My Major

Whenever I first went into art school, a professor once asked me why I didn't go into architecture... My brother went into architecture, so it would be a suitable field for me, as far as he could see. My answer was that the work load was way too large, and I wanted to sleep. So imagine how ironic it is that I'm studying a field that ends up granting me next to no sleep, and a massive workload to go with it. Life can be a bitch.

I have just two professors that actually work in my major, and out of those two, I've only really answered to one of them for the last year and a half. I constantly find myself frustrated by the Indie nature of the film and digital department, the equipment we're given to work with (or the lack there of), and how the school kind of looks down on the design arts. It's a truly odd dynamic. But in a way, it makes the people in your field stick together. There's nothing quite like the people in our department. And I'd imagine anyone in the school would probably say the same about their own department. I've had the privilege of exploring some of the other parts of this school, just due to the broad requirements of my major and the incredibly high number of studio requirements. Each major has a different dynamic, a different teacher, and a different kind of love hate relationship. While many of the fine arts do get the much desired sleep that we all so desire... or at least have a much better chance at it, I can't say I'd really trade the fact that all I have to take to class is a portable hard drive and a notebook, versus a palate, a drawing board, a box for supplies, your painting/drawing, and whatever else they decide to tack on. I did that all Freshman year. No more.

But on the subject of crazy classes, the wrong combination in art school can be deadly. I once made the mistake of taking a digital photo class, a video class, and a 2D Animation and Effects course all in the same semester... and that didn't even include the two liberal studies classes I was taking. I kid you not... when finals came around, I slept one hour every day for a solid week, until the last night when I literally worked straight through until my class the next morning, and had to sit through a five hour critique. By then, I was running on fumes. Sleep in art school is a luxury, and not always one that you can afford. You make the mistake of thinking "things will get better..." but they just get harder. Rock in a hard place when you try to pile too much together. News flash, none of your professors care that you have another class.

Still, you learn to make choices of what is really important to you. You can do without sleep, without food, or even without bathing, but not all at the same time. I always make it a policy to bathe, no matter how little sleep I've gotten (even if it's none at all). At 7am, sharp, no matter what is going on in my life, no matter what project is due or the amount of progress I have done on it (or have left on it), I will go home and eat, and shower (if I haven't already). On the other hand, there's the other rule, food or sleep? Many people in the college try to go without both--totally a horrible idea. I always chose food over sleep. I usually have a ton of work to do, but there are no limits to my crankiness when I'm hungry. That said, I eat dinner every day, period.

But staying up can have its perks. The Mac labs have a weird sense of crazy that seems to come alive sometime between 2am and 5am. I have seen people randomly walk in dressed in full cosplay, coupled with strange music videos, and lots and lots of sobbing, screaming, cussing, and singing. Sometimes the singing even becomes a group activity. So really, it's not all bad.

But I'll stop here, because a further explanation would take quite some time. Just know that art school is a different kind of crazy.

~C.Mitchell