Challenges and expectations at KSU

Starting Kent State was the beginning of a new chapter. New friends, new environment, new responsibilities, and new found freedom. Everything couldn’t be better. It felt like home away from home. But just when you think everything is wonderful, you start to face challenges.

Some challenges that I faced were: missing home, handling things on my own, and self discipline. Even though Kent felt like home, I still missed my real home and my  family and friends. It was different and I wasn’t so used to it. But I overcame that challenge by keeping in touch weekly. I would make sure I communicated with them over social media and FaceTime. That helped a lot with my homesickness. 

Another thing  that I mentioned earlier was handling things on my own. This wasn’t too much of a challenge because it was expected but there were times when I would find myself in a situation where I would have to make my own decisions. I always tried to make sure I made the most reasonable and wise decision. Another personal challenge I faced was self discipline. I am a huge procrastinator. I realize I can’t get by that way in college so I just had to make myself do anything that was of importance that I was putting off. And once I did what I was supposed to do, i feel good about myself.

Aside from personal challenges, I also faced some academic and creative challenges as well. My creative challenges were that I didn’t think my craftsmanship in my art classes were great. I overcame that by practicing and working harder and paying attention to details and also believing in myself. My work has gotten better since then. I overcame my academic challenges by studying more and using any resources that could help me. 

These are ways that helped me overcome some of the challenges I faced after coming to Kent state. I hope anyone else facing these or any other challenges overcomes them as well. 

FYE group discussion

Last week I had a big discussion with my Fye class and other Fye classes. We all had one thing in common-aspiring to be artists someday. Since we all have similar classes, we talked about some of them and how they were going to impact us in the future. The class that everyone was concerned about was our math class. We didn’t seem to understand why we would need math if our focus is art. We learned that we need math for measuring, estimating etc. We learned that those are actually quite important when it comes to painting or drawing or whatever your concentration is in art. 

We also learned of how psychology is related to art. It shows how you see things and how things are perceived. Most of the classes we take are mandatory because of either basic knowledge or because they will help us in the long run whether we see it now or not.

Lost in translation

   

 Last Friday, my classmate and I played a game where we had to sit back to back and describe to each other what we were drawing. The one she described is on top and to the left. It is supposed to be the bottom of the sea with all the corals and seaweed. The one I described is on the bottom and on the left. It is supposed to be two people laying on a hill watching the birds and the sunset. As you can see, her drawing came out bigger than mine. It was accurate for the most part but it still looks a bit different because we see things differently. This game is called “Lost in Translation”. What I learned from the game and assignment is that everyone has different views and perspective on things. Even though we heard the same description, our drawings came out a little different from each other. This shows that everyone is different. Everyone sees things differently, everyone hears things differently, and everything interprets things differently. That’s what makes things different and diverse in this world.

Another thing that I learned and we had to do was listen carefully. If I had not listened my drawing would have come out even more different than what it is now. That teaches us that listening is very important for communication. That also brings me to the next thing I’m going to talk about which is communication.

Communication is key to almost anything. Without communication, nothing would be done or done properly. My partner and I made sure that we both understood each other.

If we didn’t use these three things, our instructions would have been lost in translation. If these three things were not used in the world, things would be very chaotic. And our world would not be interesting. That’s why having your own perspective, listening and communicating are very important.

What being successful means to me.

What is the meaning of being successful? The dictionary defines it as: “accomplishing an aim or purpose ” and “having achieved popularity, profit, or distinction. I believe both of these definitions to be true, but I also have my own definition of what I think success is. To me, being successful means not only doing or being something that pays well or brings abundance, but doing or being something that makes you happy.

In today’s society One is not considered successful unless they are rich and or famous. But there’s so much more to it. I also believe that if you have a goal and you’ve set your mind to it, that’s also considered as being successful.  For example, I’m a student who seeks to become an artist with a minor in music someday in the future. To some people, that doesn’t seem like the ideal career choice to them because it doesn’t make enough money. Well I believe if it makes me happy and I continue to work hard, I will get bigger and more opportunities which will lead to a lifestyle of success. Then I can look back and see what I have accomplished and be proud.

I also believe success brings out the motivation to be more successful. Once you’re successful, you’ll want to continue excelling and achieving more goals and happiness. It motivates you to become more hardworking as well. That also is another form of success. Once you have reached the point of wanting to keep working hard and excelling, that’s succeeding mentally.

Examples of people who are successful in my eyes are Martin Luther King Jr. , Nelson Mandela, and Steve Jobs. Martin Luther was successful because he changed a whole generation. Nelson Mandela was successful for the same thing as well. Even though he went through struggles, he lived to see what he had done and accomplished. That is great success. Steve Jobs was also successful because he did what loved to do and it’s a successful business.

Being successful means being happy doing what you love, accomplishing your goals and being happy with it.

Andrea Myers lecture reflection

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of listening to well-known artist, Andrea Myers. She does art that includes sculpting, painting, and working with other objects like fabric, paper, and ziplock bags. Before Mrs. Myers became an artist, she actually began as a humanities/ English major at Carnegie Mellon University. She then transferred to Ohio State and then to the SAIC, which stands for a School of Art Institution of Chicago. That’s is where she decided to pursue art.

Her work is incredibly unique and creative. She uses different materials to create other existing objects. She also does a lot of abstract work which to me, is also very unique. I was inspired by Andrea Myers’ art because as I mentioned earlier, she’s unique and she does what she enjoys. She is a prime example of one of the many successful artists in the country. Her work also inspired me to try new things and new challenges. Abstract work and art is not really my field of study but because her work was so cool, it made me want to explore a little bit more.

Overall, Andrea Myers is a wonderful artist and a good inspiration to other artists and other upcoming artists.

Three fun facts about Andrea Myers: 1) She lived in the woods for a year. 2) She branched on to making her own fabric. 3) She taught at CCAD in 2013.

My first week experience at Kent State University.

My first week experience at Kent State University was remarkable. The staff made me feel like I was at home and everyone just made me feel welcome. The most memorable part of the week was attending Blast Off 2015. That was also an amazing experience. There were so many things that one could get involved in. My favorite part of the night was the concert. That was an awesome way to end the night.

What I expected about Kent was that it would be extremely huge. I already knew it was a big and successful school. What I didn’t expect was that it would have so many clubs and fun activities. That made me a whole lot happier for choosing Kent State. As much as I enjoyed everything that I have talked about so far, I also ran into some challenges. One of them was trying to find my classes. It was a little difficult trying to find them at first but as soon as I asked some awesome upperclassmen, they helped me which made things a whole lot easier. Another challenge that I faced was not having enough supplies for particular classes. Kent State has a bookstore that offers plenty of supplies in one is ever in need of them. There are also convenient supply stores downtown which is right next to Kent.

Overall my experience at Kent was unforgettable. My advice to anyone who is coming to Kent is to come with good expectations because Kent State will exceed them and to get ready for four years of education, experience and fun.

Who are you people?

Natalie

This is Natalie Flamik. She is from Medina, Ohio. She enjoys art which is why she is at Kent State studying to be an art major

Mary Kay

This is Mary Kay Palazzo. She is from Avon, Ohio. She is a Kent State student who also enjoys art. She is studying fine arts with a concentration in painting and drawing.

Monica

This is Monica Ramser from Pittsburgh. She’s a Kent State student who enjoys art and wants to help others. She is majoring art education.