Life has always been an adventure for me.. I guess you could say that I am a free spirit with my artist mentality and “go with the flow” – whatever the flow may be.
I recently purchased a new smartphone which prompted me to erase everything on my current one. I came across this photo below where I am painting on a small stool in my room during college. This photo inspired me to write a blog post about setting goals and reaching for success in the future. Don’t mind the sweatpants – I’m sure this was a 10 hour work / class day where I am finally getting to homework. I do want you to pay attention to the giant white board in the back that lists my spring goals and postcards of places around the world (Chicago, Detroit, New York.)
Throwback to college when I planted semester goals to look forward too.. I listed off a few that I can read on the white board in the back — sleep ✓ be happy ✓ get the BS out of my life ✓ open an art gallery ✓ apply for scholarships/fellowships ✓ go to art school in Grand Rapids ✓ apply for graduate school ✓ travel ✓ — and lastly, my personal favorite RAVE ✓ and guess what?? I accomplished every single item on the list. Still going!
These obstacles prove that whatever I set my mind too >>> I WILL accomplish
Art School Is Not Easy To Get Into
I had to go THE distance to get into art school at Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids- Taking art classes wasn’t apart of the curriculum at Ferris State University. But yet — Ferris State University owns Kendall.. doesnt make sense huh? The Kendall kids write their tuition checks to Ferris! lol.. well after meeting with the Humanities Department, contacting art professors and stretching myself – I checked off the list – getting into art school. Art school was one of the strongest aspects of my artistic careers. I grew so quickly in the two years that I attended.
Above is an image where I created weekly sketches for abstract painting class. I didn’t have a space So now — I feel that students at Kendall College of Art & Design — and students from Ferris State University foster that connection to take classes at each other’s universities/// Well – see I hope that is the case. The hour drive is brutal in the snow – trust.
Sleep More
Sleeping is something that I am still struggling with. However, I have been turning my phone off in the evening. I stopped responding to emails right away – tweets – what have you. I just cant be “instant gratification” anymore. Sometimes, people don’t deserve my time or efforts and they are certainly not paying for it.
Continue Higher Education
Yup.. I applied everywhere. I was even granted a $20,000 scholarship to College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Mi– yes, holy sh*T I know.. But I ended up taking a fellowship from Print Graphics Scholarship Foundation to go to Wayne State University. For what I thought was setting up a successful journey into higher education – ended up being a nightmare. Wayne State does not have it together – it is quite embarrassing. I wasted hours, days and weeks of my time with that university – I won’t go into detail because it is not worth the trouble.
I kinda wish I would have thought more about CCS at this point lol — but the master’s degree is well over $80,000 – which I can’t afford with my medical debt. I am looking at UofM or MSU now — actually maybe something online.
Open an art gallery in Detroit City
Obviously, all of you know about my art gallery at the Russell Industrial Center – it was a beauty! I will miss it there but my path is telling me to look elsewhere and start again. It was a learning experience —
Look at how bright everything is — so organized.. so beautiful. Everything that I could have been blessed with in an art gallery – was all mine. Detroit Artist – making moves. My art gallery was in an abandoned warehouse — trash everywhere, cockroaches, low security and lighting. I was willing to take risks by being there. Because every person who has taken a risk has gotten further than before they started. I believe that you have to try it out even if you are scared or worried you might fail.
open for business for the next month ! come see my art space in Detroit before I close shop!! #abstract #art A photo posted by Melissa DiVietri (@missydi) on
Make a list
I am still setting goals for work, life, love and travel — they are a bit more detailed, aggressive and DAILY. I write down my to-do the night before of all of the projects that are running, current status, what is needed and how to move them to the next level. I organize my list of importance – which projects require attention to graphic design, strategy or social media listening. At the end of the work day, I spend about 10 minutes looking over my list to strategize the next week, month etc.
Next 3 Month Goals
Clearly I could write an entire book on my goals – -but I will not put you through that. I am a person of expectations – I have high standards of how I see myself, where I want to be and what I want to do.
The next 3 months are going to be aggressive but I can handle it — because it will prove, once again, that anything I put my mind too – I will achieve. I want the next 3 months to be the hardest I’ve ever endured because it will be the stepping stones for the next goals and the next…
- Motivate the Detroit community by volunteering at the rescue animal shelters, non profits and teaching art in Detroit schools. (on going)
- Travel out of the country.. my heart is aching to get out of the states and experience something new.
- Stay at the same job — I’ve been known to hop around a lot. There are good reasons behind why I do not stay at the same career – things from my past and things from my present. For once, I need to stay at the same job to prove to myself that I can ‘stick it out’ – even if I know I am the best of the best.. I gotta stick it out
- Apply for my dream job — there is absolutely no excuse on why it has taken me so long to scout the “dream job” – hey, maybe my current job could turn into the dream job. I am looking to train & educate corporate on social media influence. I would like to travel + tweet for my job on a weekly basis. Like- I mentioned above, you have to write it down so you can work towards it.
- Be an inspiration for those who have my disease or disability in general. Actively volunteer my time to work on the website (www.sacralagenesisinfo.com and www.isacra.org). Participate in the social media groups to foster the connections between young and old individuals who have the disease.
- Become a social media panelist for summits and conferences — speaking in a room full of thousands of people.. It is coming.. and when it does, it will be a continuous revolving door of opportunities.
- Finish my children’s book – I created all of the storyboards and now working on the illustrators – I am painting each page and putting the pagination together in Illustrator to send out to publishers.
- Set up my art room — since I closed my art gallery earlier this year – I don’t have a “space” to create things. We have extra rooms in our condo but I haven’t pulled all of my art pieces out. I’ve posted a lot of them on my Etsy account to start selling to make more room. Shop Here.
Long Term Goals
- Oh boy — yah , this will take a long one. I really want to inspire youth around the world.. especially those who came from the system. I want them to know they can believe in themselves to be as powerful as they dream.
- I inspire to go to hospitals to motivationally speak to those residents – develop courage who those who have constant surgeries like I have in my past.
- Start a program for those who need special equipment – wheelchairs, crutches, leg braces, exercising equipment – you name it! I remember not too long ago when I couldn’t afford new crutches – worst, embarrassing feeling of my life!
- Help rescue animals by volunteering my time and getting others to join me!
Oh – there are seriously sooo many goals that I have for myself. The future is NOW — and this is just the beginning. To sum it all up – I want to save the world.. make the planet better, help the children, take care of animals and inspire people to feel good about themselves. All in a nutshell.
Be Good. Goodnight.
I’ve put into motion to write on my blog every single day again. That is why this blog post is happening at almost 1AM.. I wasn’t inspired earlier but all it took was one photo to bring back memories of my hustle in college. The hustle that is so strong – so infectious that the people I surround myself are also on the grind doing what they love and passionate about.
Just remember to set goals for yourself.. set goals that you can reach and goals that you want to reach. It feels REALLY good when you accomplish something. The feeling is a like a mini celebration.
