Wow! It is hard to believe but it is Spring Break already. Where did the time go? Even harder to believe, I have not written in this blog since January. Yes, I managed to chronicle the whole first week of my return to collegiate life and then vanished from the blog map. I am sure some casual readers (ha ha, who am I kidding, no one reads these things) assumed I could not hack college and just quit. Nope. It may not have been the easiest things I have done, but I am still here and still loving it. There is no go backing. I am in this for the long haul.
So, in light of my absence, I will attempt to recap the last 2 months as best I can. I can't promise it will make much sense or will be in any kind of sensible order but I will give it a try.
1. Juggling college while being a father and a husband, is harder than I thought. I really don't know what I expected but I was surprised to realize that it can be hard to find time for everything and everyone. Clearly, writing a blog fell way to the bottom of the list. :) I still need to work on my time management skills but hey this is a work in progress.
2. Fitting in has been easier than I expected. At first, the age gap was a concern but I have all but forgotten about it now. Well, at least until one of my smart ass classmates remind me that "you're old." Still, I think the fact that we can laugh about it is a good sign. I also don't get as many odd looks as I walk around campus. In fact, I have even gotten nods of recognition from people. It certainly helps me feel more apart of the crowd.
3. My writing skills may be better than I thought. I really expected my first paper to get a terrible grade. I was absolutely certain of it. I got an A. I was shocked and thrilled. So much so, that I not so humbly rubbed it in the face of my dear daughter who I did better than (Sorry Dev.) For the record she also got an A.
4. I sometimes bite off more than I can chew. Yes, this is true. Several of the art classes I am taking are foundation courses. They did not exist twelve years ago and are intended for freshman. I am not a freshman, but I have been out of school for 12 years. Still, a few times I have taken on projects that, perhaps, were a bit more complicated than they need to be. I'd like to say I learned my lesson and only made that mistake once but that is not the case. The frustration this causes can be a bit stressful but I have found that I am not able (or perhaps willing) to censor my ideas.
5. Stubbornness and persistence pays off. Despite sometimes getting in over my head (see #4), my stubbornness and persistence has eventually won out. That may mean repainting a sculpture 3 times, or completely disassembling another sculpture 3 times till the final piece matches the vision. Still, I have learned that I am not willing to sacrifice an idea in order to make it easier. That does not always work out well (like when you turn in a project a week late) but at least the teacher understood and even my appreciated my persistence. Of course, he did not give me an A but that is the price you pay for being tardy. I am trying to be more mindful of due dates though.
6. Creativity inspires creativity. Not being in school for a long time, or actively around other creative people, it is a nice change of pace to spend your day thinking about, learning about, or seeing art. I have been awed and inspired by the creativity of my classmates. It certainly feeds my own creativity. In fact, it was because of two students sharing some very personal pieces that I decided to make my own (and most ambitious) personal project. I am also often thinking about the next project, or the one after that. It seems that most of my daydreams now are about ideas for a sculpture or some other project. The key is to maintain that focus when I am not taking an art class and continuously create. Really, I wish I could just take art classes forever!
7. Lack of sleep brings it's own rewards. It seems that my creativity is at its peak in the late night / early morning hours. Perhaps it is just the pressure of pushing against a deadline that gets the adrenaline flowing. Maybe the lack of sleep lowers the defenses, or somehow allows you to get past certain walls, but my most creative times have come in the early morning. Sure it sucks the next day but you forget about that once you get to share your work and it is received well. It would be nice to create art between 9 and 5 but that just never seems to happen. On a side note, the piece that caused me to loose the most sleep, also brought the greatest reward. My teacher asked me (and another student) to show our work at an upcoming event at the end of the March. I was thrilled and honored to be asked and look forward to sharing the moment with a classmate.
8. I love being back in school. I have no doubt this is one of the best choices I have ever made. Who knows what the rest of the semester will bring, but I am looking forward to it. Sure it is Spring Break and instead of partying on the beach somewhere, I will be in the library writing a paper, or maybe working on one of my art projects. Really, it is not such a bad way to spend your time. Perhaps, I will even find time to write more often. We shall see! Here's to the rest of the semester.
So, in light of my absence, I will attempt to recap the last 2 months as best I can. I can't promise it will make much sense or will be in any kind of sensible order but I will give it a try.
1. Juggling college while being a father and a husband, is harder than I thought. I really don't know what I expected but I was surprised to realize that it can be hard to find time for everything and everyone. Clearly, writing a blog fell way to the bottom of the list. :) I still need to work on my time management skills but hey this is a work in progress.
2. Fitting in has been easier than I expected. At first, the age gap was a concern but I have all but forgotten about it now. Well, at least until one of my smart ass classmates remind me that "you're old." Still, I think the fact that we can laugh about it is a good sign. I also don't get as many odd looks as I walk around campus. In fact, I have even gotten nods of recognition from people. It certainly helps me feel more apart of the crowd.
3. My writing skills may be better than I thought. I really expected my first paper to get a terrible grade. I was absolutely certain of it. I got an A. I was shocked and thrilled. So much so, that I not so humbly rubbed it in the face of my dear daughter who I did better than (Sorry Dev.) For the record she also got an A.
4. I sometimes bite off more than I can chew. Yes, this is true. Several of the art classes I am taking are foundation courses. They did not exist twelve years ago and are intended for freshman. I am not a freshman, but I have been out of school for 12 years. Still, a few times I have taken on projects that, perhaps, were a bit more complicated than they need to be. I'd like to say I learned my lesson and only made that mistake once but that is not the case. The frustration this causes can be a bit stressful but I have found that I am not able (or perhaps willing) to censor my ideas.
5. Stubbornness and persistence pays off. Despite sometimes getting in over my head (see #4), my stubbornness and persistence has eventually won out. That may mean repainting a sculpture 3 times, or completely disassembling another sculpture 3 times till the final piece matches the vision. Still, I have learned that I am not willing to sacrifice an idea in order to make it easier. That does not always work out well (like when you turn in a project a week late) but at least the teacher understood and even my appreciated my persistence. Of course, he did not give me an A but that is the price you pay for being tardy. I am trying to be more mindful of due dates though.
6. Creativity inspires creativity. Not being in school for a long time, or actively around other creative people, it is a nice change of pace to spend your day thinking about, learning about, or seeing art. I have been awed and inspired by the creativity of my classmates. It certainly feeds my own creativity. In fact, it was because of two students sharing some very personal pieces that I decided to make my own (and most ambitious) personal project. I am also often thinking about the next project, or the one after that. It seems that most of my daydreams now are about ideas for a sculpture or some other project. The key is to maintain that focus when I am not taking an art class and continuously create. Really, I wish I could just take art classes forever!
7. Lack of sleep brings it's own rewards. It seems that my creativity is at its peak in the late night / early morning hours. Perhaps it is just the pressure of pushing against a deadline that gets the adrenaline flowing. Maybe the lack of sleep lowers the defenses, or somehow allows you to get past certain walls, but my most creative times have come in the early morning. Sure it sucks the next day but you forget about that once you get to share your work and it is received well. It would be nice to create art between 9 and 5 but that just never seems to happen. On a side note, the piece that caused me to loose the most sleep, also brought the greatest reward. My teacher asked me (and another student) to show our work at an upcoming event at the end of the March. I was thrilled and honored to be asked and look forward to sharing the moment with a classmate.
8. I love being back in school. I have no doubt this is one of the best choices I have ever made. Who knows what the rest of the semester will bring, but I am looking forward to it. Sure it is Spring Break and instead of partying on the beach somewhere, I will be in the library writing a paper, or maybe working on one of my art projects. Really, it is not such a bad way to spend your time. Perhaps, I will even find time to write more often. We shall see! Here's to the rest of the semester.
-Scott
