I’ve spent most of this week designing two hooded sweatshirts and two summer camp logos for Life Teen. It’s so exciting to watch the artwork come to life on my computer. I never imagined I could do anything this cool.

When I was twelve, my Dad had a friend named Mike who was a graphic designer. Mom used to drop me off in our small downtown so I could skateboard with my friends. I would always go by and visit Mike at his office to see what new projects he was doing. It was a thrill to see all of his markers and tools, and his walls covered with his finished work. Later that year he bought me three huge graphic design books for Christmas.

Those books were my favorite possession all the way through school. I would flip through the glossy pages and get high on all the beautiful artwork. I cannot explain how much I loved looking at those glossy pages of bright graphics. I loved it!;

So it is so cool to be grown up now, and to be able to design cool graphics, just like I used to see in those books. This afternoon I presented my summer camp logos to the marketing staff, and they totally dug ‘em. I was so proud to show them my work, because I knew it was going to make our summer camps better. People are excited!

For my whole life, I’ve felt like there was always somebody else who could do a better job. I did what I could, but I knew there was a “professional” out there who could do a better job. Now I can design with confidence, knowing that I can do professional-grade design. I’m the real thing.

I can’t express how happy I am right now.; God given talents are meant to be given back to God. Only when you do that, do you really know what joy is.