Hello!

I'm not even sure anyone checks these anymore (or that anyone did in the first place) but it makes me feel a little lighter when I write journal entries, knowing that I've put my thoughts out there. Mostly, it gets me to stop babbling about the same things over and over to anyone who'll bare to listen (ie: friends and mother). Anyways-

My life has been quite the whirlwind these past few weeks... Actually, maybe even months. In that time I've applied to college (not by my original plan but more on that later), gotten an interview and portfolio appointment, readied said portfolio, presented it (today actually!), and now, according to my interviewer (who also happens to be one of the Art History teachers) I'm as good as enrolled! _{wow that's a lot of brackets....}

So yeah, feeling pretty damn good right now. My confidence went from virtually nonexistent to semi-apparent in the span of a couple of hours...

Though, this wasn't always my plan. Ohhhhhh no. I went from wanting to study fine arts, to marine biology, back to fine arts, to animation, to english, and then back to animation and fine arts. But really, those last two have to come hand-in-hand. And yeah, well I wanted to go to Dawson college in Montreal at first, and then maybe I thought of Champlain which is on the South-Shore (closer to where I live), and then I found out about Sheridan in Oakville, Ontario and fell in love with that...

But the thing is, Sheridan has possibly the best animation program in the continent, and they're really selective. The portfolio requirements are set high, so high in fact, that applying as I am now would be a suicide mission. I'm far from ready. Instead of doing that, I reformulated my five year plan into a newer, slightly longer, six year plan. My career path now includes Dawson College Fine Arts (re-named to Creative Arts recently _{I'm assuming because they added a digital art portion to the curriculum}) and that's for only two years, then I'll try at Sheridan and if I get in that's another four years to get my Bach's in Animation.

I really think taking a mostly-traditional and fundamentals-based program will be more beneficial to my improvement, though. And as I've been getting better surprisingly quickly lately, I think this will only catapult me forward in my learning and progress. The goal with this is to really have the basics down pat. Have them almost become second-nature to me. With that knowledge under my belt, I think Sheridan will be a much easier bull to tackle. Or so I hope.

I also can't wait to broaden my horizons of the art world, see what else is out there, what subject matter or media I've yet to really explore. I might just fall in love with a previously unknown medium, and that in and of itself is so exciting. I really can't wait to learn everything I can and get stressed and have breakdowns and push through to come out better in the end.

I'm not gonna lie, the whole portfolio business was both the worst and best experience of my life, probably, but I surprised myself in being talkative and at ease during the process. I might've even made a friend or two! _{here's hoping they get in so I can cling to them for the next 2 years.}

Another little Real World thing I experienced today was public transit. Though I've done it before, today was the first time I took the route I'll be taking from my house to Dawson (which is conveniently directly connected to a metro station!) these next two years. It'll be a bit scary at first but it's only two switches, from the Centre-Ville station that I'll get to by bus, onto a metro for three or so stops and then switch metro for one stop and I'm there. It's actually a pretty short (approx. 30-40 minute) commute.

Anyways, all these little things are just making me very giddy and terrified at the same time, but it's as my interviewer said, I have an enthusiasm and a drive to learn and improve, as well as the determination to push through the rough bits. I'm ready for this. Better yet, I'm excited for it!

And in news relating to sooner events, I've bought my graduation dress (alas, mom wouldn't even let me shop for a tux or suit....) and I don't hate it, which is good. It looks pretty good on me too, if I do say so myself. The whole Grad business as a whole is such a huge deal for some reason, and I don't really get why... People are renting limos and getting hotel rooms for after parties. I guess it's just not my style, but I honestly find it all a bit over-done. But well, whatever makes people happy, right? As far as I'm concerned, the act of graduating is more exciting than the party it causes.

So I think that's really everything.... This weekend I'll be having a much-needed rest and leisurely do some homework/art here and there. I'll try to upload some pieces from my portfolio sometime, though I can't promise how soon exactly that'll be.

Thanks for reading and putting up with me. I'll try to post and be more active oh who am I kidding

Later~