PDA

View Full Version : The Beginning, Again?



Rijuhn
09-12-2007, 12:48 PM
Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing well. It’s rare that I pour my heart out or even go into too much detail about the everyday dealings of my life on AGN. The main reason I visit these forums is because of the funny, interesting, and helpful things most everyone provides. Now that I have a Wii there’s even more of an incentive to have a sense of community around here. (Thanks to all who sent me friend vouchers)

Anyway, the reason for this thread is because I wanted to share about what has been troubling me the past three years. The following is a journal entry I posted early this morning on my www.DeviantArt.com (http://rijuhn.deviantart.com) account. I would encourage all who have time and/or care about their fellow AGN members to read over it.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, here I am writing my first DA journal entry in close to three years. I can't believe it's been that long, but honestly, I just haven't had the creativity that I once had. I remember first getting my Intuos2 graphic tablet and having a blast. Even around that time I was messing with Flash and Terragen. So every week I had created something and every month I had something worthy to submit to DA. The driving desire only lasted for about two and a half years though. The end of 2004 saw the end of that driving desire to create.

It’s been nearly three years since then and I have hardly anything to show for it. At times I even wondered if I had lost my creative side. I realize now that my creative side didn’t die, it just needed to be nurtured. Over the past three I’ve been going to community college for Architecture, all the while feeling like I made a mistake to ever begin the program.

From the start I wanted to get a degree in graphic design or fine art. The reason I didn’t was because the building for the art classes was too far of a drive, not to mention it’s located in a bad part of town. So my father coaxed me into getting an AAS degree in Architecture. I wish then I could’ve realized how many calculations, and numbers are involved with architecture.

For the record I hate mathematics, because math has always confused me. Arithmetic I’m fine with, but when they want me to know how to find some out-there number that has to do with nothing based in reality, or a number too large to remember I end up not caring and losing focus. This past spring saw me failing pre-calculus II for the second time, and in order for me to take the class again I need special permission from a counselor.

Being fed up with the whole thing I decided to take this fall 2007 semester off. I want time to just sit down and really think about where I’m going in life. Over the past three years at school I’ve just been “going with the flow” of things, which has apparently gotten me nowhere. Just recently I even held a part-time job with a landscape architecture firm for two months to see how I liked the real world application of what I’m learning. It turns out that I hated the job, and I would’ve rather shot myself in the foot to get out of work than stay there. So I quit the job.

That pretty much brings us up to right now. About an hour ago I finished working on a holiday-themed postcard for the company my sister works for. I got the opportunity to put my pen to the tablet when my sister told her company that I do graphic design. I accepted the freelance position of course, though I was concerned about my skills being rusty since it has been so long since I’ve created anything notable.

Now that I have no more graphic design work to look forward to at the moment I find myself sitting at my computer at 3 o’clock in the morning wondering if a full-time graphic design job is in store for me. My creativity is still not up to par with how it used to be, but creating the holiday postcard sparked some of my interest in drawing again. I wonder if this will be the beginning of a creative phase in my life, again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aegix Drakan
09-12-2007, 01:08 PM
Well, hey, good luck.

I'm not in the program of my choice either (I'm in graphic design, ironically enough), but I've pretty much had to bite the bullet and roll with my situation.

Well, If you can shoot for what you want to do, then go for it.


And I'm sure your creative spark is gonna explode into action soon enough. It's not one of those things you really lose.

ZTC
09-12-2007, 01:28 PM
Maybe it is for you. You found out that architecture wasn't for you, and that graphics is likely your forte. I wish you luck on your endeavors.

Prrkitty
09-12-2007, 01:45 PM
Even steps backwards in life are steps of learning. Your lesson (finding out that architecture isn't for you) IS a step forward hon. You tried it to the best of your ability and now you know it's not for you.

So now you're at the point in life to go for what you DO want :) And may the road ahead of you be brightly lit and smooth sailing :) <hug>

Trevelyan_06
09-12-2007, 04:11 PM
Hey good luck man. I hope you find a something that gives your creativity a good kick in the ass. You might try going to art museums, watching movies, or reading books that your really enjoy. Something like that might get your creativity going again. I'd just be open to lots of stuff, you'll never know what will get your creativity going.

vegeta1215
09-12-2007, 07:25 PM
Sometimes it takes a while for people to figure out what they want to do. I just started my first real job back in February, and all the time I think whether I really want to work with computers for the rest of my life, or if I want to do something else. I don't know what that something else might be, but who knows.

Just enjoy yourself, with whatever you do.

Lilith
09-13-2007, 11:24 AM
Surround yourself with inspiring and motivating things :) gl

Darth Marsden
09-13-2007, 02:31 PM
Sometimes it takes a while for people to figure out what they want to do. I just started my first real job back in February, and all the time I think whether I really want to work with computers for the rest of my life, or if I want to do something else. I don't know what that something else might be, but who knows.
Have you been stealing my thoughts again? Bad vegeta!

He's right though. I've been out of Uni for over 3 years now (god, that sounds terrible - 3 years? What have I done since then?) and I still don't know what I want to do with my life. Congrats on the art job, hope that leads to something interesting.

And yeah, you never really lose your creative spark, you just direct your energies elsewhere. I do that all the time - I start one thing, then move on to something else and repeat ad infinium. I really should finish something one of these days..!

Rijuhn
09-13-2007, 06:39 PM
I wanted to thank all of you for your encouraging words. I guess the reason I shared this with you is because I wanted to feel a bit more connected with the community here at AGN. I hope that someone out there at least doesn't feel like the only one going through what I'm going through.

Brasel
09-13-2007, 07:06 PM
You know, I cited you once on a paper I wrote in college. No joke. I don't remember what it was about though.

Good luck with the creativity man, I wish I could help unload some on you. I'm always bursting at the ears with creative thoughts, but no real skill or ambition to make anything of it. Hope everything goes well.

Rijuhn
09-14-2007, 01:22 AM
You know, I cited you once on a paper I wrote in college. No joke. I don't remember what it was about though.


I hope I helped you achieve an A on the paper. :P


Update on the holiday postcard: It turns out I have to do a bit more work for the postcard because they think it's lacking something in the lower left corner...which frustrates me. I always get creator's block or whatever you want to call it. I'll have all these awesome ideas and images in my head, but the end results are rarely ever close to what I initially envisioned. Well, tomorrow I'm going to entertain the eyes by putting something in the lower left corner of the postcard. I'm also wondering if I should ask for more money since this is the second time they've wanted a modification...I dunno.