2 posts tagged “dreams”
When I heard the learn'd astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them; When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick; 5 Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
--Walt Whitman
I memorized this poem for literature class during my tender freshman year of high school. Now, eight years later, I find myself in a university astronomy class. It seems rather fitting for me to be in the class. The sky has alwaysinspired me and captured my imagination. I tend to stop in my tracks to look at the sky and soak in its ephemeral beauty (for it is almost always especially beautiful) until whoever I'm with urges me to stop daydreaming and pay attention to some tediously familiar thing at hand on Earth.
I signed up for the class with high expectations. It seemed far more interesting and less painful than dissecting some poor animal in biology or stumbling through miry equations in chemistry. The first few weeks have been fruitful. I learned many foundational things about the universe, which inspired me to pore through Sky and Telescope magazine, which in turn inspired me to combine what I've learned in both astronomy class and photography class and dabble in astrophotography. This beautiful universe leaves me in awe of God's glory.
I had hoped that my astronomy teacher might emphasize with my wonder of the skies. Perhaps he does, but much differently--he is nowhere near as abstract as I am! He is, however, passionate about his field of study. Whenever we go to a new subject, he always says it's his favorite thing to talk about. I can't help but grin at him--every subject in astronomy is his favorite. He is an enthusiastic teacher, but mere enthusiasm does not turn on the light bulbs in the minds of students. The past few class sessions have shifted onto the subject of calculating distances, temperatures, luminosities, densities, and masses of the stars. And I completely drifted away in the moments that he wrote those calculations on the chalk board.
The moment that I glided out occurred sometime last week. I'm afraid I haven't returned to earth since then.
I want to learn a lot from college. I want to learn graphic design, but I also want to learn illustration, photography, and maybe even a little web design. This is partly because I naturally want to know more about the things I'm interested in. But the main reason is because more education means more career options in the long run.
More options means more freedom--more freedom for me, and more freedom for my future family.
Education is freedom, to me. I want to go to an art college with a curriculum that will educate me in all the courses that I want. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to go to one of these art colleges. I can barely afford to go to a community college. I know I'm a good artist. I know I can do very well--I throw everything I have into my artwork at school. But without money, I can only do what I can.
The college that I'm looking at offers a graphic design degree--a bunch of general courses, art history, basic drawing courses, and three or four graphic design courses. And that's it--they say "THERE, you're a graphic designer," and out you go.
There ain't know way I'm stopping right there. I have noticed that this college also offers a decent photography major. So I'm doing a double major. Maybe I'll do printmaking, too. Hey, if a grant pays for it all after this year, why not? On paper, I'd have two Bachelor of Arts degrees. But it would only be the beginning of what I really want--I'm just paying a little bit less for it.
I want to continue my studies at an art college, delving deeper into my fields--learning typography, printmaking, photoshop classes, digital imaging, and lighting. Maybe, if I get a little B.A at this little inexpensive college I'm going to, I can get a job that will pay for my studies at an art college. I'm not going into debt for college. I'm paying for it on my own, even if it takes a little bit longer. I want to know so much more.
