For the ones who didn’t skip the asterisk...
The learners of layered lessons.
For the artists of the long way...
The ones still making sense of the footnotes- 
I used to think every unexpected turn meant I was off track... like “detours” were roads that lead me away from my purpose- or added unnecessary distance or time to me achieving a goal. But life isn't meant to be perfectly mapped or completely predictable. There's beauty in letting your compass guide you versus a map (García & Miralles, 2017). The map seeks certainty. The compass knows alignment. Detours are the intricate details needed to draft a sample. The thing that doesn’t seem important... but absolutely is- The thing you don’t always see... but feel when it’s missing.
Early in my master’s program, I came across Virgil Abloh's lecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design. Virgil nor his lecture was assigned specifically, but it fit the requirements of my assignment for my Mastery course- so, I don’t know if I found it or it found me... however, Virgil spoke of shortcuts in his presentation. Which ironically enough or not, that's something he was highly praised and highly criticized for.
Though his 3% design philosophy shaped many conversations about originality, what left the deepest impression for me wasn’t the rule, but its roots. Where those shortcuts came from...
A mother who was a seamstress (Friedman & Paton, 2018). A bachelor's in civil engineering. A master’s in architecture. Years spent studying structure before breaking it.
(Harvard GSD, 2017)
That moment shifted something subtle but lasting. Somewhere between that moment and completing the course shaped by Robert Greene’s book Mastery, I began to see that real mastery lives in relationship with the fine print... The tedious details that live behind the asterisk. It turned experiences I once resisted into experiences I began to revere. Deviations aren’t diminishing your purpose- they are a pivotal part of your purpose. They're the margins that give your effort its shape. It's the context that creates your nuances.
During my Mastery class, I found myself drawn not to the declarations of greatness, but to the conditions that made it possible. Works became more interesting when I started paying attention to the asterisks. Reflectively, it might explain why I’ve sewn various disciplines together- Not because I couldn’t choose, but because each one offered a different lens for the same search... Meaning. A message. Mastery. Learning isn't linear- it’s layered. It's woven. Sometimes, the lesson you think is about fabric is actually about human behavior. Sometimes, you only learn to tell a story because you were able to bounce to a new level from the “failed” attempt...
We were required to create an online journal during my master’s program. I remember one journal entry in particular... Again, another work that found me- it fit the requirements but wasn’t assigned or suggested. Yoann Bourgeois performed to Clair de Lune... I wasn't familiar with Yoann or Clair de Lune- But after watching it, I titled my assignment “The Metaphorical Bounce Back.” That’s what I saw in his work... A choreography of grace, persistence, and recovery. A visual that conveyed failure that doesn’t end in defeat- but in motion.
Even now, when I revisit it, it reminds me to have grace when the ground gives out. Learn from the falls... And trust eventually, you will land in rhythm. Not many lessons in life come without complexity. Pursuing my last master’s degree felt like a detour at first... An unnecessary pivot. It was a choice shaped by uncertainty, and yet it added a necessary curve to my silhouette. The insight wasn’t handed over quickly, simply, or clearly- It arrived with tension, doubt, missteps, and revisions. Every subject I've studied, in school and out, came with its own set of rules and unspoken expectations. Every piece of inspiration- from Recho Omondi’s Instagram post to Yoann Bourgeois’s performance wasn’t just a moment of clarity, but a thread tugging me inward to ask: What are you willing to navigate to truly understand this? Perhaps that’s the part we don’t always say out loud or give language to. We name the breakthroughs, but not the conditional clauses. The ideas get quoted and copied; however, the asterisks get skipped.
The asterisk is where the work lives.
It’s where the falls happen.
The pauses.
The redirections.
It’s where grace has to be practiced... not just understood.
When something doesn’t go as planned, feels slower, smaller, or more complicated than imagined, don’t rush to fix it.
Listen.
Ask: What is this shaping in me?
Think of the fine print not as something to overlook, but as a personalized scenic walk. One that leads deeper into your purpose. True mastery doesn’t come without tension or deviations- It’s built in relationship with them.
until the next thought, – nik © 2025 NiKii Watson. All rights reserved.
References Friedman, V., & Paton, E. (2018, March 26). Louis Vuitton names Virgil Abloh as its new men’s wear designer. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/business/louis-vuitton-virgil-abloh.html García, H., & Miralles, F. (2017). Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy life. Hutchinson. Harvard GSD. (2017, October 30). Core Studio Public Lecture: Virgil Abloh, “Insert Complicated Title Here.” [Video]. YouTube.
Omondi, R. [@omndi]. (2017, Oct. 3). There should be two darts at the knee inseam not one. Turn that CF crease into an edge stitch. [Photograph]. Instagram.
Warner Classics. (2018, March 23). Clair de lune (Debussy) : Alexandre Tharaud, Yoann Bourgeois - piano & dance [Video]. YouTube.
Watson, NiKii. (n.d.). NiKii Watson archives.
Love it 😍
This was so interesting, I feel like it’s helping me reframe my thinking from frustration on detours to acceptance and excitement for what could happen