A Journey for Breadth

I was supposed to be an artist. If you asked me what I wanted to be when I was a kid, that’s what I would have said. The answer stayed the same through middle school and high school, though I was a good student all-around. 

The plan stayed until I was in college. Even though I was doing well, something was off. It took me a while to realize what it was: I missed being challenged academically. In fact, I was starved for intellectual learning. It became obvious that I wouldn’t be satisfied as a design major.

A self portrait done for a BYU class.

The Renaissance, much like my college experience, was a period of rapid expansion. Expansion of knowledge, expansion of the arts—even expansion of the known world. New ship building technologies made possible voyages of discovery and exploration. People experienced radically different cultures, places, and languages.

At this point in my life, I’ve done the same. I’ve opened my mind to new knowledge. Starting school with my art dream feels a little like Columbus’s voyage to find the West Indies; I didn’t reach the shores of where I thought I’d be, but I ran into the subject of economics and I’m graduating in April with a different perspective.

In many ways, it feels like an ending, but it’s not. Just like leaving behind my formal studies of art wasn’t an ending.

In penning The Courtier, Castiglione wrote to the Greek ideal that a man should be well-rounded and prepared for anything. This is sprezzatura, the art of effortlessness, but in my mind it’s also the mentality behind every bold move outward of the renaissance, physical or otherwise. It’s what opens doors to connections and places not previously thought possible.

If I hadn’t studied so many difficult subjects in high school, I wouldn’t have been able to change majors when I needed to. If I didn't study art, I wouldn’t have developed the eye for detail that improves my analytical skills. Economics and design together expanded my way of thinking more than either subject could have done by itself. 

I still design in my spare time. This is a recent project. 

Recognizing this has given me the courage to discover new things. Every semester, I take classes that are unrelated to my major. Every month, I read books about things I’ve never heard of. I’ve taken my education into my own hands, and hopefully, my personal voyages of discovery will pay off.