http://www.flickr.com/photos/shinealight/ / CC BY 2.0

I am proud to present yet another wiser today wednesday courtesy of Talia of T-Recs and Faux Boheme. (Busy lady!)

Sit back, enjoy the show and do not forget to email me if you are interested in being featured in wiser today Wednesdays!

Year of college graduation: 2009

Lessons learned in the classroom

1. The rule of three in storytelling and design. This might sound simplistic, but just recognizing that things – stories, patterns, composition – need to have a beginning, middle, and end has shaped  the way I see the world and the way I work. Whether I’m writing a blog post or planning a project, I now keep in mind these rules so that I have a balanced end result that feels finished and coherent.

2. How to find the right voice for the writing project at hand. Writing marketing copy is a lot different than writing on your personal blog. You don’t want to use the word “deliquesce” in a product description of a children’s toy. The variety of projects I had to write for in college – from writing copy for the film festival I worked at to crafting screenplays for student productions – taught me that it’s important to find a voice that speaks to your audience and for your subject best.

3. How to navigate New York City. While this was probably the first thing I learned in college, once I tackled that I felt like any other city would be easy to handle. As a result, I’ve been a lot more fearless about traveling on my own and seeing the world as far as my puny budget has allowed.

3 things you wish you had learned in college:

1. I wish I had taken some business or finance classes. I think it’s unhealthy to just concentrate on the creative side of things, but as I try to teach myself business concepts post-college I find myself wishing I had a professor to lead the way.

2. Physics. I’ve never taken a real physics class and I’ve always found it fascinating. Plus, maybe I’d get more of the XKCD jokes without having to Wikipedia them.

3. Spanish. It’s a useful language, especially when people assume that you know it because of your coloring anyway.

3 Important life lessons you learned during college:

1. When possible, do things the hard way. You’ll learn more and be less afraid of future challenges.

2. Just because information doesn’t have an immediate practical advantage, doesn’t mean it hasn’t shaped your thought process to make you a better thinker and decision maker. You might never need to know the results of that photosynthesis experiment again, but the scientific method will color every decision you make in the future.

3. Always carry a notebook and pen. Always.

3 Important life lessons you wish you had learned during college:

1. The cute “I’m only in college so I didn’t know better” thing won’t fly in the real world.

2. Sometimes efficiency is more important and profitable than creativity for creativity’s sake.

3. Innovation comes when you need it, not when you want it.

Thanks Talia for imparting your wisdom upon us!