The Decision

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but… I’m considering tacking on 2 additional years to my schooling.

I’ve really come to enjoy and appreciate graphic design quite a bit.  It’s fun, it’s challenging, and (I feel) rewarding in multiple aspects.  Any other “work” that I have to do for classes seems tedious and boring, but doing graphic design is extremely enjoyable.  As I’ve told numerous friends, graphic design is the first thing that I’d done that I’ve enjoyed both the classroom aspect, as well as the take-home work aspect.  Some classes have fun/decent assignments, others have fun/decent classes, but never before have I run across both.

If I’d go back, I’d get a B.A. in Art Studio with a Graphic Design emphasis.  13 additional classes, which could potentially be accomplished in 3 semesters… but who knows, if I’m here, maybe I’d finish up my music minor as well.  I mean, I already paid for half of those classes, so I should finish them, right?

Here’s the thing though… I HATE school.  I’ve never been good at structured learning, in part because I’ve never found things that I want to do, and in part because I don’t test well.  That’s part of the beauty of art school, though… beyond the art history classes, “tests” are really just projects that you complete.  Which rocks.

I’ve not had a good artistic outlet for myself in a while.  Playing at church is nice, but I haven’t had much of an opportunity to actually sit down and play/create some tunes.  I haven’t written much either, as evident by the lack of blogging over the past year.  So this would also assist me in fulfilling that aspect.  Plus, I sometimes struggle finding motivation for things that I do, and by taking formal classes with structured assignments, I’ll be able to get my creative juices going as well as learn a lot of things I may not learn on my own.

If I’m doing web design/development in the future, having the ability to do the graphics in-house would a) save me tons of issues and b) net me more money.  I’d probably be doing the web design as a side job, but who knows, maybe it could be a full time thing.

So by my logic, I have a few options:

1) Don’t be dumb. Graduate, get a job, etc.
2) Stay in school. Graduate when I’m 27. Stay in my hometown (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing).
3) Get a job in the area. Go to school part time.
4) Go elsewhere. Hope that they have a good graphic design program. Go to school part time.

Thoughts?

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