Brush with the Stars

Doug Pat is his name. He is an architect that graduated from Penn State before I was even born. He is rather successful in architecture and he even designs some cool products. In 11th grade, when I was determining my future, I found his youtube channel that explained the intricacies of architecture. His channel was titled "HowToArchitect" and he had a series that was called "So, you want to be an architect." Certainly, at the time, I wasn't sure, so I began to watch his videos. After a few days, I made up my mind, I wanted to be an architect. And so, Doug Pat became an influence in my life. I continued to watch his videos on architecture and loved every one. He gained the status of celebrity in my book. I sent him a harmless message thanking him for his videos, not really expecting a reply. I got one, though. In fact, I was surprised to find out that he attended Penn State and would be critiquing with the 2nd year architecture students that next week; he wanted to meet up. I was rather ecstatic, but to my disappointment, my critique ran over time and I couldn't find him. I thought I would never meet him.

Sitting in Studio talking to my friends, someone suddenly shouts my name. I look up and there he was, Doug Pat in the flesh. We shook hands and he began to tell me a little about his life and his experiences and gave me some advice. It was a brief encounter, but it will always be in my mind. I met the man who influenced me to begin architecture. To me, he was a bigger celebrity than Brad Pitt.