Hello everyone, I am Amelia, a designer and illustrator living in New York, and now work full-time at Buck, one of the world's top production companies. After graduating from the China Academy of Fine Arts, I studied motion Media at the Savannah College of Art in the United States.
I came to the United States in 2013, and I returned to China for two years because of the epidemic, and I stayed in the United States for almost 7 years. Today I want to talk to you about what studying, living and working in the United States has brought me and changed me, and whether the United States is worth coming.
Let's make a small statement first: the following views are more subjective, and you may also hear some personal feelings that are a little extreme. Everyone can selectively accept that even if you have different opinions, it doesn't matter, after all, everyone experiences different feelings.
My Study Abroad Story: Is It Worth Studying Abroad?
Studying abroad life can be said to have changed my personality, many ideas, values and life status.
My journey and decision to go abroad felt random, and I didn't feel real until the moment I got on the plane to the U.S.
In my junior year, my mom and I accidentally talked about what to do after graduation, and my mom said do you want to go out and have a look? I said yes, just like that, I began to prepare for studying abroad.
I've been a maverick since I was a kid and didn't like to do the same thing as everyone else.
At that time, I also considered going to graduate school in China, but I felt that going to graduate school was like going to college, which was a bit of a waste of time, and I felt that I had no confidence and was not ready for direct work, so I decided to go abroad.
At that time, I was studying in Savannah, a small city of tranquility and beauty in the southern United States. In 2013, I left my hometown alone for the first time, dragging 3 heavy suitcases out of the plane, no fear, full of longing, I don't know how many difficulties I will encounter.
At that time, although I had good English scores, I still had a hard time opening my mouth in the face of real Americans, and I couldn't understand it a lot of times.
As soon as I entered the dormitory, I was confronted by a group of white students who could only be seen in American movies, giggling and chatting in The Lounge. As soon as I walked in the door, all the focus was on me, and the whole audience was suddenly quiet, and my "social phobia" and "English phobia" were about to attack.
That was the first time I felt like I was about to start a somewhat challenging life.
Before coming to the United States, my parents protected me too well, and I would help me solve everything, and I never knew how to live independently like an adult.
When I was young, I was still very brave, and the less I knew about the world, the less fear I had, and I made a decision and came.
In the days of studying abroad, I learned too many things. I slowly understood and adapted to American culture, and found that many living habits and concepts were different from those in China. I and my Roommates in the United States often "fight each other" because of the temperature of the air conditioner, haha joke.
Most Americans like to sleep at a very cold temperature, but for me it's like sleeping in the Arctic, and of course there are a lot of interesting things. My roommate was often choked by the smoke from my cooking, which made me embarrassed. Once she was invited to eat tea eggs, and she really ate them in tears.
Most Americans are really super confident, regardless of strength, what they look like, their confidence is very attractive, very good.
In terms of learning, the way professors teach and learn is different from that in China, everything is self-management and self-management and self-solution. This is a test of problem-solving skills and lays a good foundation for me in my work.
In fact, the most important thing to learn in the United States is the learning method:
How to think smartly, do your own research and solve them, rather than being more casual and passive to learn like when you are in China.
I also have students with domestic portfolios, and I find that many students do not study the spirit and have to wait for the teacher to help solve everything, very similar to the behavior of children. In fact, the most important thing to learn is the method, and more attention should be paid to the process of research, although the results are also very important.
In school, I had a very fulfilling life.
If you want to graduate early, you are still very busy and hard, the amount of homework in 1 semester and 3 courses, sometimes stay up late in the studio with everyone to do homework, but super happy and satisfied. Usually, I will party with friends, make dumplings during the Spring Festival, and have a more New Year's flavor in foreign countries, which are very precious memories. I also travel around with my friends during the holidays.
I remember the first time I went to New York in the winter of 2013, we arrived at Times Square, and the moment we came out of the subway station, we thought, Oh my God, this is New York! At that time, I was super excited, moved by runny nose, and was infected by the light and shadow of Times Square and the size of the world.
New York really has a magical charm that makes people never feel old, age is just a number, and every day of life here is always full of enthusiasm.
The school days passed quickly, I met many different types of friends, slowly opened my own world, and saw all kinds of novelties.
The world is always more colorful than imagined, and their own ideas and imaginations will always be impacted, and they will constantly be more curious about the world and eager to explore a broader life.
Studying abroad was really worth it and made me more independent, smart, strong and confident.
Not only will you gain knowledge and skills, but you will also be able to see a whole new world that you have not touched before, and understand that life is more than just a possibility. The rewards of studying abroad are far more profound than the investment.
Money may be a piece of paper for me, and I think it is worth investing in all kinds of precious experiences in life. Whether it is good or bad, sad or happy, peak or low, it is an experience worth remembering, a weapon to enrich your life and shape your character.
Experience working at the top animation production company in the United States
I would like to talk to you about what it's like to work in the United States.
Buck is the top production company in our industry, and after graduation I didn't really have a lot of hopes to go, but I just hoped to get into Buck in the final period of my work experience. I just submitted a resume, but fortunately the mentor of the graduation work at the time admired me. He was the director of the company and helped me make recommendations for the company, so I was lucky enough to get into the company for an internship.
At that time, there were 4 interns competing at the same time, the pressure was very high, I didn't know who would stay last, and the 6-month internship was very anxious. At that time, the company's SoHo in New York was still very small, and the colleagues were very close. After work, everyone will stay and play games and drink together.
After the internship, we were lucky that each of us received a full-time offer. Full-time work hardly overtime, and for three whole years, it seems like only two nights of overtime plus one Saturday, three times in all. So life and work are very balanced, work is fully focused, and each project must be completed carefully.
Each project has a different conceptual style and is still very challenging, and we will do some big projects, such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, Samsung, Coca-Cola and Nike and so on.
At that time, many people wanted to come to work in our company, and even some people were willing to work without pay.
So I really feel lucky to be new to the workplace, and I have such a good foundation and resources. My colleagues are all very art-loving, very smart and excellent artists, and I learn a lot every day and be infected by their love and talent. I often joke that as a designer like us, when we are old, we must not be confused and busy brainstorming every day.
The company culture is very harmonious, there will be no drama or intrigue, it is very comfortable cooperation, colleagues are very good to get along with.
It may be that the people in our line are relatively simple and simple, and the older male colleagues in the company are like children, very cute and funny.
We come to work, we can wear whatever we want, male colleagues basically hats, black and white T, white sneakers, sunglasses tattoos, typical casual style designers. And the company allows dogs to work, and sometimes the company is like a dog going to kindergarten, which is very healing. There is no requirement to punch in the daily work, as long as the task can be completed on time.
In the middle, you can go out and sit downstairs, have a coffee with colleagues, soak up the sun, and watch the various fashionistas in SoHo.
After the work is done, sometimes you can "secretly" leave work early, and the overall work is very happy and comfortable. At noon, everyone will have lunch and chat together at a large table, and you can sneak around Chinatown to go shopping. Once, when all our colleagues from Los Angeles and Australia flew to New York, we went to a camp cabin for a two-day vacation, eating food and watching the fireworks drift.
All in all, I like this working life atmosphere, and my colleagues are also very cute and easy-going, all over the country.
In the year we started, there were only 6 Asians, and now there are more and more, more and more diverse!
Why did I choose to go back to New York? Working art environment in the United States and at home
At the end of 2019, I went back to China for three weeks of vacation, and as a result, those three weeks became two years and three months, and I thought I would soon be able to return to the United States, so I didn't make any plans or find a job at home. I just stayed home to work remotely for the U.S.
In fact, these two years have been great and super free, and I have enjoyed time with my family and friends, and I can also travel around the country. I feel the rapid development of domestic cities, and life is super safe and convenient! However, two years later, when the embassy finally opened the visa, I chose to return to New York. I actually said on my social media what factors I considered, and here is a brief chat.
The main reason is because of work. Design classes work too differently in foreign and domestic environments.
1. Budget salary.
The United States will be much better, American companies are willing to respect the arts, will invest a lot of money in art, animation advertising. They feel that this is very important, an indispensable part, reflecting the company's brand façade and culture. But as far as I know, the attitude towards art in China is not the same, the budget is small or the problem of consciousness, and I don't feel that the investment is visually worthwhile.
2. Work cycle.
The pre-design cycle in the United States is very long, and you can calm down from the concept to the draft design, which can be done slowly and diligently. This is still a return to the budget problem, and the process is not very impetuous. Domestic design is very urgent, the cycle is very short, I feel that the design of this thing is just in the fight for time, very rushed, can not be perfect and carefully designed every detail.
3, the United States working hours are working hours, after the end of the work can not reply to the email, the next day to say.
Life and work are not confused, and rest time is rest time. In China, information is often received at inexplicable points in time, requiring design changes or timeline adjustments, and work is integrated in life.
4, American design can have room for discussion with customers.
Customers will listen to your ideas, will not just throw you a reference, tell you that I want this style, more freedom of design, more open concepts, more acceptance.
5. The U.S. cooperation process is very standardized and clear.
The contract must be signed in advance, the paper materials are ready to start cooperation, and basically the payment is paid within 30 days on time. Domestic is that you may have finished the project and the contract has not been sent. The final fee takes three or four months to receive, and it doesn't feel very standardized.
6. There are many young talents in China, especially young people who have graduated.
In order to get a job, they will use cheap labor to pick up the work, which actually disrupts the art market, reduces the budget very low, and art cannot be exchanged for labor equivalents, which I will feel unfair.
7, the domestic feel plagiarism situation is quite a lot, for the original is not clear enough.
People don't pay much attention to the concept part, but just pursue the picture effect very mechanically. I think the overall attitude towards art is still a bit impetuous, and it may take time to slowly get better. But it does not mean that this is the case for all domestic projects and all companies. Some companies are very good and highly accepted.
The second reason is that I don't know why I feel that living in New York is simple and happier, that I can be myself easier, that I am much less free and less troubled.
Of course, the safety and convenience of life are not as good as those in China, and they all have their own advantages and disadvantages.
What has american life changed for me?
I think it's very all-encompassing.
The first thing I affirmed was that I came to the United States to study, so that I learned how to self-research and solve problems. Work has made me very professional in my field, and I have learned from my colleagues a serious and loving attitude towards work.
Second, the exploration of the self.
I hadn't known myself well enough before to think I was an introvert. After I came to the United States, especially after work, I found myself to be a proper extrovert, just a little shy personality. Before I came to the United States, especially when I was in my 20s, I often had various emotional problems, lack of independence and dependence on people. Although I have friends around me after coming, I still need to solve the problem by myself.
I started reading books to find all kinds of materials, studying all kinds of psychological books, trying to find the root cause and solution. I finally slowly understood myself, could slowly cope with various negative emotions and dilemmas, and could take on various things alone. In the past, in the party, I would be very socially afraid, hiding in the corner, like not to be noticed and just be a listener, not to be seen by everyone, is a typical introvert personality.
But now I am not afraid of parties or strangers, I understand that I am an extrovert, more accepting of myself and various situations, and like to make all kinds of friends.
When I was in China, especially before graduating from college, I was very anxious every day, often had mood swings and worried about tomorrow, but now it is a completely different attitude and concept of life.
My experiences and values over the years in the United States have made me simpler, more confident, more cheerful and optimistic, almost like a changed person.
I like myself now, and I love myself so much that I have the ability to love others. Slowly encounter things more calmly, indestructible, believe that they can solve, there is no problem in life that cannot be solved. I grew from a girl who was weak in the flowers in the greenhouse to an independent and confident adult.
Third, consciously I became more inclusive.
After I came to the United States, I learned about various gender consciousnesses, exposure to richer ideas and values, and even learned about open relationships that break through traditional secular concepts. The world has become either black or white, it has become more colorful, and in New York I have seen all kinds of people, heard all kinds of strange things, learned everything and is possible, nothing is absolute.
I was able to understand the diversity of inclusive things from different perspectives, become more open-minded, and understand the importance of accord to disagree. Everyone has their own life choices, respect not to judge others.
Fourth, the world is big, there are too many new, strange or interesting things, and it is important to be curious about anything.
I try different things, even if I don't like it, out of my comfort zone, good and bad are very valuable life experiences. I used to be one of those who only liked to eat the same dish, but now I'm not at all. I am willing to experience all kinds of things that I have not eaten, experience things that I have not tried, and all kinds of strange things, and life has become richer and more three-dimensional.
Fifth, I am more assertive about the world and will not follow the crowd. I think independently and analyze everything, rather than judging things based on what I had only experience.
Sixth, there is less anxiety about gender and age.
Living in New York is all about being young, never too late, and not being discriminated against because of a woman's age. People of all colors in New York dress strangely, you can be yourself comfortably, you don't need to think about what others think of you, you don't need to be white and young, and you can dress freely. You can do what you want, and freedom can change a person's state of mind.
Thank you very much to my parents for supporting me to go abroad, and my life in the United States over the years has allowed me to see a wider world and make myself a more mature, independent, confident and positive. I feel that the person who can live in the moment seems to have become easy and simple, and has become a new self!
I feel that I am very lucky, although there are bumps in life, but the overall is still very smooth, good and bad have shaped today's self.
I am very grateful for the choices I have made and the company of my family and friends along the way, and I hope that every young person is still looking for his friends and will not regret making life choices bravely.
Every road as long as you have worked hard, it is wonderful, I want to share with you a sentence Believe yourself, you will be powerful!
Bless everyone who can become a shining person.
Welcome to my Little Red Book: Amelia in New York. I have shared some of my New York life, reading, traveling, reflections and much more above.
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Source: U.S. Immigrants Official Website
#美国 #