Can I be Remarkable?
When I was younger, I often questioned what the point of life was. What are over 7 Billion people in this planet meant to do? Be born, learn to walk, go to school, graduate, then work until you die? Now, that does not sound like something worth spending around 80 years on. My parents always told me to study hard because they expect me to reach great heights and achieve success with this life I was given. But I am a liberalist woman living in a conservative patriarchal society and am a citizen of a third world country which is currently going to sh*t. Frankly, all the odds are against me to do anything worth noting. I’m too scared of blood to be a doctor, too bad at math to be an engineer, and too poor at reading books to be a lawyer… I’m pretty much every asian parent’s worst nightmare in a child. However, after watching the video “You Will Never Do Anything Remarkable”, I realized that the things I can do are not limited to the options I was often presented with during Career Day in grade school.
So, what can I do? Well, based on my DECSC25 class, I can be creative. My initial problem with that was, well, I did not consider myself a creative person either because I am not the most skilled when it comes to the arts. I don’t know how to draw, how to dance and sing, or even how to whistle for that matter. But then, throughout the course, I was able to discover the true meaning of creativity and how I can express this creativity in ways that will contribute society. Especially how I do not need to come up with the greatest of ideas in order to make an impact. As stated in the module, “ Creativity isn’t always about the grand, unique, and, compelling. Sometimes it’s just simply seeing what others didn’t”. With this in mind, I came to the realization that there are so many things that I can do within my limitations.
Shark Tank is one of my favorite shows that involves the pitching of creative ideas. One would expect the highest grossing product to ever appear on the show to be some high-tech, out of this world invention — but it is actually the complete opposite. The product that has made the most sales is actually just a cleaning sponge. As of 2019, the Scrub Daddy’s lifetime sales surpassed $200 Million. Like, it’s literally a sponge used for washing dishes and scrubbing surfaces. At first, it seems like nothing special but it is actually nothing like the ordinary half-green, half-yellow sponges we usually see in groceries. I recommend watching the pitch video above in order to see all the things it can actually do.
Innovations like this display how important design is in displaying new products to the market. Small but distinct changes can make all the difference as long as it meets the needs of the consumers. Just like in the example, what may seem like a simple sponge has probably helped make over hundreds of thousands of peoples’ lives more convenient. While the founder of the product is not going to become some national hero or have his name written down in history books for starting a civil rights movement, he is still quite remarkable and will be remembered for the impact he has made on the business industry. We won’t all be remembered for the same thing, so we don’t have to worry about other people being ahead in terms of career and success.
So while I may not be the first person to walk on the moon or the person who invented the lightbulb, that doesn’t hinder the possibilities I still have ahead of me. Who knows, maybe I’ll be the person who discovers the cure for cancer. The world is so vast and our minds are extremely powerful. As long as I do not let my ideas stay as ideas and actually make an effort to do something about them, I, too, can be remarkable. This course has taught me to stray from what is average and accepted and step on the land of the extraordinary and unconventional. Through several steps of creative thinking and design thinking, all of my best ideas can come to life — and I can use this process to perfect my future creations. So, while I cannot play Claire De Lune on the piano nor recreate Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, I still have a mind that is unlike anyone else’s. I still have my original thoughts, my own perceptions, and my personal view of the world. And this, this is what is going to make me remarkable. My name is Ianna Palacios. Write it down and watch me.
My favorite topics from the module:
