Victory Lap

Today, I found myself completely de-railed. It probably comes as no surprise, that I have been stressed about graduating. In the photography world, a MFA is an extreme advantage. It allows you to put into effect all the skills and processes learned in your undergraduate while still pushing your concepts. It gives you a more focused arena to improve as well as introduces you to a strong art community throughout the process. It also holds a lot more weight in the job world, I would be able to teach at a college level as well as gain many more photography opportunities. I have continued to push my photographs and ideas and I have finally reached the point where I think my portfolio is getting strong enough to get into grad school, the catch? Most schools don’t do Spring admission, therefore I have to wait to apply in the Fall to attend in the Fall of 2011.

So I have been faced with this question.. what do I do with myself for an entire year?  The answer was confirmed today. I have decided after much thought to not graduate this May as planned, and instead take the next year to turn my Art History minor into a Major. This is the most sensible option for me in every way. I just became a Docent for the ASU Art Museum and am working on two other internships for the Fall. All three of these opportunities would be extremely beneficial for me both in experience and for my application process. To complete my major I wouldn’t even be a full-time student rather would just have to take 8 classes, spread out over the year. This would allow me to hopefully find a job as well that dips into the art world. I would also be able to keep utilizing the facilities at ASU, and pushing my photography even further, instead of struggling to produce art on my own.  I really am finding that I love to write about and discuss art so having this extra degree would give me a strong advantage as well as open up many more opportunities.

If I have to wait a year for graduate school I much rather be getting a second degree, still producing art, interning, and working, then putting around with a full-time job that restricts me from growing. I am both nervous and excited about this decision. It’s strange to think about, that I am not graduating in May with all my friends, especially when we have all been treating this as a “Last Year in AZ Experience,” but I can’t not take the chance just because it’s going to be different then what I expected. Staying out here while most of the close friends I have made over the past four years leave, will be the hardest part for me. I can’t imagine what it will be like to not have my best friends with me out here, but that is life. We are all on separate paths, heading out in our own directions, but no matter how long we reach or how far we get,  we are all connected, united by those moments shared together. So really I am never too far away or ever truly alone. *

“The lines represent life and the things around you, but like an asterisk everything intersects with each other at some point, not only connecting everyone with everything around us, but also a unity with the universe..”- Andrew McMahon