Pervasive and potent is this feeling of isolation. Nothing seems to flatten our mood to a depressed state more than the feeling of being alone. I saw it last night when I went to have drinks with a friend who was drunkly lamenting about his single status and again this afternoon on facebook when a another friend posted about how down they were without a partner in crime. I may as well have written that post myself as I am no stranger to the bite of being alone. But what was particularly interesting was that within minutes of this posting at least 8 people responded with comments in a similarly depressed context.
What is it about this emotion we can all so collectively share in it’s misery and that cause us to go to great lengths to eradicate it? I believe it is meant to remind us of our interconnectivity by the fundamental nature of how we are wired. Independent yet reliant upon that which lies outside of ourselves. In other words we need each other to optimally operate.
As a designer I am learning that having individual talent will not be enough and the trajectory of my career will be heavily influenced by the network of people I assimilate over time. I was greatly reminded of this recently when I went to Starfish’s opening. I saw my talented and local designer friend Kir who I met through Blink Gallery. She introduced me to Alex and Krista who own Starfish who then picked up my line. Tomorrow I have been asked to participate in an highly editorial fashion shoot by my colleague Georgia who is the fashion editor for 5280 that I came to know through a series of contacts.
All of these examples cite the importance of connecting with the world around us. Additionally to remember what it is to be human and that there is nothing wrong for us surround ourselves with others who celebrate not only our work but who we are as individuals.
Andrea Li Designs 