Maitta
tab ❝money can't buy HAPPINESS,
tab tab tab but it can buy MARSHMALLOWS...
tab tab which are {kinda} the same thing...
You ma'am, are my new role model.
It sound like you have the motivation to get stuff done..O:
I think it's the first time I heard from someone who can manage their time successfully...
;;TAKES NOTES ON WHAT YOU SAY.
I was a dumbs when I first came to school. I procrastinated, took the wrong risks, lost papers, overslept, and was probably one of the most unorganized and scatter brained people you'd ever meet. Plenty of upperclassmen warned me and tried to help, but I ignored them. So yeah, you'll probably make the same mistakes and moves that everyone else has. Freshman classes are built not to teach you art skills, but to teach you how to handle college corse loads and and organizational skills. Also how to handle getting handed the first bad grade on an art project.
I'm now good friends with a freshman I swear is me 3 years ago, doing the exact same dumb s**t I did. We even have the same speech patterns/intonations and sometimes accidentally speak in sync. It's creepy as ********. And frustrating, because I'm watching her do the same s**t I did. Same projects, all nighters, and everything. I laugh at her when she shrugs off my advice, knowing I did the same ******** thing.
Plenty of all nighters, bad grades, and a few ER trips later, I finally started learning my lessons:
Keep a set schedule and follow it as closely as you can. Devote certain hours to certain classes every week. If it's an off week in one class, devote that time to something else that's just as pressing. This can be errands, other homework, or sleep.
Start thinking and planning a project the day you are handed it. Seriously. At least get things in your sketchbook that evening while discussion is fresh. The first ideas aren't always the best, but the quicker you get them out there, the quicker the best ideas come.
Pay close attention to rubrics. Know what parts are important and what aren't. Don't break your back on something that isn't even half a letter grade. Focus on what matters in the class, even if it's not what you like.
Learn your professors tastes. Don't cater to them all the time, but understand what will get you a good grade, and when sticking to your ideals will hurt your grade. Find a compromise, especially if you really disagree with your professor. Often, they DO know what they are talking about, even if they seem completely crazy. I've learned more from professors I HATED than I would like to admit.
Work on your weaknesses, but play to your strengths when it matters. There are some assignments that you're supposed to push yourself and experiment. There are some you're supposed to show what you can do, to the best of your ability. Don't decide to go out of your comfort zone for a project worth 30% of your final grade.
Budget more time than you need for projects. You never know what's going to happen. I haven't had a sculpture yet that I haven't broken before the deadline. I've also never turned in a late, broken, or incomplete piece. I expect it, and pretty much plan for it. Things break, computers crash, files get corrupted. The sooner in the process this happens, the more time you have to fix it. And hey- if everything does go amazingly well, you got yourself a lot more time to relax. Yaaaaay
And last but probably the most important:
KNOW WHEN TO TAKE A ******** BREAK. For god's sake, learn your physical, emotional, and metal limits. Don't push yourself too far too often. It's not weak to go to bed instead of adding those final, minuscule details no one is going to notice. It's not weak to realize that your cough might be something more than a cold, and to take a few nights and sleep it off. Those few nights of getting an hour or so more sleep will be NOTHING compared to the week or so you get knocked out of commission if you end up horribly sick. Emotional stability is just as important, if you're near a breaking point, stop before all hell breaks loose. All the strategies above are lessons I learned because I pushed myself too far and ended up sick in bed, in the ER, or under a table crying with a blanket over my head because something pushed me a bit too far and I had a panic attack.
