Bridging the gap: How I found my passion in UX/UI Design

Man proposes, God disposes.

As long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be an architect. The reason for that was that I once read the word "architect" on a road sign—don't ask me why it was there—and because I didn't know what it meant and was very confused, I asked my dad later that day. He told me it was basically someone who used mathematics and drawing to build houses. Okay, I get that this was a very poor definition of the word, but I was probably 8 or 9 years old at that time, so who can blame him? Anyway, it made me think that it was very cool to be an architect because I loved both math and drawing, so I instantly thought it was the right fit for me. Ever since that day, I knew I wanted to be an architect and build beautiful houses. The reason I go back so far in time is that I really think that this very clear vision of what I wanted to achieve very early on in my life fueled this desire to draw more and develop my creativity in all its forms. Now the question you may be asking is how come I am not an architect today?

I found myself studying civil engineering at university for many different reasons, one of them being that I didn't have a portfolio for architectural studies at the time I was applying for college. It's funny, isn't it? You spend your whole time wishing for something, and yet, you don't prepare yourself for it. It honestly hurt a lot, but I've always been a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I convinced myself that civil engineering was (almost) the same as architecture and it would lead me back to my true love eventually. Oh boy, was I wrong! Three months into the program, I knew I didn't like it. Obviously, there were times when I wanted or was ready to quit, but because I didn't know what else to do, I stayed.

I think a year before I graduated with my bachelor's degree, I enrolled in an architecture summer course. I was EXCITED to finally explore the one thing I was so eager to learn all these years! But would you believe me that after a week into the course, I quit? I think they call it imposter syndrome. I felt completely out of place. In just a few days, the course deconstructed my whole idea of architecture. "Sad" was an understatement. Imagine thinking all your life that this is what you're supposed to do and then realizing it wasn't for you all along.

So after realizing that architecture wasn't my calling, I finished my bachelor's degree in civil engineering and, for very obvious reasons, I started applying for jobs in my field, forever turning a page on this passion of mine. I landed a job as a junior civil engineer not long after graduating and started working part-time. At the beginning, I liked my job as it was very new, and I enjoyed learning new things. But again, after a month (maybe less, to be honest), I wanted to quit. I worked for 6 months at that firm—it was part-time—and yet, going to work was a nightmare (okay, maybe not a nightmare, but I tend to be dramatic). And it felt like a cycle because I still couldn't tell what it was that I wanted to do. I never admitted it to anyone, but that was a very dark time for me because there was a dichotomy between what I had to do and what I wanted to do.

Then came the light!

During these hard times, I found the light. A very random day, I remembered that I'd taken a course at university where our final project was to design a platform, and I was in charge of its visuals. It's weird, but I realized that I'd enjoyed working on the platform design so much that I'd easily spent 10 hours a week on it. And that's when I said to myself that maybe this was what I wanted to do. I did some research on it and read a lot about UX/UI. Next thing you know, your girl quits her job and embarks on an intensive 9-month course in UI Design. Yep, I don't waste time (or maybe it's that I thought I had wasted too much already).

Turns out this was the best decision I had made because all these dreams of being an architect, the struggles of studying something I never liked in the first place, the hurdles, trying to find myself, pinpointing what I wanted and needed, and everything I couldn't possibly mention in this article led me to that very big decision and meaningful moment: finding my passion, bridging the gap (get it? bridging-bridge-civil engineer? 😏). It's never been about architecture. My true passion lies in bringing abstract things to life, needs that are hard to visualize, and that's where UX/UI is my perfect fit.

Man proposes, God disposes. I have always loved that proverb. I believe it really captures the essence of my journey, the broken road that led me to find my long-lost passion and myself in the process.