Map Making
At some point during my time at McGill, the university decided to upgrade their western exit. As a result, they had to shut down a staircase that allowed me to quickly move around the lower campus.
As we all adjusted to our new, and longer, walking routes around campus, one of my friends poked fun at me, saying, “It must be killing you to not know what the fastest route is anymore.”
He wasn’t wrong, it was definitely a sore spot for me.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve prided myself on my efficiency. Figuring out what needs to happen in what order, understanding what should come first, getting a lot done and quickly – these were all things that come naturally to me.
Until I became a beginner again.
Being a beginner feels a lot like having to adjust to new routes around campus. Not only do I have to embrace testing new ways of doing things, I also have to accept that, for a little while at least, I have to embrace taking the longer walk 😬.
That’s because being a beginner forces you to be a map maker. Part of what you’re doing as a beginner is trying to get a lay of the land, and that’s inherently not an efficient task. Nor should it be.
Map-making requires you to explore. It demands that you take detours, stumble down culs-de-sac, and walk in circles without realizing it. The whole point of being a cartographer is to explore as many nooks and crannies as possible so that you build a comprehensive and layered map that will be useful to you (and hopefully others) in the future.
As someone who loves the dopamine hit that comes from doing something efficiently, embracing my new role as a map maker can be hard.
So this week, I’m asking myself:
What parts of my “map” are still underdeveloped?
What areas do I still want and need to explore?
What can I do to have more fun as I make my new maps?
When will I know when my “map” is complete enough?
