When I first started teaching graphic design to high school juniors and seniors, I thought I had to wear high heal boots to be taken seriously by my over-six-feet-tall students. I was terrified this could risk losing a dream job.
Slowly, I learned that my students didn’t care what shoes I wore while I helped them get rid of the Perspective Grid in Illustrator. I started showing up more authentically (and comfortably) in my Keds and humor. 👟
When the Perspective Grid shows up out of nowhere, we laugh. When I confused the names of tools, we laugh. When a project in Photoshop takes a turn for the worse and looks horrifying, we laugh.
Students taught me that a little laughter helps to get through the hardest days, the hardest lessons, and the hardest conversations.
This post starts a series of ongoing reflections, as some days I feel like these young adults teach me more than I teach them.
