My journey of becoming an architect
Hello everyone, welcome back! As I mentioned in my introductory post, I am an architect and a mum, and today I want to share with you my story of how I became an architect. It's been a long and challenging journey, but also rewarding and fulfilling. I hope you enjoy reading.
The beginning
I've always loved drawing and designing things since I was a kid. I used to sketch houses and buildings on paper and imagine how they would look like in real life. I was fascinated by the idea of creating something out of nothing and making it beautiful and functional and I was intrigued by the accessibility (or lack of) of public toilets back in the 90s.
During high school I started to think that maybe I would go to university and study architecture. A far out relative of mine who is also now an architect, inspired me to look at it as a possibility. I come from a small village and seeing Jennifer head off to study architecture was encouraging. I decided to pursue my passion and study architecture. I was so excited to learn more about the art and science of designing buildings and spaces. I applied to several universities and got accepted into one close to home. I was over the moon!
The challenges
Studying architecture was a lot of work, a lot of pressure, and a lot of competition. I had to spend countless hours in the studio, working on projects, models, drawings, and presentations. While my school friends headed out and enjoyed the 'student life', we would all return home at the same time: them full of fun and me exhausted from a late night in the studio. I had to learn how to use different software, tools, and materials. I had to read a lot of books, articles, and journals. I had to attend lectures, seminars, workshops, and critiques. I had to learn from my mistakes and eventually balance my studies with my social life, my health and my finances.
I also faced some difficulties along the way, such as failure, illness, confidence and pregnancy.
Learning that architecture is subjective was vital to forming my own style and interests. I spent far too long trying to please my tutors’ opinions instead of forming my own, resulting in my failure and repeating over the summer. Most importantly I didn't let failing stop me, if anything it pushed me to work harder.
Becoming a mum in the first year of my master's degree was not planned, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, who is now the light of my life. However, it was tough to juggle motherhood with studying. I had to take some time off from university and then catch up with my coursework when I returned. I returned to study when my daughter was 4 months old; I had to find childcare, thankfully I was able to receive some financial support. I had to express milk throughout the day when I was away from my daughter and I had to make sacrifices, mostly sleep, some social time, and some hobbies.
Confidence is a daily struggle and a tricky thing. It can make or break your performance, your creativity, and your happiness. As an architect, I have struggled with confidence throughout my studies and my career. There were times when I felt like I was not good enough, not talented enough, not smart enough to design and build something meaningful. There were also times when I felt proud of my work, inspired by my vision, and confident in my abilities. I realised that confidence is not a fixed state, but a fluctuating one. It peaks and troughs depending on various factors, such as feedback, mood, stress, and expectations.
One of the biggest challenges, I face is imposter syndrome, which involves unfounded feelings of self-doubt and incompetence. I often feel like a fraud, as if I don’t deserve my success or have achieved it by luck or deception. Imposter syndrome makes me question my own skills and talents, even when I have evidence of my achievements.
So how do I keep it up? One quick tip that works for me is to remind myself of my strengths and achievements. Whenever I feel low on confidence, I look back at my portfolio and see how far I have come. I also think of the positive comments and compliments I have received from clients, colleagues, and mentors. This helps me to boost my self-esteem and motivation. Confidence is not something that you have or don’t have; it’s something that you can cultivate and improve.
The rewards
Despite all the challenges, studying architecture was rewarding and fulfilling. I learned so much about architecture, design, history, culture, technology, society, and myself. I met so many amazing people along the way: professors, classmates who have become lifelong friends, colleagues, clients, and collaborators. I worked on so many interesting projects: houses, schools, retreats, and more. I travelled to so many places: Boston, New York, Venice, Barcelona, Paris, to name a few.
The most rewarding part of being an architect, for me, is having the opportunity to make a positive impact on people's lives through the spaces and places I design. No matter how small, I always strive to create environments that provide shelter, comfort and functionality to the users. I find joy and satisfaction in every detail of the design process, knowing that I am contributing to shaping people's everyday experiences.
Thank you for reading my blog post! I hope you enjoyed it. I have touched on a lot of topics in this post and hope to go more in depth into each of them in later posts. If you have any questions or comments about my journey of becoming an architect or about architecture in general, please feel free to leave them below or contact me via email or social media.
Until next time...
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