kind words.

May 5, 2007 | Filed in Abundance | 2 Comments

Last month, a local teen e-mailed me because he wants to be a website designer. He is a Junior in high school and was working on a project that required him to contact a person in his field of interest and ask them questions.

So he contacted me and I was happy to participate. I have a soft spot for aspiring teens because I started my career when I was 15, and it was really difficult gaining respect. So naturally I want to treat him with all the respect he deserves, so he can gain a healthy sense of accomplishment and confidence.

He sent over some questions, and asked for me to send my response to each. Well, I can be long winded at times. I think I told him the whole story of life. HA! I covered every topic thoroughly and made certain to fill him in on all the little secrets that nobody shared with me when I was his age.

I never heard back and I figured I had really overwhelmed him and maybe even scared him away. Keep in mind, I didn’t tell him a bunch of negative things. But I did explain that designers can be very competitive and cut throat, and I encouraged him to stay true to his spirit and always be an honest business person. I also told him that designers tend to fall into jobs that make them unhappy (we’re very free spirits) so I encouraged him to never stay in a job that made him miserable because life is too short.

Well a few weeks passed, but today I received a very touching card [hand-made] in the mail from him! I guess I didn’t scare him afterall. It read:

The advice you shared in response to my questions was extremely helpful, and I will surely take it to heart. I truly believe that your advice will help me grow not only as a designer, but as a person.

Awww, shux. That really meant a lot to me, and I thought this story was worth sharing.