You can take on NYC
For the longest time I thought I couldn’t live in NYC. It was too fast-paced. Too many people. Too big. Too smelly. And I thought of myself as none of those things. But as the week went on I felt myself leaning into this NYC life. Maybe I could live here? Maybe I was fast-paced and smelly? What I’m trying to say is I think living in NYC would be hard yes, but I think that the fear of living there shouldn’t deter me from doing it.
Paige Bara Blog 3
Ready, Set, Passion projects
That is one of the huge things that I took away from this trip. Going around the city showed me the different aspects of peoples everyday lives and inspired me to be creative. More creative that is.
This next year is time for me to buckle down and crank work out! Get everything in this creative process flowing. Working with amazing other creatives to put something out there that can give people goosebumps. Passion projects really show the world a side of yourself that you might not even show yourself, so dig deep and make it count. It can be something as simple as a drawing you develop one day or as much as a full installation with thirty moving pieces. WHO KNOWS!!! All of that is up to you, and me I think.
We definitely have a lot of work in front of us, but I personally am ready for it.
Let’s Create!
- Mason Hughes 5-21-19
For the Culture
One of the most important things I learned from the NYC trip
is to push culture forward. Care about it. Translation taught me that. Their
impact on culture, diversity, and representation really meant something to
people. It meant a great deal to me. Advertising can be the force that can
create a change. Even more importantly, the people creating the message. People
are the culture. If the people who are working on a campaign are not the first
to take a risk, no one else will follow.
And that’s when I figured out for myself that I wanted to work for an agency that drives change, especially change for minorities. Being a person of color myself, I’ve come to know that everywhere else I go that is not a major city in the US or my hometown, I am the minority. I always knew that, but now I know even more after being on this trip. I have a voice and I need to use it for the Culture.
Dominique Ambat | 5.21.19 | #3
Next year? One word. EXECUTION!
Like I said, at the beginning of this trip in from the time I landed in New York City I had no expectations. Looking back at that statement, it was a blessing and a curse, to be able to absorb and learn as much as humanly possible this trip was so beneficial.
However, with the right preparation and intent to execute, the opportunities for this week could have and should have been endless. I watch the ways in which my fellow Ducks prepared and emailed weeks prior to arriving in New York City.
I watch the ways in which they sacrifice free time to send thank you letters and Linkedin connections, and I simply learned one thing dot-dot-dot I need to get my s*** together!!!!
That’s okay though, life is full of trial and error and I can genuinely say that if given the opportunity to come back on this trip next year?
Oh you better believe I’m doing everything and anything necessary to make sure that my creative and personal growth is felt through each and every single hour of this trip.
This is obviously an opportunity that any student in Allen hall or any school would pray for, to waste it or treat it as if it will come again, would be an absolute waste.
Again to all of you that inspired me and did the damn thing this week, thank you. The marathon continues, like Deb always says..“ONWARD….”
- Cameron Lewis
Wait, it’s over…?
So oh, you mean to tell me I’m supposed to pack my luggage leave cultural and inspiring New York for gloomy and dull Eugene Oregon? Let me be clear I don’t HATE Eugene.. I just fell in love with New York. The people, the agencies, the opportunity, the buildings and most of all… The 99 Cent Pizza!!
But in all seriousness, I couldn’t be more grateful for this opportunity, from the bottom of my heart I want to thank every single agency, every single faculty member, student on this trip. It’s so easy to quanitfy your creative worth when there’s no direct result, this week I learned not one step of your journey is more valubale then the other and for us Ducks, the countless hours spent in Allen, long rainy days is simply just a small part of the marathon that is life and it’s endless opportunities and this is one i’ll forever be grateful for.
Cameron Lewis
Uptown, F, 6 , Midtown, 5
Yes, These are different routes you take throughout the subway. If you’re reading this or on this trip chances are you’ve been on one of these routes numerous times a day and gotten lost on one of these routes numerous times a day. I’m sitting on the 4 train currently after having the opportunity to sit at day one agency. Another amazing motivational stepping stone in my creative process, speaking of another motivating factor, how can you not be inspired by the subway? Being in Eugene Oregon for for years and what seems like forever now. Has closed a lot of our eyes to what culture actually looks like, feels like an even smells like. There’s Beauty in the way in which racial and cultural collide. I’ve been on subways in which I’ve heard no English, seen no white people and even almost no one at all. Every sterotypical myth about the subway is highly overrated, it’s a really dope place and honestly Fck L.A traffic. Onward….
- Cameron Lewis
So were really doing this?
So we’re really doing this huh?
As day one comes to a close, I’ve been here for about 72 hours now & beginning to realize this city actually doesn’t sleep. The subway hasn’t gotten any easier but getting lost is worth it. Thankful that the rest of the flock has shown up and ready to explore. To be quite honest, it’s still surreal being here, I remember applying for the trip and not feeling super confident about my chances of acceptance and strength of my portfolio, yet here I am.
Clearly we’re all here for a reason and excited to find out why, let’s go!
Cameron Lewis
Dia Uno
What do you call the crazy process in which you’re immensely overwhelmed and excessively Inspired? As day one came to a close having the opportunity to hear from wieden & Kennedy in Translation, I’m beginning to realize how amazingly gifted the creative agencies are and how fortunate I am to be here.
I can honestly say I came into this trip with zero expectations and already plotting on how to be more prepared for next year! To my senior family, kill it this week & go get what you deserve, I’m going to take notes and observe!
Speaking of oberserving, Tom watched the way in which I was geniuely engaged and said to me “Don’t forget it’s never too late to change that major back..” I laughed but then I realized, maybe I do need to reassess my perception on this whole advertising thing, Hmmm….
- Cameron Lewis
It’s okay
Now that some time has passed, I’ve had some time to think about the amazing NYC experience I just endured. Agencies that I’ve never heard of, doing things I’ve never thought of, pushing the boundaries that I never figured were there. I’ve found that I want to be a more experiential creative in ad and that I definitely love to come up with big ideas.
After all said and done, however, I may not be sure I’m ready to New York. Granted, I wasn’t ready for college, now I’m not sure if I’m ready to be done with college, but nonetheless. I want to spend time fine tuning my abilities before I go to New York. I want to present my best self because I don’t feel I’ve personally maxed out my skill sets yet. I’ve been busy working 2 jobs, school, and a worldwind of family issues. I need to make sure that I’m comfortable and secure because lately, my life has been full of empty promises and hardship.
New York taught me to keep thinking and dreaming bigger. The possibilities are endless and everyone has their own timeline for achievements beyond belief. When it’s my time to take the leap into New York, you best believe I am putting my best foot forward. I AM a force to be reckoned with, don’t be fooled.
And with that, I wish all the best to those I’m seeing diving head first into NYC life! Your amazing and I cannot wait to see what you make of it! You GO!
Taylor Moore 5.20.19
Getting lost isn’t always a BAD thing…
After being in New York for a whole week, I started to reflect on how I stumbled upon some places that I did. There were multiple times I found myself at a cool store or a good food restaurant that I’ve always wanted to go to but not because I was planning on going, it was because I was lost. For example, me and Cameron Lewis were lost in lower east Manhattan and ended up at Round to resale outlet which is one of the most popular consignment shops in the world that me and Cameron both were planning on going to at some point of the trip. Moral of the story, in such a big city like New York with so much to offer, getting lost isn’t the worse thing that can happen to you.
-Elijah Patterson