About this Semester
To be honest, before I came to Parsons in New York, United States, I did not think that I would be able to live independently in a foreign country, because I haven’t lived in a dormitory, nor practiced my self-care ability, and I also think that I will not able to understand the classes because of my poor English. But when I really lived this kind of life, I found out that I could do a lot of things that I never thought about before. Of course, there were many things that went wrong and fail, but I still find that my ability is greater than I think, and I learnt a lot from my college life.
The first thing is communication. When I found out that my roommates were all Americans, I didn’t really react much, because I really anticipated this situation. However, when I tried to communicate with them, I encountered great ‘obstacles. Even now, it is difficult for me to participate in their group dialogue and discussion. I mean, I can sit with them and pretend that I understand what they’re talking about, but I can’t actually give any feedback (because I don’t really understand their jokes or I am just less confident). But I’m glad that I have an environment where I can practice my Oro English, and I’m trying to understand how they think. I realize that only when I become more active can I form a virtuous cycle which is good for me to practice my English, which is very important to me.
The second is to pay more attention to the art around you. Unlike Shanghai, New York is really a city full of art and inspiration. When I walk on the road, I can catch many things that can inspire me, which is really great and one of the reasons why I like this city so much. Chelsea has a lot of galleries, big and small. I pass by a lot on my way to school, but I often forgot to visit them later. I find it really important to carry a pen, diary and mobile phone with me to record my inspiration at the critical moment.
The third is not missing any classes. The biggest mistake I made this semester was that I missed too many classes, which was really fatal. I thought I would not be absent from any class at the beginning of the semester, but I made a big mistake. There were too many times that I just wanted to stay in bed instead of going to class. I think it has something to do with how far I live from school. Apart from the time I felt sick and ill, I don’t know why I didn’t want to go to classes so much of the time, but I know I was really doing something wrong. At the end of the semester, I had to rush to make up for my absence, but sometimes I missed so many classes that I could not even make up for them. This really depressed me, but it also taught me a really important lesson, which is not missing any classes.
As for the feeling of “fake”, it is the opposite of “not real”. It can be a positive word, a negative word, or a neutralword. I think we talked about it in the first class. I think the idea of “fake” runs through all our four projects, from the five personas at the beginning, to the re-creation monument at the end. I think a lot of the ideas in these projects are like gain the idea from an original object and then re-created, and I like that idea.
Anyway, this semester is coming to an end and this year is coming to an end. I think I have experienced a lot of happy and useful things in this semester, and I have grown a lot. But I also made some mistakes and learned a lot. I look forward to the second semester of next year when I can put what I have learned into practice.
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