Abroad in Baltimore #27
Staying Afloat
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Well, here we are. The last month of the school year. For those of us keeping track, there are only 4 weeks left in this semester. For some this spells disaster, for others, an approaching finish line. The way I can tell summer is coming, besides looking at my calendar, is by the fact that I can’t remember what the last summer break felt like. I don’t remember what it’s like to have no homework, to go on spontaneous outings, or have more than one weekend of freedom. That will all change in just 4 short weeks. A reality that both excites and terrifies me as before we can pull out our sunblock and swimsuits, one hurdle remains in our path: Finals.
Urban dictionary defines finals as “subsisting on copious amounts of caffeine, limited amounts of sleep, and study sheets downloaded from the internet. Also characterized by large amounts of panic and procrastination”. But it is this student’s sincere belief that not only can finals week pain be entirely avoidable, but it can also be a time you can teach yourself to enjoy.
Okay hear me out, there is a kind of excitement that comes with finishing something you’ve worked on for what feels like ages. We work hard in art school in order to create things we’re proud of and finals week is one of the times where we finish climbing that mountain and can look at what we’ve achieved. I always look forward to when I can lay out all my projects and take a moment to appreciate the work I’ve done over the semester.
Now that there are only 4 weeks left, teachers are beginning to get final projects cooking. Here are two examples of finals here at MICA: Example 1, my Character Design’s final assignment is to create a Final Boss character as seen in a video game. This is a bit hilarious as finals week is very much like a final boss we have to defeat in order to claim our ultimate prize (summer break). This assignment has many parts and may be one of the most intense I’ve encountered in my three years of college and I just hope I’m up to the task.
Example 2, my Fantasy Art professor has dedicated the last two weeks to fixing past assignments instead of a huge final project. When he told the class, I’m pretty sure more than one person shed a tear of joy. In these two extremes lies my finals week. Last semester I was treated to the delightful experience of having only one actual final to take, the rest of my final classes were dedicated to a group critique or just a pat on the back for sticking out the semester.
It’s going to be a tough and taxing month, one that promises to give me one final push before releasing me back to the world of the living. But we art students wouldn’t be here if we didn’t love a challenge. I won’t wax poetic just yet, but I’ll definitely be savoring these last weeks of the school year as it has been such an amazing experience. The classes I’ve taken, the professors I’ve met, the students I’ve befriended, all have made my experience at MICA complete.