Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Change is in the air
Some drastic changes might be on their way in the near future. It is looking more and more like I will be leaving my job before the end of next year, which means a new environment, new responsibilities, and new variables will be a part of my Senior year at Eckerd. Not ideal, since EC requires a huge amount of work, but some things just can't be helped.
Rumor around the campfire is that the work situation could be going from bad to worse for us in the near future. If this happens, I will essentially have no choice but to leave. Conditions have gotten so ridiculous that nearly everyone I know is talking about exploring options, looking elsewhere, or quitting in the very near future. Slash-and-burn business practices are making the natives very restless, and the total lack of conscious displayed by senior management (Dave Calhoun and Mitchell Habib have reputations for being merciless slash-and-dash executives) are making life miserable for those of us who survived the first round of lay offs. A shaky work situation is just what the doctor ordered, particularly when you are trying to keep your grades up and build a portfolio worthy of being considered by the best art schools in the country.
Did I say "schools"? Well, my grad school options have begun to expand. SCAD is still an option, though I have read some unsettling things about the school recently, but schools like The School of the Art Institute of Chicago(SAIC) and the Rhode Island School of Design(RISD) have to be on my radar. Both offer incredible art programs and both cost around the same per years as I would be paying at SCAD. Even Yale could be an option..Yale? Could I really live with myself, were I to attend the same school that produces the likes of George W Bush and John Kerry? It is an interesting question. All cost about the same and those three schools are considered to be top 3 in the country, while I have learned that SCAD is not recognized as being in the same league by most industry professionals.
At the moment, I'm really interested in Chicago. The cold would be a nightmare...probably my worst nightmare...but the school is recognized the world over for the quality of its education. I hadn't ever considered them previously because of cost (only slightly more than SCAD, it turns out) and location. Chicago gets cold, bitterly, miserably, horribly cold. Worse still, it becomes a steaming cauldron that literally kills people during the Summer. On top of all that, large cities seem like little bits of Hell on Earth to my suburbanite, traditionalist mind. All of that might be offset by the quality of education I would receive there and the unique experience of attaining a SAIC Master of Fine Arts degree, but there are no guarantees.
Everything I can find about the school describes learning there as being a wonderful experience. Florida would only be 3 hours or so by air, and being in one of the country's largest cities would allow me opportunities to experience art in a way that being in Florida, or even Savannah, will not. Of course, Rhode Island and Yale also get very cold in the Winters, so there really is no upside to considering other top schools, so far as the weather is concerned.
It seems silly to even imagine that I might be accepted to any of them, particularly Yale, but I will not know if I do not apply. It's a difficult decision, and my portfolio may not be strong enough to gain admission to any of the aforementioned institutions, which means I would have to find a plan B in a big hurry. That said, I am making a point to keep my options as open as possible. I refused to apply to various colleges at 18, to my detriment, but I'm a bit wiser and more willing to look around at 30. I would really like to do my graduate work at the best school that would have me as a student, so not applying to the top 3 seems foolish. The worst they can say is, "No", in which case I go back to the drawing board (totally obvious, totally lame pun, I know).
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Labels: life
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I think living in a big city would be such a neat experience!!! ...And as far as the weather, you might be surprised how much you'd come to enjoy the cold and experience the different seasons. Yes, snow can be a pain but it's also so much fun. I truly miss living in CO.
i am in a similar situation looking at graduate schools for next year when i'll apply. i know what my top choice is; i don't know whether i have a shot at getting in. thus, i'm left with no choice but to compile a list: plans b through zz. haha.
your openness to looking outside your immediate comfort zone will serve you well, and you will find your perfect fit.
Getting outside of my comfort zone, and getting away from all of this familiar space is the only way I am going to have any chance of breaking free of the sense of negativity that lingers over all of it. I like the idea of being in Chicago, as it will afford me opportunities none of the other cities would, but Rhode Island seems like it might be a better fit, so far as my values are concerned. I would be thrilled to get into either school, to be sure.
One way or another, I am going to have to deal with more cold than I would otherwise like. Cold makes my joints ache, so I'll probably spend my winters indoors, or living on Aleve. lol