Hi, my name is Mandy and I will be blogging personal stories of City Tech students along with a quote/word that inspired or helped them through hard times. (This is somewhat similar to The Humans of New York). The post will be consisted of the students’ story in their own words followed by their name, age, and major. The quote will then be hand-lettered by me on a wallet-sized card to be given to the storyteller, to remind them that these quotes/words could be powerful.
“Last semester I had senior project and an internship at an acting school. For senior project I was nervous but confident because I had a pretty good idea of how it what going to work out and for my internship I knew a couple of people going in so I didn’t sweat it much. The semester actually started good and I was making great progress on my project until I hit a bump of sorts. It was during a meeting with my professor and I had been proud of my work so far I showed him my work and that’s when it happened – I was off – proportions of all my figures were way off. Normally I’d brush it off and go relearn again but this was senior project; this was the end all be all or at least that is the weight you feel when you go in. I didn’t have time to relearn or redraw I had to learn on the fly or I’d probably fail hardcore. Failure was weighing on me – I freaked out. I was so bad that every figure I drew afterwards was so off and they kept getting worse. In the midst of my breakdown my advising professor really helped me out if it. He was always honest with me not wanting to sugar coat the toughness of the industry I was walking into. He told me that this profession (the arts; no matter what form) has its challenges, pitfalls and days were you want to break down but it’s how you come out of those days that determine how you’ll do in this industry. His little pep talk meant a lot to me. I dragged myself out of wallowing and made it through my senior project fairly well. The year didn’t turn out as I had planned but I’ve learned that “experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want”. Full digression I got that last one from a fortune cookie.”
Name: C. R.
Age: 23
Major: Illustration
The wonderful thing about art is: even when you make mistakes it can be worked with or seen as your creative expression. C.R. once you realized your original intention wasn’t standard, you could have turn it into how you perceived things and made it into a POSITIVE. Remember, the glass is always half full. As a professor and hopefully someone who have REALLY worked in the industry, I’m sure he told you that when you don’t do a job well you are penalized. But did he also let you know that when deadlines are at steak, and when you mess up, you must keep the ball rolling! You must work with what you got! You mustn’t give up and do your absolute best. Also never freak out, take deep breaths and look to find solutions!
I couldn’t agree more with Amonib. If it’s one thing I’ve learnt was freaking out /worrying gets you know where.
I completely relate to this story as college students we are always put in stressful situations such as midterms, term papers, etc. but this story shows us to relax despite the struggles we are facing which is easier said than done but I will try it. The key word is try. Lol