Jessie's Thoughts

Joining the Journey: Creativity, Growth, & Everything in Between.

Welcome to my blog! Here you’ll find insights into my creative process, behind the scenes work, and personal projects.

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  • I am hosting my first free public event this Friday.

    A few months ago, I had an idea of hosting my first ever woman-loving-woman photoshoot. After a month of planning, I am finally hosting it.

    I’ve been feeling successful recently and I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to give back to my community.

    I was hoping I’d get around a group of 25 people to participate. But I posted a video on TikTok promoting this event and it reached A LOT more people than I thought. Many people thought this was a cool idea and wanted to join. I have photographers reaching out to me to collaborate for the photoshoot.

    Things snowballed really fast. Within one day, I got over 200+ inquiries. But because of city policy, I limited this event to only 75 people. Still, there’s over 100+ waitlisted.

    Filing a permit through my city was stressful because I was worried my event would not get approved. Fortunately, the city was very helpful and provided assistance.

    This event is entirely funded by myself. Although I’m not quite where I want to be in my career or life, I want to give thanks to those that supported me throughout the way.

  • I’ve launched my career as a graphic designer!

    When I was at my lowest point in my life, graphic design lifted me up. I would come up with ideas for ads, flyers, brochures, and more. I’d sketch out the concepts, then decide what fonts, colors, and composition would bring the piece to life. I even created alternative versions just to explore different possibilities.

    I always enjoyed my art and design electives throughout high school and college, and looking back, I believe that’s where the spark for design really started.

    Although my ultimate goal was to go to design school in New York and grow as a graphic designer, life took me on a different path. One that turned out, if anything, for the better.

    I applied to the Master’s in Graphic Design program at Suffolk University, but due to personal reasons, I had to defer a semester. By the time I was ready to begin, the program was cancelled and no longer accepting students. I kept searching until I came across the Master of Professional Studies in Digital Media program at Northeastern University, with a concentration in Interactive Design. It felt like the perfect fit for me. I applied, pouring my heart and passion into the admissions essay.

    I will never forget the moment I received my decision letter. I was so happy and grateful to have the opportunity to return to school and study something I truly loved.

    Excited for the new chapter in my life, I even reached out to alumni from the program to learn about their experiences. Since starting classes last fall, I’ve grown so much. I’ve learned about designing websites, coding in HTML/CSS, and the power of visual storytelling.

    During this process of finishing my undergraduate degree and entering graduate school a year later, I was also applying to countless jobs. The rejection emails and no replies were overwhelming at times, even after multiple interviews and second rounds. But eventually, two years after I graduated from my undergraduate program, I finally landed a job offer.

    I am beyond grateful for this opportunity to use my creative skills to make an impact on others’ lives. I hope this serves as a reminder for anyone reading to keep going, keep learning, and keep pursuing your goals, because the right path will always find you.

  • I’m taking photography bookings again!

    For the month of August, I’m offering a special deal on my photography services. How this idea came to be is really just me strolling at the park near my apartment, and this was my train of thought:

    Hmm, what if I just hosted a photography networking meetup?

    Well, that would be great but what about incorporating a WLW photoshoot? Inviting the local WLW community and coming together to provide a free photoshoot?

    Well, this would be such a great idea but why would we limit to only WLWs?

    Then suddenly, I had this Instagram story post idea for a special photography promotion for everyone who’s interested.

    I made a little sketch at first:

    Then designed it digitally:

  • Congrats to Karisma and Tron!

    I’m so excited to finally finish these photos for this amazing couple: Karisma and Tron! The photoshoot lasted about an hour and I’m super grateful for this opportunity to capture such beautiful moments.

  • Come live a little with me – a short film

    I recently picked up a new toy:
    A Sony Handycam!

    Of course, I had to bring it on my NYC trip with me. The footages that I got were definitely one of a kind. I really appreciate the technology from an older time period. Its like a time machine. It brings you back to a specific era. I knew the kind of vision that I had in mind for this project.

  • Graduation photoshoot success.

    One of my college friends, V booked an hour photoshoot with me for her MBA graduation. And the photoshoot turned out to be so successful!

    As you know, I’ve been photographing since I was 15. All it took was one high school photography class to inspire me. I would be so fascinated with the way you can edit photos, clone things out, adjust exposure, colors, etc. All the good stuff.

    I started out with a point-and-shoot. Then, upgraded to a Nikon D5300. Now I’m shooting with a Sony Alpha. Throughout all these years, I always say that having an expensive camera doesn’t make you a great photographer. I’ve definitely seen people create beautiful work and its all about skills (and maybe a bit of luck/the perfect moment).

    But I do want to take a moment to show you my photos from earlier in my photographing journey:

    I definitely have more to share. But my photography journey has come a long way. And I’m excited to continue photographing and creating beautiful work.

  • Space Zero’s website re-design is finally done.

    After a long semester, Space Zero’s website redesign is finally complete. I applied everything I learned in my UX/UI class to bring this project to life.

    To start, I focused on identifying the target audience: millennials with young children, as well as teens and young adults. The primary goal was to drive foot traffic to the arcade and increase birthday party bookings. From there, I created a straightforward sitemap.

    Next, I designed both desktop and mobile wireframes to ensure a seamless experience across devices.

    After careful consideration, here is the visual guide for the website:

    For the visuals, I included photos of real people enjoying the space to give visitors a better sense of what it’s like at Space Zero. You’ll find “Get Directions” and “Book Now” buttons placed throughout the site, each one a clear, intentional call to action.

    Overall, this project was incredibly eye-opening. It made me realize just how many different aspects go into designing an interactive website, from identifying the target audience and setting clear goals to completing responsive mobile designs.

  • Heat Wave is here…

    Today is 100 degrees. Let that sink in.

    I checked the weather and it’s going back up to 70 tomorrow. Isn’t it weird?

    Anyways, just an update with what I’ve been working on today. I started a dialogue script for a story for my Foundations of Digital Storytelling class. It’s still a work in progress. The rest of my team is tackling other aspects of the story while I write the dialogue. Honestly, I realize that there are so many interesting projects to tackle on in life. Never would I have thought I’d be story writing. But I guess design IS story telling.

    You really have to resonate with the audience and include points in the story that is unexpected. Here is a snippet of the dialogue:

  • My first blog post!

    My UX/UI professor today mentioned something that stuck with me.

    He said everyone should have a blog on their portfolio.

    And that made me realize, I can really share my creative process here.

    So,

    Here’s my blog. Recently I’ve been working on so many things, especially embroidery. I even bought myself an embroidery machine. The Brother Skitch machine! The idea of designing something and see it come to life is so special. What really inspired me is stitching the hats at my weekend job at Lids.

    Here are some of the stuff I’ve worked on lately: