Finding Your North Star
A lot can change in one summer. At the beginning of 2024, I applied to this program that talked about the possibility of turning my creative interest into a career. Honestly, I had no idea what this program was about, I just applied because it was free…and my cheap ass loves free stuff. Little did I know, I was applying to a portfolio school for a career in advertising, hosted by one of the best advertising agencies in the world, and that in this program is the beginning of a new life young Gian dreamt of his whole life.
The experience at The Academy by Goodby Silverstein & Partners is truly a one of one experience. Each class, you’re taught by the world class creatives behind your favorite household brands and surrounded by some of the best young talent from all over the country. An opportunity like this is once in a lifetime and I’d be an idiot if I
didn't commit my all to this program. So in the summer of 2024, I decided to move from Fairfield, CA to “the city” aka San Francisco. The plan was to move in with my dad who owns an apartment right in the heart of San Francisco. It was perfect. The agency was only a mile away from my dad’s spot and now I can apply what I was learning in school to The Buddy Company(my clothing company). Sounds like life is gonna work itself out for the next year…right?
Well, in the first two months of us living together, my dad and I got into argument after argument. Don’t get me wrong, my dad and I are the best of friends but if you put any two grown men in a 400 sq ft apartment for an extended period of time, they are bound to get stir crazy. It eventually got to a point where we blew up at each other and in the heat of the moment I decided to grab my stuff and leave the apartment for good. It was during this time, I never felt more infuriated but also so scared at the same time. Not only did I feel like my relationship with my dad was ruined, I was completely dependent on him for food, money, and the roof over my head. “How am I going to live?”, I asked myself. When I left the apartment, all I had to my name was $30 and the clothes I could fit in the trunk of my car. I’ve officially hit rock bottom.
I was broke and had nowhere to stay. I had to call in all the favors with people I’ve barely gotten to know the past two months and by the grace of God, people took me in. Through my cohort-mate Spencer Tsang and the homies at 13 Gallons, I was able to get back on my feet. Spence let me stay at his place for two weeks and in that time, the homies at 13 helped me get a job at Bluebottle, all while I was able to find a roommate and a place to live. But just as I was getting back on my feet, I found out my grandma was admitted to the hospital.
As I watched her take her last breath, I went numb. I couldn't believe what happened in the last few weeks: I left my dad’s apartment, lived with a homie I’ve known for two months, got a job, found a new place, started the Academy, and now the death of my grandma? I felt as if I couldn’t react to anything anymore. Nothing could add to the pressures I’m feeling right now…right?
Not even a week after my grandma passed away, two of my best friends were driving Redwood. For those of you not from the Bay, Redwood is a popular road in the Oakland Hills where car enthusiasts like to drive because of the curvy nature of the road. My homie just got a top down miata and wanted to take my friend for a cruise. As they were driving, my friend lost control of his car and drove 250 feet off the side of the cliff injuring another family in the process. The accident put multiple people in the hospital. My homie who was riding shotgun fractured his back while my other homie was in the ICU for over a week. They survived. I’m still not sure how they did but they all freaking survived.
I’m still trying to process what happened this past summer, but throughout everything, I kept telling myself this is all to make me the person I want to be. It’s going to take all of that to help me understand who I can become. I went through the ringer just to come out a better man and ironically, by going through all of that I’ve become the most confident I’ve ever been. I’ve never been in a better relationship with myself, my family, friends, and my work. Throughout everything, my north star was knowing that all these experiences are making me a better man. If you’re going through some hard stuff right now, defining a north star helped me get through the hardest part of my life: I hope it can do the same for you.
