What I'm good at and what makes me feel good.
For a long time I confused two things: what I'm good at and what I enjoy doing. They look like the same thing, but they aren't always.
What I'm good at
The work itself. I adapt quickly to very different teams, projects and ways of working. I have a knack for anticipating what will be needed before anyone asks, whether it's a person or a project, and for finding the right answer. And when something gets stuck, I tend to reframe the problem and look at it from another angle. That part, architecture gave me.
Being good at something has a catch: people keep asking you for it. And one day you realize you're doing it well, but on autopilot.
What makes me feel good
What I enjoy is something else. Making creative things, with my hands. Thinking about style, form, color. Watching something static start to move, how an animation or an interaction brings it to life. And above all, watching a project grow through every stage: from the first idea until it's out there in the world. That's when I stop watching the clock.
Why they didn't fit together
For years I felt I had to choose between what I was good at and what lit me up. I lived in Australia, Denmark and Barcelona, changed jobs and disciplines, and took a different piece from each place. But the pieces stayed apart.
When they started to click
Recently something changed. In my latest projects I got to be part of the whole process, end to end. And I realized I was using both at the same time: anticipating what the person and the project needed, reframing the problem and, at the same time, thinking about style, color, animation, interactivity, every visual detail. What I'm good at gave direction to what makes me feel good. AI, far from replacing that, gave me back time for the part I enjoy most.
After so much travel and so much searching, I finally found a way to bring the two together. I didn't have to choose. And along the way I keep feeding the curiosity that brought me here: analog photography, astrophotography, jewelry and, more recently, bonsai techniques (for now, trying to save one). Each of them teaches me something that somehow finds its way back into the work.
We're not just one thing
For a long time I introduced myself as "I studied architecture", as if that explained everything I am. But we're not made to be defined by a single thing. If we have the chance and go looking for opportunities, we can do many things. And the best part isn't how many: it's that each one changes the meaning of the others. The patience of bonsai sneaks into my code, the eye from photography into my design, and architecture into everything. It's not about collecting crafts, it's about letting them cross.
For anyone in that place
If you feel you're good at something that doesn't fulfill you, don't throw it away. It's probably the foundation of what you haven't found yet. Sometimes the path isn't moving from what you know how to do to what you love, but finding the point where they meet.
