Time Lost or Lessons Learned?

That sinking feeling of “Did I just waste years of my life?” hits hard.

Maybe you’ve spent years in a career that no longer excites you. Maybe you ignored that creative spark because “it wasn’t practical.” And now you’re here, wondering if it’s too late to pivot.

But what if everything you’ve done up until now was actually preparing you for your real purpose?

This is the biggest lie we tell ourselves - that we “wasted time.” 

Let me start this newsletter with proof from my own life.

The Unexpected Path That Led Me Here

After high school, when it was time to choose a field of study, I was ready to pick interior design - until my parents shut it down.

“WHAT DESIGN ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!” My dad was especially emotional about it.

At 16 years old (yes, I graduated from high school early), I was told:

“You MUST pick something practical. Either architecture, like your mom, or something else.”

That “something else” became journalism.

By year three, I started feeling like something was off. This wasn’t who I was. And yet, I finished the degree.

Then, at 23, I finally got into interior design school. And here’s where THE PROOF comes in. Had I not finished my journalism degree, I wouldn’t have been able to enroll.

Why? Because as a foreigner studying abroad, I would’ve needed an additional year, which I couldn’t afford.

So that “wrong degree” actually turned out to be the thing that made my dream possible.

Then came 2020.

A dream job offer in an interior design studio - working with celebrity clients - got canceled due to the pandemic. That’s when And She Draws Big officially started.

And that’s when I started DRAWING interiors.



👉 I applied everything I learned from art school.
👉 I found my dream mentor.
👉 I learned how to communicate my vision with the world, how to sell myself, how to act as if I were already a professional.
👉 I produced high-attention-grabbing videos.
👉 I learned how to talk on camera, how to edit videos, how to market my work.

And here comes the second WOW moment.

This is EXACTLY why I studied journalism in the first place.

Suddenly, everything clicked.

I had never thought of my work in this way before, but yesterday, while learning Final Cut Pro, it hit me again.

I was ENJOYING it.

That exact program we were asked to learn during my journalism studies. (Okay, I skipped those lessons because I had a cool friend who was basically my twin, and we spent our time hanging out in cafés, at concerts, or at the movies instead. No regrets 😂)

Coincidence? Or was I being prepared for this path all along?

Steve Jobs & the “Useless” Class That Changed Everything

When Steve Jobs dropped out of college, he started dropping into classes that interested him - one of them was calligraphy and graphic design.

At the time, it seemed pointless. He wasn’t a designer.

He used what he learned about typography, spacing, and aesthetics to make the Mac the first computer with beautiful fonts and intuitive design. Before that, computers were just plain, rigid text. Now? Design became an experience.

And it didn’t stop there.

Jobs’ obsession with clean, intentional design extended to Apple’s packaging. He believed opening a product should feel like an experience. That’s why every Apple box is precise, premium, and satisfying to open. (And personally? I haven’t thrown away any of my Apple product packaging - I swear :D)

The Lesson in All of This?

The skills and interests that seem random today might be the exact things that will define and shape your future.

Jobs had no idea a calligraphy class would influence how we experience technology today. But it did.

I had no idea that journalism and art school would ever be useful. But without them?
ASDB wouldn’t exist.

Now, Homework for You 

What are the skills, tools, or lessons you’ve learned throughout your life but assumed were useless?

How can you reshape your perspective and see them as life-changing lessons for your future?

So if you’ve ever felt like you’ve wasted time learning something "unrelated" - trust me, it’s leading somewhere.

Wall of Wins & Drawings from Our ASDB Community 🎨
This is what my students create with my guidance:

👉 Learn how to draw like this too - HERE!👉 Read more newsletters on creativity, career, and self-development HERE.

Warmest,
Anna at @andshedrawsbig