I grew up with a pencil in my hand and piles of used sketchbooks under my bed. As much as grade school tried to teach me that being an artist wasn't ever going to be a reliable career, I knew whatever I ended up doing with my life would have something to do with art. When I arrived at The University of Georgia here in Athens, I was a little lost. Should I pursue theater like I was so into in High School? Film? Mass media arts? Fashion merchandising because I've always enjoyed fashion design? 

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After a lot of reflection and exploration around and around the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication website, I discovered a new option: advertising. The perfect combination of art and business; the ever evolving challenge of creating new, unique ways to catch the busy consumers' attention in this increasingly digital age. Like the average consumer, I have spent my entire life bombarded by advertisements and never thought too much of them, except for those special, special few that caught my attention and made me laugh, or made me think, or made me question something I had never questioned before... Advertising is a powerful, powerful medium, and if done well, can influence consumers in more ways than just to purchase a product. 

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When it comes to graphic design specifically, I have spent my entire life trying to do the best work I am capable of, and have never stopped pushing myself to reach the high expectations I hold for the quality of my work. Like any designer, I labor on a piece of work until I am satisfied with it and can finally step back and be proud of what I've done. What I love about advertising is it takes the solitary artist's satisfaction one step further by making it much bigger than just one person, or one work of art. Advertising is not just about what I want as a designer, it's about a challenge to bring my best tools to the table to meet the various needs of the client. My creative mind is invigorated by brainstorming creative solutions to business challenges, especially in such a rapidly evolving digital age. Being a part of the advertising industry means that I can finally put that pencil and those years of sketchbooks under my bed to use for something that's much, much bigger than just me.