Undecided Architecture Major: Blowing the minds of students across the board

Is it wrong to be in it for the challenge?

According to my university, I am recognized as an architecture major. By my own judgment and classification I am an ‘undecided architecture major’. Meaning that the one thing I was passionate about, coming out of high school, was something I would, in very few cases, I could see myself being very happy at doing in the long run. In lieu of registering as a directionless undecided student, I chose my next best alternative – architecture.

I had to convince myself to hike all the way up to this chilly city to try architecture, without any real reassurance that I would enjoy any part of the process. In fact prior to my arrival I had already begun to admit that I lost the passion for drawing sometime around my 8th and 9th grade years at school. This is when I started studying graphics arts, which suited my perfectionist personality when it came to my art. I knew the first year of the architecture program focused on hand rendering with a Photoshop tutorial here and there and I knew I’d just have to accept that, convincing myself it would get better as I continued in the program.

Second to telling family and friends where I was to attend college in the fall and receiving lip biting warnings about the snow and winter depression was the response to my chosen major. There was never a failure to mention the sleepless nights and stress I was expected to encounter. Thanks for the encouragement everyone.
However, in that dilemma I found my inspiration. A challenge that only someone who has already lost his or her mind would find amusing. I set out to prove them all wrong. Yes I admit I have had late nights, but I have never slept less than 3 hours a night. I have yet to miss any assignments, regardless of the class and I am not stressed out about project deadlines. I know my schedule and my limits.

So here is my question, is it wrong to be in it for the challenge and not for the love of the art? So many of my good friends in the department slave over their designs striving for perfection, giving up sleep and nourishment that their bodies desperately need, in order to have a design they can be proud of come studio?

Maybe I’m just too intimidated to study the one thing I can guarantee myself I have a passion for because I do not have the level of developed skills and natural talent in the field, like I arguably have in the architecture field. Sounds sad and yet here I am, doing very well in a subject that I was expected to struggle in and I am doing it for the challenge and the satisfaction that I can achieve more than I may have thought I was capable over at one time or another. As for my feelings toward architecture having been in the program almost three weeks now – well that’s a whole over soap opera.

Off topic and totally unrelated but here is a shout out to the Treanor Family. Thank you so much Shari, Michael, Ben and Nick for the awfully generous care package. What a great gift, all the best comfort foods from home!

And the letters from the boys, Ben and Nick were so thoughtful. Both are hanging up next to all the other cards I have been receiving from great family and friends like Grace E. Benz, Candi Treanor and family, and of course my loving parents, who are always keeping my mailbox full!

Thank you.

bodash

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~ by bodash on September 13, 2010.