Designing My Way Through Uncertainty: Why I’m Starting This Blog
The power of pivoting is truly amazing.
Hi, my name is Imani Young. Recently, I have decided to make a major career change, pivoting from Architecture to Graphic Design. This is the scariest thing I have done besides going to school out of state. I realized that I didn't always know what I wanted to be or do throughout my life. News flash! No one knows all the time. For a while, I thought I had it figured out. I studied architecture, graduated, and poured myself into two construction internships. Then I finally got my first big girl architecture job as a project designer and executive assistant. I was following the path to becoming an architect by tracking my hours for NCARB and showing up, but I was burning out too fast. I didn’t always feel valued, and in some ways, I jeopardized my health and wellness for the sake of a job like so many do. However, as time passed, I kept showing up to do my best while feeling useless and empty. Unexpectedly, I was let go because the company was facing some financial struggles. My boss, who was also a friend I met beforehand, didn't tell me til the day of, and I thought he was kidding. But then I looked at him and noticed how serious his face was. That was the first time I cried and felt utterly defeated. I realize now that this was my biggest blessing in disguise. Shortly after the feelings of despair passed, I realized that I didn't care for architecture. I knew I loved design and the fundamentals, but I couldn't care less about how a building was put together or the size of a brick. I couldn't completely articulate it, but I knew something was missing, and I was unhappy. Finally, after some time, I went back to school for a certificate in Graphic Design. I think I knew that I was intrigued with Graphic design for a while. It started my senior year of college as a designer for the Filipino club on campus. While I was finishing my last year of architecture school where I was so depressed that I couldn't get out of bed at times. I had fun designing logos and event flyers for this club.
Now I am a multidisciplinary designer with roots in architecture and a growing curiosity in branding, digital design, UX/UI design, and creative storytelling. I work part-time at a creative marketing agency where I wear many hats—administrative, communication, and strategy. It’s not always neat or easy to explain what I do, but that is why I have started this blog: to make space for the messy middle. To make space for those times when life is misunderstood and simply odd. It is messy and crazy, but worth living and growing into this wonderful masterpiece. I am learning that I am truly becoming a masterpiece similar to ones created by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, etc.
Learning in Real Time
This blog is not about pretending to have it all figured out. It’s all about learning, one of my favorite things about being a human who can experience many different things.
I just turned 29, still growing into myself as a creative and learning how to balance ambition with patience. And this is the most difficult part, as sometimes I lack patience like many of us do. Some days, I feel energized and ready to seize the day with clarity; other days, I feel stuck, stagnant, unsure, and exhausted by the weight of expectations—mine and others’. I've come to understand and slowly accept that creative growth and life don't follow a linear path. Success can always be redefined, and it doesn't always look like a title, an impeccably impressive portfolio, or a clean trajectory.
Sometimes success is just… continuing and being more present in each moment we are given on this Earth to live. It’s taking the next step. Letting yourself evolve.
Who This Blog Is For
So you may ask now: Who is this blog intended to attract? If you are in a season of change—or uncertainty—I hope this space feels like a soft landing.
Maybe you’re pivoting from one career to another. Maybe you are completely burned out and looking for a way to revive yourself. Maybe you're figuring out what your next move or right step is. Maybe you're figuring out what kind of designer (or artist, or writer, or creative) you want to be, and wondering if it is too late to start over. (It is not too late for anyone to start over.) This blog is for you.
I’ll be writing about:
What it feels like to start over—again and again
Navigating frustration and creative burnout
Learning to build a career that reflects who you actually are
Making peace with uncertainty while still growing forward
There won't be any quick tips or one-size-fits-all solutions here. Just honest reflections, lessons I've learned, and permission to be in the process with me.