How I became an Interior Designer.

When I was younger, I wanted to follow in the steps of my mum. I wanted to design people's homes; make them cozy, make them modern, make them classy, make them edgy, make them whatever people wanted. I, just like my mother was, wanted to be an Interior Designer. With maybe the added component of actually building the houses as well. She had a computer program called 3D Dream House Designer

2000, where you can build, design, and decorate homes, shops, businesses - whatever kind of buildings you wanted. I used to spend hours and hours designing my optimum future home. I would create 1 or 2 different designs every single day and then sit, stare, and imagine myself living in it. I think I was the only 10 year old who used a home design program as a video game. Sort of like Sims but without the people, or the social interactions, or any objectives at all.

All throughout high school I was adamant that I was going to grow up to be an interior designer. By the time high school finished, I decided to go to college instead of staying on for sixth form as I'm more of a practical person and what I wanted to do wasn't related to anything they had to offer me in school. So I took a course in Interactive Media in Art & Design. Then, things began to chance, quite drastically, from my previous "unfaltering" ideal that I was going to be an Interior Designer. Working with several different animation programs, and editing software's I decided that what I actually wanted to do was to be an animator for Disney. Turns out that wasn't what I wanted to do either. As exciting as it sounded whenever I said it out loud, it didn't really make me feel warm inside, at all. In fact, there were times where I thought to myself "people will think I'm really cool if I had this as a job title." But it wasn't for me, I wasn't thinking of me.

I completed my diploma in Interactive Media with straight Distinctions (A+'s for you Americans). I started to have a deep think about the things I loved, "what do I love?", I would ask myself. I listed things like reading, playing video games, eating food, taking photos, drawing, watching classic movies, and animals. This led me to the belief that what I really wanted to do was become a zookeeper and hang out with animals all day. Or so I thought. After 3 years of attempting to get a degree in Animal Management I realized... I really suck at biology. And after all these ventures and changes of direction my mum suggested, "Natacha, you love writing, why don't you study creative writing". It was perfect. I recalled back to a quote I had once heard, "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life". The word work itself, makes everything sound so difficult, so forced. Nobody wants that. Why should we waste our days, our precious time, doing anything that is forced?! So I thought "what the heck, I got nothing to lose at this point".

During the induction week at University, the Humanities students had to attend a module information presentation before finalising our choice of majors & minors. I had originally planned to major in English Literature and minor in Creative Writing, but during this presentation there was one module in particular that caught my attention. "Introduction to Philosophy", it was called. It intrigued me because it was all about answering life's toughest questions and I tend to do that in my head the majority of the time anyway, and besides, I have always loved deep thinking and attempting to logically come up with answers for questions nobody seems to have answers for. I decided to add this module as one of my minors to see how it would go.

A year had passed and I was fascinated. I fell in love with Philosophy. The very first essay I had ever written at university, was a philosophy paper, and I nailed it, the same way Daniel LaRusso nailed Johnny Lawrence in the face (reference to The Karate Kid). That very essay had the highest grade in the entire class... and I was shocked. Shocked because to me, getting an A+ in art is easy, it's completely straight forward. I have never been the type to be analytical or to write analytically, and here it was, my first A+ at University. I mean, I thought my argument had been rather convincing, but I didn't think it had been convincing enough to get a grade as high as it did. The topic of the essay was concerning a paper Simon Blackburn had written about "The Death of God", and being a Christian myself, I had plenty to say, and so I did. Simon Blackburn quickly became one of my favourite philosophers, and arguing against philosophers became a new found hobby and passion (which I strongly believe I will continue to participate in for a very, very long time). Thus, I ended up making Philosophy my major.

During second year, I almost dropped English Literature entirely. I contemplated the idea of getting a double major in Philosophy and Creative Writing for a rather long time, but the majority of my friends were in English Literature, so I decided to trudge along in quiet misery. Being a lover of books, literature took all the fun out of reading. It wasn't fun anymore when I was being told what to read. When Shakespeare came up on the list of required reading, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't hoped for the University to burn down before I had to go through with it. But it never did. So, I read two pages and caved, I ended up watching the movie instead. But that didn't go too well either, I just about passed that class. I freaking hate Shakespeare.

Three years later and I now have a degree in Philosophy with Creative Writing & English Literature. I have never felt like wanting to so many different things all at once in my life before, as I do now. The dream as of now is to be a videographer/photographer/writer, wish me luck?!

In the next following weeks my partner Georgia and I get to move into a maisonette together. It will be my first time moving out from my parents house. Not only will I enjoy the independence, and the ability to begin my life with the woman I love, but I will also have the opportunity to design the entire place. One day when we move to a bigger place I'll get to design that home as well. Meaning, I technically get to be a Interior Designer after all. I could spend the rest of my life designing my home if I so wished. The point I am trying to make is that we DO NOT have to be one set thing, we can be anything, everything. All that is required is the passion, the drive, the commitment and the engagement in the activities that will lead to the successful outcome of that which we undertake. As the Minimalists once said “creation leads to contentment” and for me that couldn’t be more true. The creation of video content, the creation of my stories and my philosophical essays, the creation of my on space and home. All things which bring me much contentment.

The point is - things do not have to go one certain way, nor do you have to follow certain rules or steps in order for you to be able to call yourself what you truly are, or feel that you are. Neither do you have to be stuck doing one thing forever and ever if that is not what you wish to do. So make sure, that one day when life flashes before your eyes, you leave this world having been relentless, and recall a life that's worth watching.