let’s talk about dream jobs
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks trying to get more organized. I bake a lot when I'm trying to get organized. Clears the head.
I’m trying to let go of things that don’t excite me (goodbye 150 people I’ve been following on Instagram) and embrace things that fuel creativity and enthusiasm. I’ve been actively cutting down on purchases and pairing down items at home and online. Case in point: I went to IKEA with my mom a week or so ago and only spent $35. That may be a record. But I did get a couple of really cool dishes and a raspberry tray. I’m not claiming to be a minimalist here.
My attempt to organize and clean out does not mean that I have cut down on the amount of time that I spend fiddle-farting (as my mother-in-law would say). Pinterest and Polyvore have become like second homes to me. I’ve begun obsessing over furniture.
I literally get excited by chairs. It’s scary. But it is also good because on Monday, I begin my first classes in an online interior design program.
I’ve been searching for a long time. I’ve spent countless hours trying to set goals and define myself and figure out what kind of life I want to create. I tried life lists and looking back in time to my hobbies as a kid. Somehow, singing into a hairbrush in the mirror no longer seemed like an option. My husband has spent hours listening to off the wall ideas about things I could be doing with my life. In the meantime, just like John Lennon (or Allen Saunders) said, life kept happening while I was trying to make other plans, and there I was sounding like a spoiled brat because I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices available to me.
In reality, it was there all along. It was there when I would force my mother to visit miniatures stores everywhere we traveled as a little girl. It was there when I was wallpapering my closet with magazine spreads as a teenager. It was there when I bought a 1,700 square foot house for a family of seven (now a family of nine plus a dog). It was there three years ago in my notes to myself about next steps(“blog – small space. Marketing tool or self-indulgent crap? Accessible design. Remote access? Inexpensive. How to access/market to people like CM”). It was there six months later when I attended a conference for design bloggers on a whim and without a blog. I had no elevator pitch, no common language to share, but I went and soaked it all in.
So I am going to school to learn about interior design. I am going to start with a certificate and see where that takes me. Will I be able to get a design internship? Will I continue with my studies and earn a degree in design? Will I go all the way with school and work hours and become a licensed interior designer? I’m not sure yet. But I do know one thing: I know that this is the right path. I know that if I could create my dream job, it would be helping families design shared spaces – bedrooms, living rooms, playrooms, outdoor areas – that reflect how they live and how they want to interact as a family. I want to design spaces that encourage family engagement, spaces that are beautiful but also functional and affordable, and spaces that do not need 3,000 square feet to be amazing.
There you have it. Now my dream is out on the Internet. I’ll be expecting you to help me stay accountable. I may even share what I’m learning every couple of weeks. I’ll be starting with color theory and visual concepts. And I can’t wait.
P.S. Have you seen Karen Walrond’s Thrive Portrait Project? I love Karen’s writing and photography, but this project really hit home with me. Go take a look.
P.P.S. Land of Nod? If you are reading this, someday I would love my business cards to read "Adrienne Robideaux, Shared and Small Space Virtual Designer, Land of Nod". What do you think? If not me, will you consider my daughter, Théa? She's been helping to "style" her room at Gran's house.
I think she's doing a pretty darn good job. And she sings into hairbrushes too.