Post by @elvis_w_g

My design career started with Microsoft Paint. Let me tell you how that actually happened. My parents, especially my father, insisted we learn computers. So we would go to cyber cafes just to learn how to use Windows XP. Not for a job. Not for a certificate. Simply because that was clearly where the world was heading. By around 2010 I was already comfortable with operating systems. And somewhere in there I discovered design. But my first tool was Microsoft Paint. That basic program that came free with every computer. That is where I started messing around with shapes, colours, and layouts. Nothing serious. Just curiosity. Then in 2015 I joined university, and reality arrived quickly. I was getting 1,000 shillings a week. That was not going to cut it. Anyone who has been a Kenyan student knows exactly what I mean. So I needed to make money on the side. I went to YouTube and taught myself Adobe Photoshop. Free tutorials. No class. No fees. No instructor. Just me, a screen, and consistency. And it worked. I started earning an extra 1,000 shillings every week from design work while still a student. That doubled what I had. Now look at that story properly, because there are three lessons in it. First, exposure matters. My father pushing us toward computers gave me an advantage I did not understand at the time. Second, start with whatever you have. Microsoft Paint is not professional software. It was enough to begin. Third, YouTube was my school. It still is. Everything I needed was already free and available. The only thing required was the decision to sit down and learn. That decision is still available to you today. Start with what you have. Learn from what is free. Earn from what you learn. — Elvis W.