Future me will thank me later.

Tamika Alexander (Creative Brand Management, 2026)

For the past three birthdays, I’ve created a mantra to help guide me through my new year. In the weeks leading up to my birthday, I take some time to reflect on the year behind me and set intentions for the one I am stepping into. 

Shortly after arriving at the Brandcenter in August 2024, my 27th birthday was quickly approaching. I had just left my full-time role at a Virginia State Agency, and honestly, I was terrified. I didn’t have a job lined up, I was struggling to find an apartment, and I was beginning a master’s program that felt completely different from the field I had spent years focused on. I had no idea how it was all going to come together, and that uncertainty scared me. 

But on my first day of school, I saw the quote hanging on the basement wall, “If you want something you’ve never had, do something you’ve never done,” and it completely rewired my brain. 

That year, I made my mantra “future me will thank me later.” 

It served as a reminder that hard moments were just that; moments. That discomfort was temporary, and that the version of me that I was becoming would one day look back, and be proud of how far I came. 

During my first year, I learned more about myself than I ever expected. More than anything, the Brandcenter taught me what it really means to trust the process. I had always understood that in theory, but this experience pushed me to live in it. And in doing that, I began to understand how creativity actually works. Being creative is not about having everything figured out all at once. It takes patience and a willingness to work through the unknown, trusting that it will all come together. 

That’s the beauty of creativity. It reveals itself over time, and learning that gave me a new level of confidence in the process. 

Now, I can look back at Tamika on day one of New Student Orientation and simply say, thank you.

Thank you for taking the risk. 

Thank you for listening to that little voice in your head that nudged you to apply anyway.

Thank you for continuing to show up and keep going even when it was hard. 

Thank you, Tamika, for trusting the process. 

My mantra for my current birth year is “it always works out in the end.” A reminder that even when things don’t fully make sense yet, they’re still taking shape the way they’re meant to. 

These past sixty weeks have been some of the most meaningful and transformative moments of my life, and I will always be grateful for the role the Brandcenter has played in shaping who I am and how I create.