Spring 2019

GERM 211: This class was a pretty decently weighted one, with plenty of German worksheets, readings, and participation opportunities. Dr. V was very kind in her offering me advice not only on my German studies, but also in life. I learned some more sentence structure, extra words, and the ability to will myself forward.

Fall 2020

WGST 395: This class held my interest during a time where I had very little to give. The assignments were not to my taste (so much reading…!) but what caught my attention the most was our lectures and discussions. With every class I take that touches on racism, sexism, sexuality, I learn a little bit more. I usually go in knowing that there are issues, but I don’t have specific examples. This class gives me those specific examples I need in order to fully understand the intersectional issues of race, sex, and sexuality (the 13th amendment discussion, birth control experiments in Cuba, eugenics, etc.)

I struggle to keep up with many things, but this class helped me break down these complicated subjects into something I can digest. I can appreciate something like that.

ART 120: I did not particularly enjoy this class, nor did I feel like I had learned very much from it. The elements and principles of design, such as color, shape, form, unity, etc. were all things we covered in this class. These were also all things I had learned in previous classes, like the GAND 100 classes, where we researched and labelled each and every element of design. 

Despite this, we did come out with a few neat projects (though I do vow to never do anything like them again.) They turned out fine, and my work was finished. In the end, that is all I can hope for: finish my projects and move forward.

GAND 221: This class had us focusing on one specific magazine for almost the entire class. A month or two of research went into it, and my magazine still came out fairly poor. This was one of my most frustrating classes, as I did not, and do not, resonate with the work I had produced. All of this time and effort, spent on designs that I do not care about.

I did find it interesting that we needed to lay out and organize our magazine pages a certain way, in order for them to come out correctly. This was surprisingly the least frustrating part of the experience, as organization is something I idly succeed in anyway. In the end, I produced a magazine of average quality, and some posters towards the end of the class that I had much more fun making.

THEA 339: I have never been good at history… I feel like I have said this several times already. Names escape me, time periods get confused, all the different types of English and French lace look the same to me. I had a very hard time in this class, though I did very badly want to succeed. I attempted to keep up and did my best to study as much as I could, and finished the class decently enough.

The lectures were fine and all. One of our projects was some fun, where I had built a little clay sculpture with Egyptian trinkets and “clothings” within it. The clay itself was the hardest to work with, but the rest was fine. Overall, not a bad time. I could have done better, but that goes for any history class I take.

MATH 307: The best way I could describe this class is, “fun debate class.” All classes can spark debates, but this one was confusing with humorous undertones most of the time. That was what kept my attention. 

I’m thankful for the professor for attempting to keep us engaged, though the poor man had to practically drag us through mud in order to get any responses from anybody. I enjoy being engaged, so I tried to answer questions as much as I could — and made a fool of myself when I got the answers wrong. Not that that’s a bad thing; I was made an example of what not to do, and this was treated in a lighthearted, funny sort of way. It made it interesting. The core concepts of “playing the game” and “gaming the system” are underway, almost anywhere where there’s business, competition, sharing resources, or simply interacting with other humans. That is pretty interesting.

Spring 2021

SOCL 320: This class was very informative. It held my attention in a certain way as well, where thankfully we did not have dozens of pages to read every night. Her lectures were very energized and engaging, and I liked to butt in with the occasional question or comment sometimes, as that is how I keep myself engaged too. I learned a lot about the basic foundations of education, informal vs. formal education, the issues with our system today, NCLB, etc. I have a soft spot for learning about education, because I am of the belief that the education system is one of the biggest roots of how children develop into adults. Modify the schools, and you modify the children. If you add or change things for the greater good, then the students attending will be more knowledgeable about how the world works, and be grateful that they know it. (I know this because I did not get an education like that before Longwood, and am now left floundering in many subjects.) 

Our interviewing project was also very interesting, where we needed to interview one elementary school teacher per student. Mine had lots of insight and good information to share, as well as grievances but with a good attitude. Our final project was one giant collaborative effort, and it turned out pretty good, given the circumstances of less time and COVID modifying how we work. 

GAND 410: This was one of the most fun classes I think I’ve taken so far. I love 3D modeling. Last class was okay, inanimate objects don’t quite strike my fancy, but in this one, we built a whole human. What a challenge that turned out to be — harder than the bike. But it was still fun and puzzling. 

There would occasionally be the rare hiccup where things went wrong, or others needed help, so our professor took the time to help them. Overall, however, the process went smoothly, all of my rigs functioned, my models did not break, and my bones moved the way they were supposed to move. That model is a point of pride, for me, as it was the first time I was able to build a model and then make it function like a real human. I definitely want to do this again. Sad, that we don’t have a third 3D modeling class. Prof. Douglas definitely wants one, but alas, he has no room or time. I will be looking into 3D modeling on my own when I graduate, as this summer will be keeping me busy. (See GAND 422.)

GAND 422: I was very excited for this class, and then I got stressed out from it. That’s what Assessment season will do to you. 

In order to prepare for our yearly GAND Assessment in February, we needed to rush to build three dossiers with three ideas total, things that we needed to really enjoy the thought of and the joy of working on this project. I had chosen to create a small video game demonstration, where the player plays as two different characters, or two players can collaborate with one character per player. It’s a project I am building over time, where I had begun the process after February, and will continue to work on over the summer. By Fall, I plan to have a game that fully functions, and is mostly drawn out. The rest of the year will be dedicated to finalizing art, polish, bug fixes, and player testing. STOKED.

GAND 310: Mostly fun class, but I was a little sad when we changed what types of projects we were going to do. I was excited to animate lip syncing and animatics/images to music, but we downgraded to focusing on only fundamentals of animation. I understand why. It’s good to know the 12 fundamentals (squash & stretch, charisma, weight, balance, etc.) but this does not temper my slight sadness.

Despite this hiccup, I was grateful I was animating at all. In a program that so heavily emphasizes the prowess of graphic design, this class gave me a chance to really practice what I came here to do in the first place. I kept thinking to myself, “if I’m so bored with just the basics, I should just begin some personal projects to pick up the pace!” And then I did not do that. But that’s okay. My projects still turned out decent, and I’m getting better all the time. My drive to animate has not died, despite all I’ve been through. When it comes time to build our portfolios and demo reels, I’ll be ready to work.

THEA 225: This was another one of those classes where we focused on the fundamentals of art, which of course included the same old elements and principles of design. Yes, I understand these concepts. Yes, I am growing tired of reading about Line and Shape all the time. But this time was a little different, as these things were formed around the context of theatre. 

I am not a lady of the arts, ironically. Museum art does not sway me, and theatrical performances do not move me. They’re pretty and fun entertainment, but they don’t reach my heart so deeply as many others feel. I think that’s okay. I can still appreciate the hard work and time theatre crews pour into their craft. The agonizing labor of building an entire stage, crafting props, woodworking, ensuring the depth of the stage is just right, the costumes are accurate and useful, the colors capture the eye… all of it plays vital roles in making the entire production. I have learned more about what specifically is entailed in the production of theatre programs. I respect it from a distance, and for me, I apply what I learned here to film and TV shows instead. Very similar fields.