Present Joys

Editor’s note: I’ve been keeping a weekly digest of my schooltime activities since sophomore year. As I begin my final semester, I’m going to try being a little less cursory. Here we go!

I started out my final semester at 3:30pm on monday afternoon; I got distracted talking to Evan and Theresa at the Crane Café and didn’t leave myself any time to walk upstairs to Motion Graphics. By the time I walked in (with Julia and Anna), the teacher had already started talking, and the room lights were off and it was a little awkward. Despite all the drama, it was fantastic to see a bunch of my friends who were also registered for the class. Once our teacher realized that most of us didn’t actually have After Effects installed on our computers, he let us leave very early. After that, I killed some time with my peeps.

Tuesday morning saw me back in the jewelry lab. I cut a cap R out of plexiglass as part of my first assignment. Then, friendship lunch at the Hills! After lunch, I went back to Senior Ad, which was positively packed full of people. Mr. Mohr used up most of our three-hour period lecturing about projects (specifically: THESIS), leaving me both overwhelmed and excited (mostly: EXCITED). It was just good to be back with so many people I love.

After that, I went to History of 2-d Design—a required class I should have taken years ago—held in Circle Hall, once home to the illustration department, now home to liberal arts. Though the building has been painted and minimally remodeled, it retains a signature dank smell and total lack of windows. It was pretty weird to take a history class there (the class itself was unremarkable). We’ll see whether it turns out to be engaging or boring.

Wednesday afternoon, I drove to school for 3:30pm Motion Graphics. Though it was very odd to “start school” at 3:30pm, once I was there, I got into it. This felt like our true first class because after an unproductive monday class, Mr. Lutz moved us into a classroom that was an actual computer lab. This class ought to be great because it is full of people I enjoy and everybody seems to be keepin’ it breezy.

Thursday in Jewelry, Chris substituted for our usual teacher, Anne, who is out of town until next week. Jewelry with Chris was lots of fun, as you might imagine. I took apart an old bracelet of my great-grandmother’s and set one of its charms in a ring. I’d forgotten to pack a lunch, so I treated myself to an expensive salad, which I ate peacefully in the school library. After that, I went to Senior Ad, where I started working on a project for the 2014 One Show with a new team. We brainstormed concept ideas on the steps outside our classroom; Mr. Burleigh came out and visited with us for a while.

The week came to an anticlimactic conclusion with History of 2-d Design, where our teacher lectured on illuminated manuscripts. And that was that! One week down, fifteen to go. It’s a terrifying proposition.