I’ve always resonated with the idiom, “A jack of all trades is a master of none.”
Like other phrases, this one has been misconstrued — ending with, “But oftentimes better than a master of one.”
I live by this mantra wholeheartedly as a tryhard student in high school and an overachiever in university.
All my life, I’ve been active in all the available clubs and organizations at my schools. Model United Nations, student government, recycling club, musical theatre — you name it. I tried it all.
That doesn’t mean I was ever the best in these activities. In fact, I don’t think I ever was.
But I involved myself in all these clubs because of my pure interest in different subjects, not for a resume booster.
I think it stems from my short attention span that mentally bars me from sitting down and just committing myself to one task for more than 10 minutes.
I remember when I had a magnetic drawing board as a young child. Somehow, it amused me enough that I could draw unintelligible shapes for hours.
Put me in front of the television, however, and I would stalk out at the sight of the first commercial break.
My point is, there’s little rhyme or reason to why I’m enthralled by the things I do. And I could be absolutely horrific at doodling, cooking or debating, but I will continue to subject myself to the endless disappointment and imposter syndrome.
I always try to remember the ultimate goal in life is to have fun, which includes being comically awful at certain things.
For me, I think I’m not very good at graphic design. However, it is my passion.
I started off in mobile photo editing applications like Phonto and Picsart, moving onto Canva and graduating to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Even if the equipment has improved, that doesn’t mean I transformed into Picasso overnight.
My graphic designs resemble Peppa Pig fanart crossed with Blues Clues a bit. It’s kind of cute — if a fourth-grader was the artist and not a college student.
Nevertheless, I continued to make designs — at Boston University, I am the graphic designer for the College of Communication Student Government. Although I feel that sense of imposter syndrome sometimes, I am happy that I pushed myself to become a graphic designer for the organization.
I also love taking photos, especially with a DSLR camera. I learned how to use a DSLR camera thanks to my JO205 class and decided to purchase my own camera.
I didn’t know how hard it was going to be to actually shoot photos. I just remember thinking, “Point, click, shoot.”
Instead of giving up though — especially since I already bought the camera anyway — I put my DSLR to good use and continued to take photos that I like. Flowers, trees, crowds of people. And you can’t forget about all the different colors.
I hope that I can improve in photography and videography, by extension. However, I don’t expect to become an expert. I’m in it for the love of the game, so to speak.
For anyone else who has little hobbies like these, keep on going. I hate how society expects that we need to excel in everything we do.
I never want to give up these hobbies. Work and school are stressful enough, and we as humans need these breaks in our day that are just innocent fun. Maybe I’ll become a master photographer or graphic designer in the future, but if not, that’s okay, too.
