#Latergram
Fifth Takeaway:
In case you have forgotten, humans can do truly beautiful things when their talents are fostered, their feelings are respected, and their humanity is acknowledged. 


—Emily Garcia, Strategist

#Latergram
Fourth Takeaway:
Sometimes the best things happen to you when you don’t go looking for them.

This takeaway speaks to me deeply because it happened this week.
When I started my journey in NYC, I had my heart set on a couple agencies and I had my life all planned out. The reason I was going to NYC was just to assure myself that my plan was right.
Then I got to the city and suddenly my plan and dreams evolved into different ones. The agencies I thought I wanted to work for didn’t fill me up like I had hoped. I was changing faster than I could have imagined; and I didn’t know what to do about it.
I was anxious on Thursday because I had to leave one agency visit and find my second agency visit on my own. I hadn’t navigated the city alone, yet, and I was worried I would get lost. After some gentle nudging from one of my professors, I realized I had the tools to find my way to the next agency.
He was right. As always.
What neither of us could have predicted was that the agency I was visiting would quickly become my favorite of the trip, or open up doors for me. What I couldn’t have planned was that my previous plans would quickly become null and void. What I couldn’t have known going into this trip is how much my life would change because of it, or happy I would be about this shift. 
I chose the photo above because I took it on my first independent venture in the city. It was in a small, French cafe with delicious macarons. I saw it in passing on the street with no plan to return. Then, after realizing I was an hour early to my appointment, I came back and had the best macarons of my life. The perfect illustration for the fourth takeaway of my trip in NYC.



—Emily Garcia, Strategist
5.14.2017

#Latergram
Third Takeaway:
It’s easy to get caught up in the rush of life, the city, your career, etc. Make sure you take a moment to look up from what you’re doing and see what’s around you. It can leave you speechless. 


—Emily Garcia, Strategist
5.14.2017

#Latergram
Second Takeaway: 
The best rewards come after long journeys. There will be moments you question your abilities. But as long as you keep trekking, walking, searching, working, the success of your work will leave you satisfied.


—Emily Garcia, Strategist

The Strategist’s View

I’ve grown up in airports.

Every summer, my father would pack me and my two older brothers up with our ginormous suitcases and take us to Hawai’i to visit our family on the Big Island. Without going into detail, I have flown a lot and have now become addicted to air travel.

When I get the first inhale of an airport’s air, my heart skips a beat. Adventure is literally right in front of me.

Yet this trip has gotten me thinking about flying in a different way, as it relates to life and advertising.

Observation #1: As people grow older, we become more afraid.

It’s a funny thought, isn’t it? The older and wiser we are, the scarier the world seems. I’m sitting on a bumpy flight where the young man next to me needs a valium while the two-year-old in front of me giggles with delight. Maybe the truth in this scenario is age makes us wiser because the lessons we learned caused us some form of pain we haven’t forgotten. Fear is what keeps us from experiencing the pain again.

Observation #2: An advertising pitch is just like taking off in a jet.

You can feel the engine rumble below you as it roars in your ear. The g-force pushes you down in your seat a little more, making you somewhat uncomfortable. Over the past two hours, you have faced stubborn ticket kiosks, security pat downs, and overpriced breakfast. The high of being 35,000 is literally seconds away, but it can’t get there fast enough. Finally you are in the air and you look down at the world below and enjoy the beautiful view. Suddenly all of that chaos is worth it.That’s what it feels like delivering a pitch. You stress as you go through the process. You feel a little bit of pressure right before you hit the crescendo. Then you get to relax and see just how far you’ve come and where you are heading next. With droopy eyelids, I made the connection in my mind and smiled. Then rewarded myself with sleep. 

-Emily Garcia, Strategist5.6.2017

***Please note the above photo is not mine. It is solely used for educational purposes.