Semester Reflections

Semester 2

My first year of college has certainly been a rollercoaster. I came into college expecting heavy amounts of homework, to make some new friends, to grow into myself and learn to be more independent, and to learn exactly how college works. For the most part this all met my expectations. I have made wonderful friends and memories here just as much as I have been stressed by homework, group projects and exams, but I think it was all worth it and Art Scholars was just what I needed to give me a creative outlet and helped me meet some of my closest friends who helped me make it through the tougher days. 

Some additional things that helped me out this first year was getting to know my professors better. One teacher in particular, Mrs Pleasants, my English 101S teacher, was amazing. She was compassionate and helpful, I would email her outside of class explaining my situation when I was struggling and she would always help me out, encourage me, and was a wonderful person in general to have as my professor, knowing some of her background also helped me connect with her and understand why she taught certain ways and held certain viewpoints as a teacher. Understanding and knowing your teachers will give you better insight into their motivations and lessons and it will give them more compassion for students like me when I was struggling. Making these connections can be harder in bigger classes and lectures though, in those cases it is always wise to go to office hours and get to know teachers better there. In Art Scholars I was happy that Mrs Heather and Mr Harold reached out to conduct meetings with students to make sure we were succeeding and doing alright with our classes. 

Meeting people and connecting with my peers was one of the best things Art Scholars gave me. From being in the smaller dorm hall, Bel Air, I was able to get to know everyone in my hall, most of which were Art Scholars students, and then meet others from different floors through craft and chats, colloquium, arts fest, and more. Being in the same building made making friends more casual and accessible because I got to know others in class, as my neighbors, and through extra curricular activities all in one. I’d say my closest friends on campus are those who I met as art scholars. Having these friends made college less lonely, on days I didn’t want to eat alone I could text any of my friends if they wanted to join me for a bite to eat, and there was always at least someone I could hang out with. These friends, both in and out of Scholars came together and planned study days, we joked around and had fun, we had group chats to help each other out and built a wonderful community. Some of the challenges pursuing relationships were mostly in the dating sense, it was so easy to befriend anyone around you, it's harder to find people you might want to date, after a while I gave up on that idea for college and instead prioritized my friendships. My tip for incoming freshmen, help everyone, say hi, ask questions about the people next to you in class so you know who you sit next to, say yes to (safe) plans, and put yourself out there, especially in scholars, being authentically you will draw the most people to you. 

I described part of the community Art Scholars has provided above. Our community was most noticeable during our events where we would all have fun as a group. We would all cheer each other on and be there for each other and create with each other. It is a wonderful community that I’d love to add to through craft and chats and being able to share some of my own knowledge on the arts with others like how the craft and chats taught me new things and gave me new ideas to try. Things like decorating jars (I have too many at home), how to make my own pins (I love collecting them, now I know how to make them myself), etc. 

My understanding of art has grown with art scholars with the debates and sharing of ideas between peers, it gives a look into how others think about the arts which in turn affects how I perceive the arts. As a multimedia artist, I feel like art has been a major part of my life for as long as I’ve known. I love to consume and create and ponder, but to do so with like minded and not so like minded peers opened my eyes to more possibilities and philosophies with art and how it acts as a bridge and connector between people. 

Throughout this semester, the most beneficial things scholars have provided me was the workshops and field trips. My workshop was animation and it taught me new things like how to animate and work with others on animating projects which built my knowledge and skill sets alongside people who wanted to be there, not those who were forced to be there, and it showed in our passion and art we made there. Additionally, the field trips gave new insight and inspiration into different forms of art around the world, different ways of creating, acting, and performing that we may not have previously thought about or considered. Incoming Arts Scholars will get the most out of their experiences here if they embrace their interests and new things and put themselves out there to learn for themselves, not just to fulfil a requirement.