Denny’s.  3 am.  A half-empty dark roast and a plate of half-eaten breakfast sits idly on the fake wooden table in front of me.  “Get back to the benefit,” left brain screams.  “No, no…back to strategy,” Right brain retorts.  I’m tired, but the fear is motivating.  Instructors, critique panel, graduation, job interviews.  And my book isn’t what I want it to be.

This is the life of an ad student in the humble, diligent, Mid-western quasi metropolis that is Minneapolis.  It can be as grueling and exhaustive as Minnesota winter, but it can also be as rewarding and liberating as the first days of spring.

Some months later, a former instructor of mine tells a creative director in town, that maybe I’m not as incapable as I think I am.  He’s wrong, but it doesn’t matter.  Because now, I’m the intern at the agency formerly known as Kerker.  I’m an intern at Preston Kelly.  Official headquarters of iconic ideas.

Agency life is different.  The principles of doing good work remain the same, but in practice, the “real world” can stray considerably from its textbook roots.  Deadlines, clients and budgets shift the paradigm to one focused on efficiency and effectiveness, and assignments more often than not, arrive at your desk with some stipulations—whether that be media, or brand continuity.  You start to realize the importance of the other sides of the business.  The creative department is responsible for only a fraction of the agency’s success or failure and the account side, production and media are equally imperative.  I’ve never believed there was a such thing as a “creative person” (This notion that smart, imaginative thinking comes from a certain type of individual), and my experience at Preston Kelly has been a testament to this.

Working on brands like HeathPartners, Taco John’s and Roundy’s has taught me that even though I’m not banging my head against a wall at 3 am, I am in many ways working harder.  Smarter.  And definitely, faster.  It’s different. But some moments are the same.  The dead airtime during concepting, the subjectivity of it ideas, and most importantly—the smell of a great idea.  The thrill of it, the chase.  And eventually, finding it.  It’s why I think I chose this path.  And why I’ll continue.  Because some things, never change.