeper into what really drives and motivates us.

This also ties into being as open-minded as possible. When we reflect and determine what really motivates and inspires us, it’s far easier to see the positives in these new and upcoming opportunities.

We often become so tunnel-visioned focusing on specific goals and milestones that we tend to miss or even ignore these other paths and what they have to offer. In times like these, we now have the chance to see and maybe even take on these new opportunities, taking on roles that we otherwise may have ignored.

In Chelsea’s case, COVID-19 has given her the chance to capitalize on this mindset. In the interview, Chelsea expressed that art direction was clearly the path she wanted to take. But because of COVID-19, she put into practice being open-minded and willing to take on different roles. She has now obtained an internship working as a designer for a new start-up.

There is so much potential now to grow and expand the scopes of our experiences. I encourage you all to take a deep breath, reflect, and take a chance. Who knows: maybe it’ll be more worthwhile than you thought.

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