Seeing the Light

Last semester, I was incredibly fortunate to spent three months in England with SCSU's Alnwick Program. During our free time, the group disbanded, jetting all over Europe. The photo above was taken by myself in Paris, France. I have been saving it for this particular moment - a rainy day when the sun would peek through and offer me some solace in the chaos that has been my day, my week - my entire semester.

With an eerie similarity to last semester, I am losing my mind as this semester comes to an end. I am panicked, overwhelmed, exhausted, and under extreme pressure to meet all the deadlines that are approaching faster than I care bear to think.

The only thought keeping me going: we are almost at the end. This has been my mantra for the past few weeks.

We had our final To Clients this week, and a huge mounting session is going on as I type this. I am sad to say I am not their with my crew, though I wish I was. I am once again confined to the library, waiting impatiently as my video project loads on to the flash drive I finally caved and bought today. I have officially ran out of space on my phone, my school drive, my Dropbox, and my flimsy old 2 GB flash drive that is literally falling apart on me. My personal Google Drive is brimming with files, documents, photos, and draft after draft of the projects we've worked on this semester.

And this is where I find my light.

This semester has been rough. But, it has also been the most productive semester I have had in my four years of higher education. I have, for the first time thus far, actually learned things that will benefit myself and my future employer. I have seen the light, seen exactly what it is I have worked so hard for. I can finally picture a day in the life I am striving to have. I can see what my future looks like in this industry. I know how an advertising agency is set up, how it operates, what it entails, and what to expect. I have lived the trials and tribulations, the long nights and early mornings.

And now I know that it is worth it. This tunnel I have been condemned to walk for the past four years is finally widening into something beautiful. I see the light and I feel the thrill.

Jordyn Cooke

Creative at Fourth Avenue Design

jbcooke@stcloudstate.edu