Growing up, I’ve always subconsciously avoided competitions. I’ve received “awards” here and there throughout school, but they were usually prizes that I didn’t even know I’d entered.
Such as — “the most awkward penguin in the high school class of 2005.”
Why is that? _Because I hate doing fake projects, _I told myself. After many years of (almost overdoing) architectural school and grad school, I’m hungry to make things that real people use rather than hypothetical, conceptual projects. It isn’t good for my psyche. But deep down, I know those were excuses. A sizable part of the equation is my ego’s fear of losing. I’m afraid that after putting in all that effort, I’ll come out of it with nothing. I mean, what are the chances of winning?
When my friend messaged me, asking if I wanted to participate in Adobe’s Creative Jam with her, I quite frankly dreaded it. However, my thoughts brought me to the high school students that I design for at my current job. I make a living now by designing a college counseling platform that actively encourages kids to engage in competitions — hackathons, business pitch competitions, athletic matches — should they wish to reach the heights of their potential and be recognized for their craft.
I thought, well, OK — if there’s some truth in that — if competitions are indeed valuable to personal growth, maybe I should give it a go and experience them. At the very least, it will help me empathize better with my users.
The intensity of the long-weekend designathon did not disappoint. The 72-hour competition was hard work, no doubt. On top of that, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative issued a pretty tricky prompt, which I was initially intimidated by. We spent the first day almost chasing our tails, and the rest of it staying up late. I don’t remember feeling this stressed and exhausted since architectural school, and it made my work feel like a vacation. My eyes remain fatigued from too much screen time even now as I write this.
But in the end, our work started to fall into place, and we made it through to the top 10 finalist teams.
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