By Ashley Bibby

My favourite piece of advice from my time at school is “Never be happy” spoken by the always cheerful Pete Cain. But don’t go reaching for the rope just yet, I think this was a reference more to how you should feel about your work rather than your everyday life.

I love this advice because of how true it is. It is always so easy to just settle on an idea or an execution that does the job; that ticks all the boxes – who knows – you might just like it yourself. But that is where all the average work sits: in that sweet spot of Settlesvile.

Throughout my time at school I have never been happy. Every piece of work I have produced hasn’t come close to the standards I expect of myself. Every brief I have had to settle on work I am not happy with, work that I am embarrassed to present to people with my name attached to it.

Is it annoying to be constantly disappointed with the work you are producing? Yes. But it gives me that one thing to aim for: the time when I can present a piece of work and be happy with what I have produced. Stand up there, proud as punch ready to blow peoples’ minds.

When/if that time comes I can remind myself of Pete’s advice which will bring me plummeting back down to earth and return me to my depressive state. Primed and ready to make work that is even better than what I have produced before.