Cultural Self Assessment

Communicative

conversation turn taking

8.5 - I’m quite aware of conversations and allow a relatively consistent back-and-forth dynamic to flow, but I’m not perfect. I occasionally over-speak and sometimes get lost in conversation.

Social situations have always been ever-changing to me, whether I’m in a group setting or one-on-one my experiences have always taught me how to carry myself in either situation

disconfirm own beliefs

10 - I’m very able to go into essentially any situation with an unbiased view, and even if I do go into situations with a set belief, my beliefs are never set in stone, I’m always listening.

When moving to the U.S, my culture came with many predisposed beliefs about American culture and etiquette, my very first friends in the U.S had shown me different aspects of American culture that I’ve grown to understand and even appreciate. Something I wouldn’t have done otherwise.

self-aware & articulate

6.5 - I’d say im very self aware, I’ve always been an extremely introspective person, and due to my self awareness I can confidently say I have room for improvement when it comes to articulating myself, but working on it.

I find myself connecting with many people who share a similar intuitive personality, ones that I don’t necessarily have to articulate feelings into words, simply express them, and they understand.

Personal

share a drink

1 - Revisiting this when I turn 21 😇

I turn 21 in September of 2022, I’d be happy to share a drink 😊

spend 10 hours daily together

5 - I’m a strong believer in balance of both working socially and leaving enough time for myself to recharge and breathe

With many past relationships, I find myself growing further away from people who insist on spending more time than I am internally comfortable with, I tend to grow closer with people who need as much space as I do.

nurture & mentor

7.5 - I have a very strong willingness to nurture and guide those around me, I tend to find myself sacrificing some of myself when guiding and mentoring others. So I wouldn’t say I’m perfect at it, but working at it.

I’ve given many of my close friends advice, from relationship advice, to design advice, to general life and emotional advice. I also see it as giving myself advice, as egotistical as it may sound, but I should listen to my own advice more.

Collaborative

make everyone shine

6.5 - I have a very deep love for my craft and tend to have an ego when it comes to completing tasks involving my craft, but I am self-aware enough to take two steps back and prioritize the end goal that does every collaborator’s work justice.

When collaborating with my friends, for example, I find myself taking more initiative on my end just to have more control of the final product. But it’s something I don’t do purposely, or out of egoism. That being said, I love helping the people in my team to be able to work towards a cohesive end product that is uncompromising.

people over process

9.5 - With no “people” there is no “process”.

The greatest creative processes I’ve ever experienced have been with teams, bouncing ideas off of each other, listening, agreeing, disagreeing, and working together for a great end product only really works with people in the process.

dare to disagree

10 - A blessing and a curse, I’m quite the opinionated person, but I believe disagreements fuel almost all essential parts of growth.

I take on friendly arguments with family, friends, and colleagues regularly, I take all disagreements as opportunities to learn and grow, not just for me, but for others as well.

Devoted

long-time craftsmanship

10 - I find it very therapeutic, taking my time mastering a craft that I’m passionate about.

All I can say about this statement is that the proof is in the pudding, I’ve been teaching myself design, slowly but surely since I was 11 years old, and now as a 20 year old It’s my full time job and I’m still teaching myself and learning couldn’t agree with this statement more.

obsess over details

9 - Once again, a blessing and a curse, I think its important to obsess over details to a degree, I just wish I also knew when to not obsess over details

I recently got humbled by my manager Adrian for wanting super hi-res images for YouTube thumbnails, when in reality the thumbnail itself is much lower-res than the image I would’ve wanted. He made an excellent point that the end product is made to communicate, not necessarily impress. Still learning

hungry & foolish

4 - Hungry yes, but I would’t say foolish.

I find myself obsessing over self improvement 24/7 but I have a pretty clear idea of how that’s taking place and where I’m going from here.

Aligned

share the mission

10 - Absolutely, it’s so important to surround myself with people who share goals and are as driven as I want to be.

I attract towards people who are super driven and want to share a mission as much as I do, like experts in my field, artists, whoever it might be.

optimistic about flying off a cliff

3 - I’m the occasional risk-taker, and even when they are risks they are calculated ones, I’m normally quite pretty rational, which works in my favor and not so much at the same time.

People around me often encourage me to take more risks and tell me I’m a little too rational and calculated.

your 50-year dream

9 - A completed mission, with more to learn.

Down the line I see myself to have mastered the art of graphic design and some other forms of visual art, have written multiple books

Authentic

consistent with own actions

8 - Most of my actions align with my core beliefs, but I also sometimes give others advice I should listen to myself, some room for work on that part.

I’ve given many a relationship advice in recent years, yet have struggled to listen to myself with a past relationship that I struggled with ending.

make tough decisions

7.5 - I’ve gotten better at this with the years, not as good as I’d like to be though,

Deciding whether or not to continue my education immediately, even during the COVID pandemic, was an incredibly tough decision to make, but I do believe I made the right choice of waiting until conditions are more ideal.

admit mistakes

9 - Very good at it, still not perfect.

One thing I take pride in is being able to admit my mistakes, correct them and learn from them, I’m only giving myself a 9 and not a 10 because I still experience some kind of egotistical pinch when admitting my mistakes, I’d like to get rid of that entirely ideally.

Technical

top 1% superstar

8.5 - I’m confident in what I know and in my skills but I’m always learning from those around me, I never really assume I’m all-knowing in any situation

Professors, teachers, and colleagues in all fields are a source of knowledge for me and in every job, class, course I've ever been in I prioritize learning over showing off my skills.

effective tooling

8 - I use the tools I have fairly well to my advantage, I’m always searching for new tools in everything I interact with.

When my last internship terminated, I found myself struggling to find a job in the COVID climate, I made it work by freelancing, one thing lead to another, I’m now doing what I love at Harmony.

relevant to our needs

9.5 - When you really think about everything you’ve ever interacted with, someone had to have designed that. There’s a need for good design everywhere, but there’s a need for many other things too.

I came to this realization not so long ago, actually, I was really just walking down the street and looking at businesses’ logos, then it hit me to look a little bit beyond the logos, and found myself seeing design in absolutely every thing

Potential

10x growth

7.5 - I’m at a pretty early stage of my exponential growth, but I look into my own personal growth and strive for more constantly.

10x Growth to me is me taking interest in many different sects of the art world, which gives me a well-rounded perspective on art, whether that be graphic design, fashion design, architecture, sculpting, fine arts, interior design, motion design and so much more.

voracious learner

10 - Now more than ever, I find myself wanting to learn anything, whether it is a new skill or general knowledge anytime, anywhere, it’s become daily.

I use my resources mainly to learn nowadays. I find electronic media to be a great platform for self improvement, whether that be YouTube for conception of new ideas, bechance and dribbble for inspiration, skillshare for hands-on skills, headspace for meditation and self-improvement. I started using my tools for learning and growing a lot more recently.

contrarian thinker

6 - I do my best to challenge my own ideas, but if I’m in a situation where I’m with like-thinkers I find myself not challenging the consensus, something to improve on perhaps.

I try not to place myself in an agreeing echo-chamber, where my own ideas are reflected back to me. In the end of the day challenging ideas trigger growth and I need to place myself in uncomfortable situations more, but I’m not refraining from doing so necessarily.

Impact

accomplish important work

8.5 - I always try to look at the bigger picture yet obsess over small details at the same time, finding the balance between those makes the important work get done efficiently. Still working on finding that perfect balance, but I’m getting there.

I’m constantly learning from my colleagues, while everyone has a different work process, everyone has their advantages and disadvantages, so I’m almost mirroring my environment to perfect myself.

activity < productivity

6.5 - I’d say productivity is a top priority most of the time, but it’s also super important to balance productivity and simply not staying stagnant. Remaining active and growing allows for efficient productivity, to me, at least.

Activity to me means being inspired to be productive, whereas productivity is the actual act of creating. One cannot exist without the other, it’s a symbiotic relationship 😊

thrive in chaos

10 - I’ve always been this way and I don’t see this changing for me, I seem to find a home in the in-between and I’m perfectly comfortable not knowing what to expect from my environment, I take pride in carrying myself well in uncertain situations and making it work regardless.

As a new immigrant, with no friends or a safety net for that matter, I found myself exploring the art scene of New York City and aligning myself in a space that I’m happy in, regardless of the circumstances given to me.