Essay

The Beginning

The first day of class was surprisingly awkward. I arrived early, yet somehow later than everyone else and had no idea where I was going. As we were eating our breakfast I wasn’t really sure who to talk to. The introductions were interesting but I soon learned that I was the only science major within a mile. And that scared me. I’m used to being surrounded by those like me – people who get excited about finding a salamander under a log and who enjoy dissection. I am not used to the artsy humanities types. They don’t get it. But I tried to put that fear aside and ended up exploring the attic with Janie that day. What did I learn? I learned that sticking to stereotypes will get you nowhere.

The week went on and we had several workshops. Those were rather painful. The professors made good and interesting points but they were rather long winded. And SCRUM? That word should be erased from my memory… These workshops were very similar to the classroom that we were used to. I think the entire class was ready for a break from the “lecture life” and wanted to dive right into the project. We had all of these great ideas but had to learn about THAT PROCESS instead…. What did I learn during this? Potato chips + marshmallows + bananas + peanut butter = not that nasty.

Somewhere in this period of time we learned about KYLE PARKER. The glorious Kyle Parker’s “Infinite Art” app. I have never seen a professor quite that upset as Tim was after he heard about this. However, Kyle Parker actually made our app. Without his thievery our website would have been much different. We were mad for the first day (I’m pretty sure we all ranted about it to our parents and friends) but the next day we realized that we just needed to come up with a more innovative idea, and that there was no problem in that. What I learned – sometimes, unexpected setbacks can help you find what you were really looking for all along.

Then we created the mission statement. This was a good day.

Where do I fit?

Honestly, I asked that question throughout the seminar. I have always struggled with feeling like I belong and I was thrown into a situation where I was very different from everyone else. I’m the only student who could educate someone about bats and that would wear sweatpants to class. I have little knowledge of art, absolutely no knowledge of design, no skills when it comes to computer software, and I am not particularly creative. I didn’t know what I would do – what I could do. It plagued me through the first half that I wasn’t pulling my weight because I could not keep up with everyone else. I was stressed, and it showed.  But, I learned that very project can be frustrating at times, but if you push through, you will be happy towards the end.

(in?)Finite Frustration

Most of this process was frustrating. Our group argued about everything. Oxford commas, search functions, the color of the screen… One of the arguments I felt most passionately about was the search function. My brain is not random. I approve of some form of organization. I definitely let out a silent cheer when we added the search function to all of the pages.

There was a sharp division between the design and content committee. This division seemed to exist throughout the semester, and I wish it had dissipated a bit more.

BUT, we had a solid idea. Explore + play. We worked together to come up with a list of functions that we absolutely needed. In this I learned that breaking up in small groups often helped ease stress and generate more ideas

Deciding to ditch explore + play was difficult for me. I was having a hard time imagining what the website would be without this idea. I thought “how could the website exist without a tour? What would even be in it?” However, as we were creating the games, it became very clear to me and the rest of the class that we weren’t trying to create games. I was scared, I was frustrated. How could we throw out all of the work we had done? But, everyone else wanted to go with it, so I reluctantly did also. Luckily, referring back to our keywords kept us on track.

What did I learn? Take a risk every once in a while, it pays off. (And may just turn into a beautiful website)

New York City

Initially, I was not sold on our trip to New York City. It was a long drive and I wasn’t entirely sure how we would get creative inspiration from it. I was also very upset that I would not get to see the Bronx Zoo. Luckily Kayla made a sacrifice and spent the day with me. It was actually a lot of fun and rejuvenated my energy quite a bit. I only wrote one prompt directly related to NYC, but NYC definitely pushed my prompt creation. The trip made me leave Muncie (a city I am not fond of) which helped my overall mood. It was strange finding such peaceful spots in the middle of a big city. This dichotomy allowed me to slow down while the world around me is moving so quickly.

Creative bursts

At the beginning of the semester, I was having a hard time creating prompts. The prompts I was creating were not as inspired as I would have liked them to be. But, after our trip to New York, prompts were easy to create. Reaching 100 prompts was very exciting for me.

In this I learned that setting a goal and achieving it can be really rewarding. Several of my prompts were provoking, while others were more fun. Here are some of my favorites:

  Planning I was very excited to take charge of showcase planning. I have planned large events before and I was comfortable with doing that. I was very nervous to create the invitation, as I had never created one. This was probably my biggest accomplishment and the thing which I was most excited that I created. Through this I learned that it’s good to try something new.
However, showcase planning did have some complications. Trying to get everyone to give me their invite list was quite irritating. Figuring out the catering and delegating the program task to another student was aggravating as well. Luckily, the event was a huge success and all of our guests were pleased with the presentation and, most importantly, with our project. The End This project helped me to grow as a student, a professional, and a person. I learned so much about myself and the “real world” through this seminar. This project will always be something I can look back on and say I did that. I have proven to myself that anything is possible with the right people, and that it is okay to try something new and take a risk. In the beginning I said that I wasn’t really sure what I would be doing. And throughout the project I felt this way. But, looking back, I realized that you don’t always need a set job title, as long as you contribute. Another fact I mentioned in my original introduction was that I tend to be both a leader and a follower. I believe I did that throughout the project. I also mentioned that I am not creative. But, as I learned, I am creative just not in the typical way that people think about. In my intro I talked about taking on too many tasks. I tried not to do so this semester. I found that the work I created was better when I wasn’t overwhelmed. Finally, I stated that a skill I would never use was my small animal handling skill. I ended up using this skill to save Ellie from a cricket. I also learned this semester that I tend to work best in short bursts. The longer I sit and think the more probable it is that I will burn out. I should do creative work during the times that I am most awake and do that work for a couple of hours at most. I also learned that I don’t have to look at art in a traditional way. I can have a bit of fun and share my thoughts with others to get the best insights. I learned through experience and trial and error. I found that learning does not happen because of a syllabus. Tim did not create a syllabus that said Week 1, you will learn through competition. Learning doesn’t need to be planned, it just happens. As I continue throughout my college career and adult career, I am going to remember to not become bogged down by my workload. I am going to integrate some freedom into my life so that, when I do work, I can create the best product possible. Next semester I would like to focus on approaching my work from different angles. I would also like to spend more time discussing what I am learning and focusing on it. I hope this will help me actually learn, rather than memorize. Overall, this seminar helped me make connections in places that don’t seem to make sense together (zoos, museums, and art!). I started to really understand the idea behind a liberal arts education. Maybe I found that I do not learn by listening, but I learn by doing and discovering on my own. It was much more stimulating for me to research symbols and history dealing with the humanities than it was reading textbooks and listening to class discussions. This seminar also taught me how to become calm while working in a group. I realized that it’s OK to take a break. People aren’t meant to be together 24/7. We all work better together when we have some time to work alone. I am happy that I took a chance and “wasted” (I really didn’t get that many relevant credits…) my semester. I feel like this is what college is supposed to be. Discovering where you fit, who you are, the connections you can make, and knowing that your passions don’t have to be narrow. I am no longer defined by my major.