Breaking free of the doubt

Presenting has always been something that makes the old anxiety jump for terror. No matter how much I prepare I would trip over myself and let the nerves get the better me. Over the years, I have got a bit better with it but was definitely out of my comfort zone.

Last year, I was approached to do part time assistant lecturing in the college I attended for my degrees. Teaching has always been something that I wanted to do or at the very least try but to be honest never thought possible because of my nerves and anxiety. With that, I broke free of the doubt I had in myself and said yes. As I’m writing this, I’m nearly finished my first semester of teaching and really hoping that I get to come back for Semester 2 for a module in Motion Graphics (something I love doing!!!). The module, I’m teaching is Branding and Editorial Design Fundamentals.

The first night was the most terrifying thing and the nerves were all over the shop, much to my sister’s amusement as she was doing her college lessons in my kitchen. The only reason I was also able to say yes was because of this pandemic and working from home meant no commute and able to do the online teaching from 6pm on a Wednesday evening.

From then, the nerves have settled and I’ve gotten used to recording myself doing practical exercises for my class. The marking is probably the hardest bit! The judging and making sure to remind myself that they are only starting out but it’s amazing to see the progress that students are making.

Not only that, but because I like to be prepared for anything so I’ve been restudying different parts of Illustrator and InDesign and learning new things that I hadn’t previously known like creating an ebook and blend in Illustrator.

So if you’re ever in doubt of trying something new, don’t let it stop you. You never know what might happen and how it might help you out in future things.