Growing up, I was always told that the way to succeed in life is to study hard, go to college and get a good job. That’s what everyone around me did, and so I set my sights on doing the same thing. It wasn’t until later when I left home for college that it hit me: this lifestyle of studying hard and dedicating oneself completely isn’t sustainable.
Sure enough, by senior year of college I had developed an anxiety disorder from all the pressure put on myself–and others–to do well academically without any other outlets or interests in life.
As soon as graduation came around, I decided to pursue a career in environmental design; something that allowed me to be creative while also helping people lead more sustainable lives. Aim: To share my story of how a simple, but sometimes suffocating environment has shaped me into the person I am today and motivated me to pursue environmental design as a career.
Key Points/Takeaways: I grew up in an extremely competitive household where everyone was expected to strive for excellence academically without any other outlets or interests outside of school-work-study life.
As soon as college came around, it became clear that this lifestyle wasn’t sustainable–and on top of everything else, left me with an anxiety disorder by senior year.
For those reasons alone, I decided to leave home after graduation and pursue a more creative job doing environmental design work instead which would allow for creativity while also helping
