Year 1
My name is Warren Wu, a 18 year old male from Xiamen, China. I previously studied in Xiamen, the transferred to Hong Kong for my high school years. I am a rather determined person, if I make a promise I will always do my best to fulfill it, if at all failing to do so. I was once a dead honest person, until Hong Kong taught me the reality of life, hence my adaptation into the current me. I value the bonds I share with the people who I encounter in my life, perhaps caring too much for my own good at times. These aspects of me usually reflects into my works, as my works tell legitimate stories of me and my past experiences.
2018 Fall
Upon arrival, the environment was every bit as overwhelming as I had previously imagined before coming to New York. Coming from a relatively quieter city, then spending a few years in a metropolis like Hong Kong has certainly strengthened me for the incoming college lifestyle. When I first arrived I was anxious, with nobody known here I was alone once again. The courses were semi-challenging, the hardest part was for me to spend the initial 3 weeks observing the professor’s teaching style and try to plan my work around them. As I was and always will be, I am the type of person to leave work until the last moment, then utilize that adrenaline to get everything in and done on time. This strategy was used in high school, and appears to be working in college as of now, and still is. Moving over to this new environment there were a lot of physical adjustments I had to endure as well, getting sick a lot in the first semester. This concerned quite a few of my professors, fearing I won’t be able to catch up to the lost time. If there was one class I felt great to pass, it was Time Composition. The first assignment I found challenging was the premiere project.
The professor’s requirements were quite high, restricting a lot of tools we could have used to make the most of our projects. I settled with a slideshow-like video to create an opening for a custom TV series. The workload was grueling, and the professor’s comments somewhat discouraged me to do anything, due to her telling me to make sure I was able to finish something. I ended up disliking the course, and I stuck with what I knew to create my final project for that class. The final was something I wanted to do, not for the class, but for myself and for the people I honor in it. The final was a project that utilizes an application taught in class that year. I chose premiere. I made a video dedicated to my brothers in Hong Kong, who I worked with to create the best of companionship to survive high school and shape my character today. I used another outside tool named Aesprite, a pixel animation software I learned myself during high school. The year ended with me completing everything I needed to do, it was a sweet release after all was done, and I got a taste of what this school is like, and what I had to prepare before the next semester hits.
2019 Spring
After winter break, I was much more used to the learning style here in Parsons. I was able to work around new obstacles fairly well, and appreciated much more of the classes that I took part in. Classes were generally more enjoyable as I began to let myself loose on the restrictions on my creativity. This was probably due to my past, originating in a country where creativity was very limited and safeguarded. Where I think it all began to turn for the better would be the start of Studio 2, where the professor allowed us to present our past works, expressing our confidence in what we did. It was a great opportunity to witness some fantastic talents lying around the room, as well as having people voluntarily come up to each other and inquire to form friendship. I spoke up more, and learned more from socializing with my peers about potential outcomes of certain projects. I have to say my favorite class this year was Bridge. Bridge to me was not just a language course, but a course to present your own ideas and concepts with the guidance of a professor. I exercised my writing skills in that class, and felt that even though it was a night class, I had no problems with it, the class wasn’t as dry as last semester’s. For studio related subjects, I learned to work with multiple new media, and the constant learning of how to manipulate these new materials prompted broader horizons for my plans and designs for future works. As for the research aspect I usually relied on what I observed from the people and events around me. I speak from the heart and I try my best to understand the situation before using my own words to try and make it easier for others. Now the year’s ending, I plan to shape up during the summer, to learn and expand my visions and gain working experience. Questions I have to ask myself? There are few, but eventually as I progress, they will come up to haunt me, and I will have to answer them through struggles like I always have.
