Starting

Funny, I think, as I begin to write this assignment. I really had a hard time starting.  I avoided sitting down, I ran a blank on thoughts and I am trying to figure out a way to not have write this at all.  

It is not apathy that stands in my way nor motivation or desire and as much as I hate to admit it, time is not my enemy, as I can always find some. The answer lies with judgment. 

Judgment is my final answer. Over these past few High School years, I have studied, researched, wrote, drawn, sketched, sang, played, ran, swung, and at the end of it all, it came down to a grade or some form of critique.  I must confess, I need a break.  I love doing all of the many things that I do, academics, tutoring, sports, but I want to do them for me.  I want to learn for the sake of learning and not to quest the “A” for college.  I want to do my art for me; for the shear pleasure of writing funny, satirical material, I want to experiment with forms of writing, not focusing on grammar.  I know, however, this cannot be.

It is hard to begin, knowing that I want to experiment but if my experimenting does not work, I fail.  When I study what interests me but is not on the exam, I will fail.  When I try out my new serve and it will not be an ace, I fail.  Why begin knowing that it may not work out the way I want.  The answer is simple; optimism. 

For every success there is a failure and for every failure there is a lesson. I have learned well to many lessons during my time at Herricks.  I will leave a much better person than when I began.  Knowing that I survived a rigorous environment, replete with lessons, makes me a stronger person.  This knowledge allows me to push through not only this assignment but also all others that will be thrown at me.

Procrastination, you say, introspection I say.  The work all gets done, sometimes a little close to a deadline, but maybe thinking a bit more before tackling an assignment builds more character, or not. With a little ice cream, Adventure Time, Smash Bros. and a dose of reality, anything is possible.

Rehash

Why do people get so crazy during the holidays? I understand wanting to find the 
perfect gift for those special someone's, but really? If it was so important, 
then you should have started shopping earlier.  It's not like something amazing 
is magically going to appear only days before Christmas then disappear. For the 
most part, I find people cranky, in too much of a hurry and tired. I think 
everyone needs to slow down, shop on line, eat some guacamole and chips with a 
large burrito, and realize that there is no perfect gift. Get over it.

Fear

Why are we afraid to create art? Do we believe that the product will be inferior to the art envisioned in our minds? I believe people are afraid to create art because art is a reflection of yourself. Art is a one-way personal mirror into your self. Also, I believe people are afraid to create art because of  “the curse of artists”. That is, once you complete something, you improved your skills and expectations as an artist, so you redo the art to make it better, but once you redo the art you continue to improve, so you must redo the art again never being satisfied with the finished result, and so the vicious cycle continues.

However, the “artistic curse” is ridiculous because art is as much a process as it a result. The finished product is finished after you have completed the process.  It is important that you release art after it completed. Once you start afresh, you can create new ideas and entirely different pieces of art.

It is important that you complete each piece and log in hours into the 10,000 hours of practice because the more you do something the better you get thus improving your skills and thought along the way. If you get out of your own head and just put in the time to do artwork, the improvement of your skills will improve with time and quantity of art.  

However, if you are like me and claim to be busy all of the time, take a deep breath and do a little bit of art each day by working it into your daily routine. Whether the art be a drawing, picture or paragraph, a day, it is important that you actually do it because actually completing art is important to achieving your goal of becoming a better artist.

Holiday

It's holiday film time! Santa, Rudolf,Elf, Miracles, the list goes on and on. 
Every year I say, no more, I will not get sucked into the holiday spirit, feel 
good, viewing season, but, alas, I do. Perhaps this year will be different. 
Maybe there will be a really great new movie that will catch my attention. I 
will let you know........

As an aside, movies that are released during the holiday season, like the Hobbit 
or Guardians on DVD, don't count. 

Obama

"Acid Reflux Causing Obama's Soar Throat". That is what today's headline reads. 
Obama is the President and we need to know if he is ill, but really? So he has 
acid reflux, just like many of my relatives and people in the U.S.  Does anyone 
care? Stop eating spicy food and move on. Are the reporters so skittish about 
reporting what's doing on in the news instead focusing on the "aw", so sad he's 
not feeling well factor?  Again, I worry.....

Holidays

Who enjoys the holiday season? I like the weather, the hype, the decorations and 
the presents, but dislike the fact that people are very cranky.  I get it.  
Scurrying around to buy gifts for people is no easy task.  How many ties can one 
dad use? Does mom really need another perfume? Are they really still making 
barbie dolls? Do I need to get Adventure Time on DVD? The stores are also packed 
with people who don't want to be there, including me.  I do NOT like to shop. On 
line shopping is fine, but malls are not.  Looking for a parking spot, searching 
in numerous stores, waiting on line to buy the items, and walking for hundreds 
of miles is not my thing.  Do we really need gifts on a certain day? My favorite 
presents are the ones I get during the year when an item is purchased for me 
because I am being thought of and the other person knew I would like it.  I 
think we should all relax, take a deep breath and work on being nicer to other 
people.  That is what this season is about.

Turkey

Food!  I could not leave this holiday without talking about my favorite foods.  Turkey is a must, but not the only main dish.  I enjoy lasagna, fish and chicken.  Side dishes are essential.  Sweet potatoes with marshmallows, of course, mashed potatoes, hot biscuits, green beans with almonds, cranberry, apple pie, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, cranberry loaf, brownies, fresh whipped cream and ice cream essential.