‘Daunting’ Vs ‘Exciting’

The world throws at us many things that we would, invariably, rather not do. All successes worth chasing hang on a certain number of tasks which we first must overcome, before we can hope to claim our prize, whatever that may be. Whether then we admit it or not, we are all guilty of a certain amount of procrastination, and there always seems to be that one task that we put off, and off, and off, until even the most squirmy parts of your brain know that enough is enough.

A month or so back, I received an email from Women in Property, having moved onto the National finals of their Student Award, that I was going to have to film a video of myself as part of the selection process. The 90 second video was, admittedly, a reasonable request, a fairly simple task, and altogether should have perhaps no elicited quite so much dread as it did. I had, you see, spent a lot of time becoming more comfortable in presenting myself to strangers within the first two years of university. However, (perhaps a symptom of the pandemic,) the world of zoom meetings and/or digital presentations, for whatever reason, made me uneasy in a way which in-person events simply do not.

Even so, I made a note of the deadline, and rejoiced at the fact that it was yet a month or so away. The relief did not of course last very long, as the dreaded date rolled around. And so I took myself off to the Library, put my head down, and wrote a script for myself. Low and behold, a short introduction, some details of my experience and a snappy ending later, I had written something that I was relatively happy with, despite my initial despair. The ending went something like this:

“I believe in being more than a passive bystander in my own education and encourage any young woman entering this daunting industry to have confidence in their potential, to remain inquisitive, and to put themselves out there. You never know where you might end up.”

Now, among the tone of encouragement, I felt it necessary to acknowledge the intimidating nature of the industry. ‘Daunting’ was the word that I chose to describe an industry, which has undeniably, a reputation which many could argue warrants a harsher description than ‘daunting.’ Even so, my dad, who watched the video prior to sending it off, made the argument that I should switch it out for the word ‘Exciting.’ I did, however, politely or not so politely, reject his revision, although it did make me think about some things…

To talk about entering the profession of Architecture, and to pretend that it doesn’t carry a certain weight, is to ignore the plethora of ‘warning signs’ that line the road to becoming an Architect. When almost every active practitioner you meet undoubtedly feels the need to accompany any warm and fuzzy comments on the profession with a lengthy warning of the ‘dangers ahead,’ you quickly catch on that this industry might not be for the faint-hearted. For any student having picked Architecture, before even your first year is through, it is alarming just how many times might hear the words “don’t do it!” leave the lips of any architects that you meet. And with a little digging, the internet might throw at you more reasons not to have any hope, with no shortage of discouraging articles and forums:

“Why do so many architects seem to hate architecture?”

“Overworked and disappointed with the architecture industry…”

“Is Architecture Worth it?… I've seen a lot more cons recently than pros”

And so why did my Dad encourage me to change the word ‘daunting’ to ‘exciting’? Because, when you’re given a platform, however small, it’s admittedly quite important to be reticent of painting a negative picture. After all, if every architect or student with a platform used it to discourage others from pursuing the profession, we would be in a sticky situation. And so an air of optimism and ‘excitement’ is clearly preferable. But when a 90 second video allows not much time to explore the nuance of a complex profession and its flaws, perhaps it is sufficient to acknowledge the fear which any young person will inevitably inherit, but leave them feeling (hopefully) motivated, rather than demoralized.

And so whilst I can say with confidence that the industry is daunting to the young people who pick it bright eyed and bushy tailed, I’d like to think, for my own sake if anything, that the industry is changing for the better, and that is something to be excited about.

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The Clutter of Disclaimers