27 Dec 2007: Dawn.
Category: Unfiled

The last post of 2007!

newy.jpg

It was a cold day in March of this year (the sixth, to be precise) when I started the Cocoia Blog. It’s funny that with this post, I’ll probably contradict my first post on this blog; with this end-of-the-year post, I might just be turning this into a diary – at least a bit. March of that year was the dawn of an exhilarating chapter in my life.

With the risk of turning this into a cliché story, I should say that this year has probably been one of the most significant in my life. I went from being a student on the Art Academy in Groningen to being a full-time, self-employed designer and consultant, supporting my life. The paradigm shift was enormous for me; although I am a fanatic follower of the Jobs and Shipley types, I could never, subconsciously, bend my head around the basic fact that you aren’t useless as a human if you don’t have some sort of official paper proving your competence. It was at the end of the last term of the second year that the professors of the Academy smashed some sense into me. They told me that if I work hard and support myself with my work, and I get the recognition in the real world, that education wasn’t holy. In the end, I guess I had a clue, because months (in Twelve past Twelve) before that, I wrote;


I really feel like I have a clear goal, a clear ambition, and I even think there is a way for me to work it all out into a practical solution that also incorporates some kind of mechanism to keep me running monetarily — perhaps it is an illusion, but I don’t believe in failure. This is not to say there is nothing for me to achieve; I do believe in doing the wrong thing is bad, but I think there is a choice in everything and a chance therein to learn. I’ve got massive projects looming on the horizon and it’s all about expanding just that; my personal horizons. Fuck the world for now, I’ve got business to do.

And I tended to that business… in the end, it felt like an epiphany. I got the feeling that I had found that spot in life where you are no longer looking for the joy, happiness or achievement and ambition, but you settle into a state of comfort about your life and dreams. It’s not all roses, though; having had a very profound sense of ambition throughout my life, it felt discomforting at times not to have some sort of ladder to climb on. Of course, everyone has their highs and lows.

So, 2007 is on its way out, and the new year is looking promising for me. If I could divulge my agenda, I would in a blink, as the most exciting meetings, assignments, and clients I could possibly look forward to are all scheduled; there is a raw assurance in iCal on my Mac that 2008 won’t be good, it will be absolutely kickass. In the next year, I will be traveling a lot more to countries, and so I hope to meet some of the blog regulars and people I admire. I have a few icon sets in the making that will see the light in the first month of the new year, and I have no doubt that the rest of the year won’t go without more freeware icon treats. I can proudly look at the last 356 days with the knowledge that I have found a passion in my life. And when the clock strikes 12 in my time zone, I’ll be raising my glass to all of you who helped make it possible. Thanks to you — it’s been a dream.

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2 Responses

  1. 1
    Moitah 

    I don’t know if I have been a significant part of this dream come true, but, hey ! Way to go !

    You impress me.

    Have a good (and full of icon jobs and – hmmm – Monthly Blog Redesigns) year !

  2. 2
    Paul Taylor 

    Wow, I forgot I had been mentioned in your first blog entry.

    Hopefully all your hopes for 2008 will become a reality and that you excell at your aims. You’ve been a fantastic friend and an inspiration to me in the past (and present) and I can only hope for atleast the best for you in the coming year.

    And, we MUST talk more (like we used to) over the next year. I’ve missed your e-companionship.

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