Windshield Moments

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned what my former professor dubbed a "Windshield Moment." I recently had another moment like that regarding my crane project. I've been trying to go out and do more things -- actively looking for events that seem fun and are a little bit different than the things I typically do on a day to day basis. Anyhoo, I went with some friends to the Art City Austin festival. Basically it's a celebration of art and culture, block party style. It was a ton o' fun. And one really fun thing I got to do was the 20ft WIDE Project -- I got to create origami peace cranes with Creative Action. The cranes will then be installed as part of the alleyway activation called 20ft WIDE. The work will begin installation during Art City Austin and be on view through May 5. Pretty neat.

Me with my crane. Also... I need a haircut :/

I'm glad I got to be a part of it. It actually just debuted a couple of days ago, although I haven't had a chance to see it in person yet. (It was rainy yesterday) But here's some pictures via the Art Alliance website.

Photo Credit Michael Knox
via http://www.artallianceaustin.org/20ft-wide

Photo Credit Dan Cheetham
via http://www.artallianceaustin.org/20ft-wide

Photo Credit Dan Cheetham
via http://www.artallianceaustin.org/20ft-wide

Isn't it lovely? I hope that it's still up and the rain didn't completely demolish it. At least they took these pictures. Speaking of pictures... here's my latest update:

Moving from reds to pinks on the spectrum

With my project coming together, I've been asked frequently what I'll do next. The truth of the matter is... I don't know. I've thought about how much I've enjoyed the quiet focus when working on the cranes, and how I'd like to make sure that I still have an outlet to be able to reflect. Already though, I can tell this project has changed me. I'm more patient and don't get as easily discouraged by the tasks at hand. I'm very deliberate in making time for myself to get things done that I want. I'm more encouraging when people say they want to do something -- I think I've always been encouraging, but now I am proactive about backing it up with actionable items. Got a goal? Well, you've got to set some mini-goals to get to the big goal. One of my high school teachers said something that has always stuck with me: "Everyone wants to be successful, but no one wants to prepare in order to be successful." Success takes work. It won't fall into your lap. So don't get discouraged if things don't go right the first time -- keep going! Learn from your mistakes, re-calibrate and go get 'em. You can do it!