my story on choosing a college
Hey readers! This is a pretty long post but I wanted to share my experience with dealing my creative side when I had been on an academic path.
Growing up in Sacramento had its ups and downs. I grew up in a very artistic, creative family. Appreciation for the arts always played a role in our lives and continue to do so today. I'm about to graduate from an art school with a Bachelor in Fine Arts and my middle sister is applying for art schools and our parents were both graphic designers.
I was pretty lucky to have such understanding and supportive parents. They never argued with my decision to choose an artistic path rather than an academic one and they have been behind my back every step of the way. However, it was a pretty big shock when I first started at SCAD. I took summer art classes, you know the ones where you make masks and sculptures and tile mosaics? Yeah, that one. Those classes never justified my love for design but we always knew it existed.
During my middle school and high school years, I didn't take any art classes because they were more general art classes rather than specific areas of art. I joined band because I had been familiar with performing arts and learned that if I put mind to it, I could learn any instrument I wanted (I played alto saxophone for 6 years, violin for 2 months and oboe for 3 years).
When it was time to start applying for colleges I freaked because I had no clue what I wanted to study. If you know me, I like a little bit of everything. I want to do everything! Is that so bad? I liked and hated a little bit of everything so when it came to figuring out what I'd be studying for the next 4 years, I froze and broke down (but who didn't?).
I've always been obsessed with fashion. I collected magazines (I had to go through those 98 magazine before I left and that sucked), I had an internship with Nordstrom my last three years in high school, I dressed like a freak (I thought I was doing okay, but...) and I was always giving friends advice on clothes. It seemed right to major in fashion design but I soon realized how competitive the major was and that I didn't want to be in an office.
If there's one thing I was certain about, it was that I saw things differently. You could say I had an "eye for design". If you hung out with me, I was that annoying person talking about the color choices of the bench and hallway or the sports uniforms. I could've written my own column about high school fashion because wow, there was much to talk about. I had high standards for presentation and not just for dressing, but for projects and class presentations. Everything had to look neat, like I had spent weeks working on it (even if I didn't). All of this would later benefit me in art school where presentation was everything.
Reaching the application deadline I rapidly chose fashion marketing and management at SCAD because I was still working in the industry but I wasn't in the production area. I wanted to start on the east coast because we knew of the opportunities I could get but I was too scared to go to New York so I chose Savannah. Savannah is definitely smaller, still considered a college town and SCAD had good connections with a so called "high employment rate" for graduates.
I started my time at SCAD with fashion marketing and management but was persuaded by many of my friends to switch to Fibers (textile design for those who unfamiliar with the term "fibers"). I decided to switch after soon realizing I was a tactile person, I loved feeling fabrics, working with color, making patterns etc. Fibers has enabled me to create whatever I want and I liked that kind of freedom.
I will say that my time in college has been quite the challenge. It was a shock going from 1 to 0 art classes to 1 everyday for 3 years. There have been more than enough times that I've wanted to quit and apply to a state school where I study something with more books and facts than my imagination and inspiration. I always go back to the thought of discontent when I think about leaving. It' been a struggle but I wouldn't have met any of the people I am friends with, learned techniques that I have, been to all of the places I've been to if I hadn't taken the leap of faith.
I highly encourage you to take that leap of faith. In the end, if it doesn't work out, it's the experience that you get. Now it's quite obvious I left out a good portion but I didn't want to bore you. If you would like to know more please email me and I would be more than happy to talk! :)
Also, you can check out what little is on my Behance here.