The first time I doubted my pivot, someone asked me a single question. They wanted to know why I’d trade architecture for graphic design — especially since there would be a significant pay cut. They asked me if I knew any other design disciplines with similar principles to architecture. That’s when they listed other options such as industrial design, environmental graphic design, product design, visual design and more.

Or rather, I chose the version of myself I thought might finally make him see me—a girl who could walk onto a construction site, name every grade of lumber and every type of brick, and hold her own in a room full of men who assumed she couldn’t. I spent four years earning the degree.

It all begins with an idea.