Learning

“Education is everything – education is your power,

education is your way in life for whatever you want to do”

 I was about to start this blog by saying that I have always loved learning but then I paused; that isn’t 100% accurate. I actually really didn’t enjoy learning at school. As a child I found sitting still for hours and around other people incredibly difficult. It wasn’t until I entered Sixth Form and had more freedom to choose from a wider selection of subjects that I really started to enjoy learning. The subject that really ignited my joy of learning was at A level studying Psychology, which is ironic because it wasn’t my first choice – I had started studying Biology and just found it impossible to understand what the teacher was saying let alone understand the complex processes she was trying to teach. I begged to change; by chance a space had opened in the Psychology class and I convinced them to let me switch. I am so pleased they did because I then went onto read Applied Psychology & Computing at Bournemouth University. It is difficult to accurately explain just how much I love Psychology, in particular social psychology. What I loved most about it is that it is subjective, highly nuanced and there isn’t one right answer – which is the same for interior design.

Give the same brief to 50 designers and you will see 50 very different designs; not because some are wrong and some are right, because creativity looks different in every individual. We are influenced by so many factors; not just what we know.

“What you see, when you see a thing depends upon what the thing you see it. But what you see the thing as depends upon what you know about what you are seeing”

Fodor & Pylshyn (1981)

Person studying Interior Design

As an adult my thirst for learning has developed and continued. I love reading and typically read 2 books a week, I love listening to podcast to hear other people’s experiences, I enjoy watching documentaries, especially those that focus on peoples life stories.

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand”

Albert Einstein

The biggest gift I have given myself as an adult is the permission to make myself vulnerable and learn a whole subject that I knew nothing about and so 8 years ago I began studying Interior Design with KLC School of Design. I have never undertaken remote learning before and it was a huge challenge initially, but I soon adapted and now I am pleased to say I super close to completing my qualification.

When I first started my course I was plagued with self-doubt and feelings of imposter syndrome (fun!)  but I manged to reframe this with the support of the wonderful Kate Hatherell of the Interior Designers Hub The Interior Designers Hub who helped me to realise that even the most experienced Designers begin at the start and no one is expecting me to be Kelly Hoppen from day one.

In addition I love to undertake short courses and as I write this I am on the train to London to attend a day course in Interior Styling. Short bursts of learning are incredible for keeping me up to date with latest developments in my industry and help give me the edge over other designers by having learning they may not have.  

There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.

Michelle Obama

I’d love to hear your experiences of learning as an adult, drop us a line at hello@beckyharrisondesigns.co.uk or on Instagram or Facebook where we are BeckyHarrisonDesigns.

Until next time,

Becky x