It is mid-way through the second semester at The New School and I am both surprised and not surprised by how much I have been able to gain from these past few months in college. I always love taking a writing course, because as much as I love hands on projects, Seminar really does help reflect on those pieces we create and become more in tune with my self. Without this class I feel like I would lack some sort of outlet to be able to reflect on everything I have done, created, and learned.
This semester, I decided to focus in on Visual Cultures. When I first signed up for the course I did not know what this entailed. I have always been interested in marketing, so I was hoping the class might pertain to that topic. I love that out of Seminar I am able to learn about visual cultures through media and in the society I live in, and then on Fridays during studio we are able to jump to someone else’s culture from around the world.
I think I am still struggling to find my voice when it comes to writing papers about the reading assignments we are given, and I hope it is something I am able to correct over the next half of the semester. However, I did really enjoy our paper based on Simultaneous Perceptions. I always enjoy writing about things based on my own stories and experiences. When I go out into the field to conduct research whether it is performing interviews, taking photographs, or observing things around me; I am always interested in what I can find and learn. I think getting that hands on experience is very unique to Parsons and I am glad it is something this school tries to emphasize.
I used to be very consumed with my phone and just my own thoughts, but since taking courses such as this one, I feel like I have seen the city and what is going on around me from a who different perception that I would have never appreciated before until now.
I also enjoyed the reading ‘Shitty First Drafts’. It taught me that when it comes to writing or creating anything really, don’t get stuck in your own thoughts. Just let what you’re feeling come out and revise later. I think this first semester I have been learning and gaining what I had hoped to and I am excited to continue seeing what is to come further down the line. My outcomes may not have come out the way I wanted them too, but that doesn’t mean it’s ever too late to revise and that is what the learning process is all about.