Semester Reflections

Semester 2

Over the course of the semester I have learned a lot of things when it came to sled discovery and using the best of my intelligence. Over the course of the semester I  have been trying to reach out to many different forms of faculty and most definitely some within my major. It took some time throughout the course but I had the best success in developing a relationship with my BMGT367 teacher Dana. She has helped a lot when it came to preparation in the work force and has even been kind enough to talk to me about business life and providing me with my linkedin. I feel she is a connection that will help with the coming  years and I am happy to have met her. 

There are still challenges when it comes to making outside connections just from starting conversations or even from digital platforms and connecting with others because you do not know them at all. But that is something I will be working on over the summer.

Transitioning into the mindset of college this past year has been challenging as much as I thought it would be but then again nothing less than what I wanted. The course work and time management is a key part of staying focused while also being able to take time to yourself. I feel that I was able to do that through the arts  usually. After coming back from spring break I have gotten back into creating earrings and making small acrylic portraits to ease the stress. These projects have made me more mindful to the idea of incorporating art even in small inconveniences if you have time.

Meeting up with friends has also been a huge help when it comes to accomplishing mindfulness.  Checking in with people and sharing our past week helps with venting about the amount of work on our plates. The only obstacle with meeting with friends would have been that it is so time conficlitong to find and spot for us to catch up. I would love to all the time but it is like we all have certain classes and will not being be able to meet until late evening. What I would say to incoming freshmen would be don’t let not being able to see your all the time mean that you aren’t doing enough to see them. We are all growing up and all understand  how busy our schedules are so no need to worry about being  by yourself for a bit. 

I believe one for the most profound ways that the arts scholars program fosters community would be from the recent art fest and workshops. I believe that was cos chance for us to get into smaller groups and get to know one another more on a personal level. I know from my playlist if workshops I have gotten to know two people who are sophomores who are the same college department as me. They gave me helpful tips and encouraged me in my artistic risks like starting a workshop myself and so much more. Through the workshop my way of giving back has been with creating a workshop that can be played by other groups in the community of arts scholars and around College Park on Maryland Day.It felt good to express my creative music taste with others. 

I think my understanding of art has changed this past year by acknowledging that it does not also need to be serious. I took time out of this semester to remove from my workshop that sometimes can be fun and still have the same impact. Having fun is still a feeling just like deep diving and perplexion is, none is better than the other so taking time to understand that has made me understand art more. 

I keep bringing up workshops but I truly do believe that this was the most beneficial when it came to doing my work. It helped more than I had imagined, opening doors to new people and learning new genres of art that I thought I would never touch. I believe incoming art scholars can get the most out of this experience by just being open to anything that comes. We all have our comfort zones and what not but I beg to at least try one thing outside of it, who knows you might love it enough to make it a major!