It's been all about:
MONEY.
GETTING AHEAD.
EXERCISE.
THE BUSINESS OF ARCHITECTURE.
EXPECTATIONS.
BUYING NICE THINGS.
GOING TO NICE PLACES.
TECHNICAL DETAILS.
CORPORATE LIFE.
AREs.
CODING.
You can say, ALL THE THINGS OF LIFE.
Meanwhile, the art has taken a deep backseat.
Man, I miss the days when we can just make beautiful drawings, and things weren't as expensive.
Having nice things is nice, but so is MAKING nice things.
Recently, my dope classmate Charisse won the Blank Space "Space" Competition (link). That is after she put on this awesome exhibition at Cornell AAP, talking about her travel grant to Italy. I have so much respect for her talent and drive.
I have to step back and say that, wow - isn't THAT why we all got into the Architecture and Design game in the first place? Before all the contracts, the coordination, the negotiations, the exams, the licenses, the competitions, the compensations, et cetera?
We should never forget that, these things of adulthood are always in the pursuit of those childhood dreams -- to remake the world a better place, and to dare imagine potential futures.
Isn't THAT our highest purpose possible, no matter how we get there, and through whichever career?