I had been falling behind in my blogging so I dedicated most of my day to catch up on that and then do some exploring on my own to get souvenirs for my family. I was somewhat impressed with myself for how I didn't need a map as I was walking around. I later walked around with some friends and we went to a secret garden in a courtyard that used to be a pseudo-monastery.
Later that afternoon, we had a guest speaker by the name of Zoe d'Amaro, creative partner at Godfather Films. They create commercials and documentaries for businesses with social and environmental causes. Zoe is originally from Italy but moved to Amsterdam to work in the advertising industry. She told us about life in the ad world, which included frequent 18 hour days. Zoe explained to us that after some time, she decided that she wanted to start her own company and work for companies that have causes to help society, rather than just trying to sell more sneakers.
Unfortunately the internet wasn't working but she was able to show us a couple of videos that she created for clients. One of them was Greenpeace, a sometimes controversial company who focuses on environmental health. The organization went from being aggressive to companies to instead using social media in a more friendly manner to create awareness of what the organization believes is an abuse to the environment.
It was a worthwhile presentation to attend, and it made me envious of seeing someone who left their corporate job to fulfill their dreams.
