Soarin' , Flyin'

I have a love/hate relationship with flying. Airports are full of people, lines, germs, and lots of waiting. Depending on who you are seated around, your whole flight can be ruined. Loud, obnoxious people or that crying baby behind you or people with colds or people who don’t know the concept of personal space. Or, or or…the list goes on and on and on. There are just so many things that can go wrong when flying that makes me hate it; however, I also love it.

Takeoffs and Landings. I absolutely hate this. I love roller coasters and heights are not a problem for me. I just hate the sound of the wheels hitting the landing strip or the knot in your stomach you get right after lift off.

For me, my favorite part about flying is the time in between the takeoffs and landings. The time when you get to sit and stare out the little airplane window at the sky. Personally, I like this time. You are stuck and can’t go anywhere, you just have to be. I like this time because I can sit and doodle. I don’t have to worry about being super productive as I am too cheap to pay for wifi and my travel partners, my mom and my sister, are usually sleeping. I put on my country playlist and doodle. For those of you who are designers, artists, or hoping to become one of those things, next time you are flying, just be. Take this time to work on a project that is for you, not for a client, a class, or someone else. Use this time to be in your own space and create something funny or unique. Step out of your comfort zone and maybe create a piece that is a total failure. My point is, take this time that you are stuck in a room, full of strangers, soaring 39,000 feet in the air to create something. Even if it’s awful and you don’t show anyone, just create something. As designers, students, artists, etc, we sometimes get caught up in creating for the class or the client. We tend to forget why we started designing in the first place. So next time you are flying, try to ignore the loud group of men sitting a few rows in front of you or the stranger who just took their shoes off next to you. Focus on why you started creating in the first place and create something just for you.

Safe travels & thanks for reading!

Kelsey