Unify
Stream Club Design Challenge Reflection
I'm a designer not a writer. Although this is true I do believe that it is important to take the time to reflect on any experiences throughout my life that I believe have milestone impacts. I am writing this reflection partly for myself as well as for anybody who wants to read it. I just finished the design exercise for Stream Club and all I can say is wow. I can honestly say that the last couple of hours have probably been one of the most intense, exhilarating, and yet satisfying hours of my life. When I heard there was a design challenge I was nervous yet excited. I had never done one before but have heard of them done formally in big tech companies. I didn’t know what to expect but it definitely wasn’t this.
Upon first glance of the brief I was confused. Very confused. I wasn’t sure what exactly the challenge wanted me to do. I thought it looked pretty straight forward but the more I started to think about it the more layers started unfolding. If I’ve learned one thing throughout my career it is that I should always ask for help even though it might make you look like a fool. Luckily for me I have started building a support system that has become detrimental to my career. I decided to ask for help. After having others read the brief I asked for their interpretation. The more they spoke the more I realized there was a longer road ahead of me. There were things my mentors had mentioned that I had never heard about. At that point I knew I had to make a choice, either stop now because I believed I wasn’t qualified enough, or continue trying and learn as I went. This exercise has pushed me to limits I never knew existed. I learned things I wouldn’t have ever had the opportunity to learn if it wasn’t for this challenge. Through watching youtube videos, talking to mentors, and reading blogs I can truly say I've learned more in the past couple of hours than in my past jobs combined. If I can take anything from this experience it's that I now understand the limits of human nature, the bar is only set wherever you choose it to be. For this I am grateful.
Although the people who I list here may not read this I would like to write it to the world. I would like to thank my mentors, my family, as well as my girlfriend for the constant support and motivation to keep pushing me forward. It might get annoying to the people closest to me when I have to lock myself in my room for a couple of hours but they understand the importance of my career. It's different tackling an obstacle by yourself as opposed to when you have a support system behind you. Even though the challenge is dependent on yourself it never really feels that way when you have people who believe in you. Thank you.