Portland has always been a place that I have dreamed of visiting and potentially living. For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to the laid-back lifestyle and the importance people who live there place on nature and community. And best of all it’s surrounded by unreal wilderness, mountains and coast-line galore! This past weekend I got to spend a whirl-wind 36 hours in Portland with one of my good pals Viet. Viet and I met early on in DAAP and he has been one of my closest friends in DAAP ever since. Not only can he keep up with my weird antics and jokes but he pushes me to consider things I never have before and think about life in a different way. Viet, thank you not only for your hospitality this weekend but for always keeping me thinking about important things and grooving to new tunes. You are one of the most genuine people I have met that has a curiosity for life and a courage to spark conversations we all need to hear. Thanks for showing me around the magical place you get to call home for a semester. Spending 36 hours there was definitely to short, but it was enough to give me a taste of the magical place that is Portland and make me want more.
This weekend was also full of lots of chats about the future as we edge toward our final semester of school. The conversation centered around what keeps people rejuvenated and how important it is to surround yourself with people that lift you up. For me I am energized, rejuvenated and inspired by being in nature (who’s surprised?!). There is nothing better for me than being out of breath at the top of a mountain after a long hike surrounded by the sounds and smells of nature. It makes my soul sing and blows my mind to be amongst nature appreciating it and hugging lots of trees. I am also energized by being around other people and being able to collaborate. When thinking about the future, I know that I need to live in a city that has beautiful wilderness closely accessible (which is why I think I am drawn to the west coast and especially the PNW). But I also need to work at a place that has constant collaboration and human connection. I am at my best when I can spend my weekends lost on a trail and my weeks in the office (if they have to be in an office) with awesome humans who not only inspire/accept me but push me to be my best doing work that does more than just feed corporate America.
This is a huge part of the reason I love where I am right now. This is my first time working for a company bigger than 30 people. It is also my first time working in-house for a brand, instead of doing agency work. But here I am, at a 600+ person company, absolutely smitten. At Thumbtack, I am on the Brand Marketing Team, meaning I get to work everyday with other brand designers, copywriters, producers and a photo video team. Being able to work on a smaller Brand Marketing team within a huge company is awesome. You get to know a core group of humans, but you also have the ability to meet someone new and work with other teams errryyyyday, which is amazing! Each day I have the ability to interact with so many humans and I get to explore a brand to a level I haven’t had the opportunity/time to do at an agency. As I work through my last internship and my final semester of school in the fall, I have been trying to be very perceptive to what I love/don’t love about design and what I could see my future morphing into. Who knows what exactly is going to happen - but if it’s got nature and good people, things are looking good!
Here are some photos from this weekend (musings continued after):
1 BBQ joint, 500 exclamations of YEET, 6 corn-dogs, 1 state, 2 new friends, 1 night market, 4 mountains, 1 beach, 5+ wanders, 2 donuts, 1 photo booth, 800 inhales of pine tree smell, 1 amazing Thai place, 47 repeats of the same joke, 1 car jam session and so many giggles and life chats later – I am back in SF reminiscing on the A++ of weekends. I am so grateful to friends hospitality and kindness so that I can experience new places and fall in love further with the PNW.
Cheers - keleniak
#heckyaSF2