Sunday Morning Reflections: The Art of Unplanned Discoveries

It's Sunday morning in LA, just after 9 AM, and I'm sitting cross-legged on my balcony with my oversized mug of coffee, watching the city do its slow weekend stretch. Yesterday's Venice Beach adventure was... not what I expected, in all the best possible ways.

I went with my whole "I'm just going to observe" intention, right? Sketchbook in bag, no pressure, just absorbing. But something shifted when I actually got there. Instead of perching somewhere with my designer's analytical gaze, I found myself... participating? I kicked off my sandals and walked barefoot in the sand. Tried a street vendor's horchata that changed my life. Had a twenty-minute conversation with an elderly man painting the ocean who told me he'd been coming to the same spot every weekend for 30 years.

None of it was "productive" in the way fashion-student-Mandy would have measured productivity before. I didn't fill pages with costume sketches or textile inspiration. But I came home feeling more creatively nourished than I have in months.

It's like I've been so focused on intentional growth – analyzing my progress, pushing for evolution – that I forgot how much growth happens in the unplanned spaces. In the moments where you're not trying to become anything but are just fully present.

There's this weird paradox I'm discovering about authenticity: sometimes trying too hard to "find yourself" actually takes you further from yourself. Like how the harder you try to fall asleep, the more awake you become.

When I finally sat down with my sketchbook last night, what emerged wasn't a carefully considered design but this loose, flowing series that somehow captured the feeling of that day. Not literal beach scenes, but pieces that embodied that sense of unforced presence.

Professor Chen (yes, her again) once told us that maturity in design isn't just about mastering techniques but knowing when to let the materials speak. Maybe personal growth works the same way – it's not just about self-improvement strategies but learning when to just let yourself be.

So that's my Sunday intention – to carry this Venice Beach energy forward. To stop treating my evolution like a carefully plotted design project and allow space for these unplanned discoveries.

Now I'm off to meet Jen for brunch, with no agenda beyond good food and conversation. And honestly? That feels like the most authentic step forward yet.