No Wrong Way

Visiting the MoMA was the very last thing that I got to do in New York. Sadly, I didn’t get as much time as I wanted there, but that’s what second trips are for! During my short time there, I saw a handful of pieces that inspired me. One was this piece: Grand Black Tie Sperm Glut made in 1987 by Robert Rauschenberg.

The description says: “Rauschenberg made this work in response to the recession in the 1980s in his native Texas: a “glut” in the oil market threw the state’s economy into a tailspin. Here, and in the larger series of Gluts to which this work belongs, he assembled metal scraps, often the debris of American car culture, observing, ‘I think of the Gluts as souvenirs without nostalgia.’ This amalgamation of weathered road signs, some of which are riddled with bullet holes, rejects the idea that there’s a single way forward.”

Did you get that? This piece rejects the idea that there’s a single way forward. What’s that? There’s no single way forward. 

While the NYC Experience is an exceptional opportunity for all ad students, we can get so anxious around this time. We get caught in the race to find an internship, a job, ourselves, our city, love, our destinies, and so much more. We believe that everything needs to happen in a precise order. 

One thing I learned from visiting agencies this week is that there is no right way to move forward in this industry. The advertising industry is unique in the fact that no one has the same path. We don’t all get the same degree, go through the same hiring process, and land the same types of jobs. We don’t all have to start our careers at advertising agencies. Doug Melville from TBWA started his career at Oscar Meyer, and look at the great place he ended up! 

This can be scary, because there’s not a recipe for becoming successful in this industry. It’s not like becoming a doctor, where a doctorate almost guarantees you a job. However, if you stay open to opportunities, follow your heart, and treat others with kindness and gratitude, you’ll go far (even if you make a few turns to get there).

Emily Foster.

05.14.17