Israel-bound…

I’ve been given the wonderful opportunity through a program called Birthright Israel Mayanot – this organization sponsors trips to Israel for students to better understand the Israel and Jewish communities.

I’ll be leaving December 21st and I’ll return January 3rd!  Opportunity of a lifetime, right?  I am really really lucky to have this gift.

While I’m there, I’ll be:

  • donkey/camel riding and jeeping
  • climbing Masada at sunrise
  • floating in the Dead Sea
  • sleeping in a Bedouin tent
  • Shabbat at the Western Wall
  • touring with Israelis/Israeli soldiers
  • meeting Israeli leaders in politics, arts, and tech
  • a million other things…

It’s still pretty surreal, but I cannot wait!  51 days until take-off…

personal manifesto

Our most recent assignment in Deb’s class was to write a personal manifesto – more or less describing the purpose behind everything we are doing and why we have chosen to enter this industry.  My manifesto in progress:

Goals:  To create smart work.  To incorporate substance in the work I produce.  To finish each day knowing I have done something meaningful.  To have a healthy balance between work, family/friends and play.  To travel and incorporate international experience, ethnography and participant observation in my work.

 

Philosophy:  Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.  I honestly would prefer to not be famous and I don’t need to have the spotlight.  I don’t want to have to sell myself or be a sell out in order to A. get a job or B. maintain my job.  I want to solidify my expectations (career, lifestyle, etc.) and if I’m lucky, find a job that aligns with these characteristics.  

 

Reasons: This industry has an incredible power to shape the way people think, live, interact, etc.  At this point, it seems that much of the mentality in this industry is to create irrational advertising/branding/communications etc. because we live in a (frequently) irrational society. I hope to use this power to encourage rational, logical and forward thinking.  In my work, I want to take everything one step further and dig a little deeper in order to encourage people to see beyond the small bubble they live in (political views, cultural rituals, stereotypical opinions, religious, purchasing, relationship decisions, etc.).

 

Ideas: I have noticed that we are creatures of habit and seem to follow the heard mentality.  Because of this, although many things don’t make sense, are no longer relevant or have never made sense, we continue in our practices. I have always believed that anything we do, create, think, etc. should be better than the last – this is the reason I want to be a part of the “idea industry.”

« Older Entries