An ode to Art Club

I started the tenth grade as a very lonely teenager, my best friend from middle school had recently been expelled for being in a fight, and none of my newer friends were in any of my classes. Tenth grade just so happened to be when I would take my second ever art class. My first of which was when i was much younger, with a lovely teacher named Mrs. Ruldoph. I remember just loving all of the classes and assignments she would give, she was so lovely in fact, that she even sent me all of my class work by mail after I had moved away. But back to high-school, my tenth grade art class was pretty fun as well, it was one of the few times where I actually spoke to my fellow classmates, and where I ended up making a long lasting friendship with Astrid.

Once Astrid and I were well acquainted, we found out that our teacher was planning on starting an art club, a place where all of the students most interested in the class could get together and share pieces, tips, and even participate in a few contests. Astrid and the rest of my friend group got me join, and we found ourselves spending all of our lunch time in the art classroom; sharing stories, talking about bad teachers, and actually even drawing every once and a while. We soon all became some of our art teachers favorite students, always referring to us as her kids or her baby chicks.

The club evolved from year to year, in eleventh grade we actually started making stuff; murals for the schools bulletin boards, background scenery for plays or ceremonies, and just fun activities in between. And as the club got better, so did its students. I watched as everyone's art improved, as we all decided whether we would turn this hobby into our careers. By my senior year, the club had gotten so popular that we had to host auditions since there were so many students eager to join. I got to talk to some of the newer kids this year, and have found that they are all friendly, bright and talented people.

Some of my favorite school memories were made in that classroom, and as we all work on what seems to be our last project together, I can’t help but feel so grateful for the community that my art teacher has created. Just watching her help everyone out made me realize that I too want to create this kind of community in a school. It was clear that the connection that I had built with this environment was something I didn’t want to leave behind. I can’t wait to start my major in artistic education, so I can create that experience for other kids like me. 

Thanks to every friend I've made in my school's art club,  and an even greater thanks to the best teacher a student like me could ask for. ❤️

         I kind of let this blog die in record time, and for that I apologize. But if it counts as justification, within the time of my blog break, I have applied to the art school of my dreams, and received my acceptance email a few days ago! I don’t have too much to talk about but I feel like i let this good news slip through my fingers, it is such a big change in my life after all. It’s a beautiful school by the water, and there’s a cat rescue shelter just near by, so the area is full of cats, who could ask for more? Me apparently because even better news, my girlfriend entered the school as well! The school has an abnormally high acceptance rate, but im still so proud of us after all of the effort we put into our submission pieces. It sounds crazy that I get to attend such a beautiful school, take classes that actually interest me, with the person I love the most. Just imagining the train rides there through quiet mornings sound awesome. I am obviously aware that it won’t be easy, but I feel prepared to experience art in an educational setting. Now that all of this has passed, and finals are coming to an end very soon, expect more frequent, more nostalgic posts very soon if you’ve decided to still stick along. 

I love these little guys

 I have never considered myself a maternal person in the slightest. I think kids can have their moments, and my cat does enjoy a good cuddle session every once in a while, but i have yet to feel that motherly instinct of affection and the need to protect those smaller than me. 

Now when it comes to these tiny flocked animals with human clothes on, my heart sings a different song. Ever since I opened my first Sylvanian Families blind bag, Ive been utterly enraptured by these tiny creatures and their little beady eyes. I spend once every few weeks dusting and organizing their spot on my bookshelf, and one day I hope to have one of those house shaped shelves with the room dividers, to display each little family in their own decorated room. 

My first critter was from the Baking Babies blind bag series, found at the small section of goodies at the American Eagle checkout line. My eyes lit up when I saw the bag, immediately checking the back to see which one best suited my tastes. My wishes landed on either Scott, a kitten with a coffee cup on his head, or Henry, a bunny rabbit adorning a tea pot hat. I opened the bag as soon as I left the store, and jumped up and down in glee as i received little Henry. Though im still searching for Scott, my collection has grown quite a bit since then. I have a family of rabbits, run by a single father who loves cooking for his kids, I have the giraffe family set, gifted to me by my wife, a few miscellaneous blind box babies like the tree otter and the mushroom wolf from the forest series, a cupcake lamb, two black and white kittens, and of course the twins. Two matching kittens which i got back to back from two blind bags that my wife also bought me. They’re my favorites because they remind me of my son, Luca.

Collecting these critters has, in a way, helped me connect with my inner child, who loved bringing Sylvanian families to the school auditorium to role play with my friends. I ended up losing practically all of them, but that’s beside the point. Now I have the privilege of a display shelf for them all, but I still bring one in my purse every once in a while for good luck during the day. I wish that seven year old me could see the collection I’ve accomplished, all of the lego sets I’ve built, and all of the plushies I’ve accumulated, because I think she’d be pretty damn proud.

“You were days at the fair”

My first thought on that fateful Monday morning, returning to classes after a much needed winter break, was "take me back to the day I went to the fair". I had the time of my life that day, running around like a toddler, hopping on every ride back to back until my girlfriend was sick (of me). Rides that spun from super high up and looped all the way back down, being the first to shoot my arms up on a roller coaster, even getting all giddy and excited while waiting in line. The day ending with a giant hotdog and a few loops on the Ferris wheel topped off this five star experience. Going home that night and closing my eyes just to still feel that lingering movement from all the rollercoasters on my body's weight.

To slightly detract from the topic at hand, I spent a few years pining for my now girlfriend. Nights spent pages deep in my notes app writing all kinds of hopelessly romantic poetry. For example, this posts namesake:

First blog!

Do you know those really cliché essay themes on English class assignments? Stuff like “Should uniforms be allowed in schools? Explain your answer." or "What did you do over winter break?". I have always resented that kind of writing restriction, and always sighed as I rewrote the same arguments that I had been regurgitating since the third grade. Well, I never had an excuse to actually write about arguments or elements of my life that truly interested me. That's where an Instagram reel about the resurgence of blogging comes in. It all seems really fun, and definitely the kind of thing seven year old me saw myself doing in a far future. I always gave up on diaries and junk journals, so this might not last too long, yet as my last year of high-school comes to a quickly paced end, i find myself yearning to revive that lost love for essay writing (about the correct themes of course), and sharing digitally with a cute looking profile, while also looking through many other digital diaries sounds very nice.