My first year in the IARC department was filled with all sorts of mixed emotions. I’m not a traditional student, by age, which naturally can be a difficult as well a different experience than for most. On the other hand, having been in the workforce for many years I brought with me a certain level of confidence, skill, and fear. Being in the workforce was safe and the rules were straight forward and written in stone. Unlike being in the IARC program…where you are giving assignments with no rules or a limited amount of parameters, therefore, you are free to express yourself and get creative. When it was time to produce I found myself wanting to be rational instead of creative. I needed rules and more guidelines. When it was time to draw or render, I wanted to be at home cooking dinner, because somehow it felt like doodling and coloring. It was so hard to separate school from home and try to balance it all. I was always finishing an assignment with another waiting. This was true for home life; there was always two of the three children who needed to be in two different places at the same time. Therefore, I struggled with time management in the 1st semester.
Soon after the 2nd semester started, I quickly discovered that all the doodling and coloring; I’d developed a new skill. I am now able to communicate my ideas on paper and I was actually executing a part of the design process. I also learned to manage and utilize my time better. I found that there is no way to succeed in this program without implementing a time management strategy. I’ve also learn that REDO and REVISIT is a must. Previously I went into a project believing that my initial ideas and visions were the best and final. I didn’t have time for REWORK. I’ve since learned that this is so far from the truth; there could be a number of elements that will cause you to change your ideations over and over again, like the materials.
All and all it was a great deal of growing pains that was well worth it.
