Happy New Year, everyone!
All right, so it's been, let's see . . . .let's just call it a while. The Short Version of What Happened is: I went back to school. Remember the Back to School series I wrote in September? In doing so, I pulled out old textbooks, notes, projects, and binders to photograph in order to illustrate the concepts, and in the process I began, in the manner of packrats everywhere, to re-read and look through everything, which is when it struck me: wow, I really loved studying design. And: I wish I was the one going back to school, which led in turn to: why, exactly, wasn't I in school?
I did recall withdrawing from one of my courses that last quarter, after the instructor told me, in front of the class, that I was "unteachable." What I couldn't remember is why I would believe him.
Other people may have control over any number of things in our lives--from our salaries to when we are able to catch a bus on a particular corner--but they don't get to decide our character. My former instructor had indeed been unable to teach me. But that didn't mean I couldn't learn.
What I love about January is the renewed hope and promise of a fresh start the new year brings. No matter what your goals, the focus of new year resolutions is in the present and the in future. All transgressions are in the past--instructive, perhaps, but ultimately irrelevant.
The New Year is carte blanche to reflect, hope, plan, and prioritize. What do you want for yourself this year? Dream big! Dare to defy the limitations you place on yourself and those others place on you. It's a new year, a new decade. Take a few minutes this weekend and ask yourself: who do you want to be, what do you want to do, how do you want to live in the years to come? Decide on one tiny step towards that goal--whether it's replacing chips with celery for a snack, doing a load of laundry every day until you get caught up, making a point to work in a walk a few days a week, or looking into getting your GED, Associate's, Bachelors, Master's, or Ph.D. The first step in getting what you want is realizing that you want it.
PS I took the same class--perspective drawing--this quarter with a different professor.
I got an A.