Safe and Semi-Sound

The foretelling of my life here at RISD were harsh. Counselors, sophomores, janitors all relayed horrific tales of sleepless weeks spent drawing pretzels while hanging upside down a la Michelangelo and singing perfectly-pitched opera. I heeded the admonitions and expected nothing less than artistic boot camp.

But there was so much that they left out.

So I'm here. I've survived almost seven weeks of charcoal dust, Styrofoam lung, and rubber cement fumes. I haven't lost any fingers (yet)and the only injury I have endured in my classes is a rather terrific paper cut. I've gone seven weeks without pulling a single all-nighter. (Although I have a feeling that my current collective sleeping hours per week might terrify my mother.) And I am fairly certain that my sanity is still in tact (despite several overwhelming critiques).

No one warns you about the physical toll art school inflicts. No one warns you about the insane levels of competition fostered by everyone from the postal service attendant ("Checking your box twice in a single week? Must have a lot of free time...") to the cafeteria servers ("Only three cups of coffee today? Must have slept well last night.") No one warns you about the prevalence of paper thieves (@ $8 a sheet who can blame them?). No one warns you about the addicting high of making perfectly crafted cardboard cubes and tetrahedrons late into the night. No one warns you about the inescapability of sudden attacks of hilarious hysteria when you discover that you drew 45 crayfish instead of the required 30. No one warns you about the actual extent of absolutely jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, pant-wetting, hair-curling levels of talent that will surround you. No one warns you that these insanely gifted people might just become your best friends.

No one warns you about the dangers of falling head over heels in love with a school 2,545 miles from everyone and everything you've ever known. No one warns you about the side effects of acute-onset ecstasy.

So I decided to let you all in on the secret.

Can't say I didn't warn you.

Expect to see more updates in the future. I've decided I have enough free time *cue the hysterium* to blog a bit (or perhaps I just miss you all terribly).