More College updates.

Last week I visited Central Washington University.
It was interesting because I had a very clear impression of what it would be like. I imagined it would be something like my school now. But, while there were some similarities, it was mostly very different. Which was a good thing.

General Information:
CWU is in Ellensburg Wa. Small town but it has some character from what I can tell. It's a public state school on the small side of medium sized. :D I was pleased to find a school in my home state that was not Eastern, and had the things I was looking for. All three interest areas seemed really strong.

Important stuff:

Music: The music building most be fairly new. It's all... shiny... Seems like a pretty nice building and it was full of people every time we went in. The faculty was very nice. However, I didn't actually get to meet the people who would be important to me. The voice teacher was sick and the composition program director was invisible or something. We couldn't find her. So that was a bit frustrating. My audition went well. The program seems to be a good balance for me. It's solid but not too intense. The composition program takes two years despite the two year degree I will have by the time I get there. That's okay with me.

Art: We had a sort of mixed experience with the art department. The secretary, who didn't know much about anything really, gave us a tour. The building was totally deserted. We were assured that there were usually people around. We talked to the head of the department about the programs later. She didn't give us a stream of impressive selling points and details like the teacher at Adams State did but she was equally excited about the program. They have a good variety of things to offer. They have a really great jewelry studio it seems, and a wood design program. Good stuff. She was all for me designing my own major since I have too many interests. I've always been very uncertain about that idea. More on that later.

English: They have a very intensive writing program that looks very impressive. One of the things I really like about it is that it takes students through the whole writing process from drafting to publishing. There are required classes on prepareing a manuscript for publishing etc. Lots of opportunities. The director of that program met with me and let me sit in on her class. I liked the class and she seemed like a good teacher. On a side note, why are all creative writing teachers poets? I guess it's supposed to be harder to publish fiction than poetry. And they all act like fiction is this dark, dangerous world. It's just too complicated. And of course I have very little interest in poetry. I want to write fiction. I'm sure the fiction teachers exist, but I seem to have a talent for not meeting them. Anyway. The English department is in this amazing building. It's an odd sort of shape when you are inside it but it sure looks cool on the outside.

Campus Ministry:
The draw back of the self guided campus visit is that you don't have someone to ask about things like this. Dad said he saw signs of a strong Catholic ministry on campus. They have daily mass and rosary once a week or something like that. That would be pretty awesome. I found their website recently and that was kind of funny. I get the impression that they are just getting off the ground. The front page said "You are not alone!" in bold letters across it. They're a real underground movement I guess. That's alright. Just as long as I can get the sacraments often and have some Catholic friends, I'm good.

Other noteworthy factors.
I unexpectedly ran into Ben, a friend of mine from CYT, who would be in my class. So that's kind of nice. I'm excited to make new friends next year but it would be really nice to have an old friend around.

• Student life: I really don't know much about this. The student body seemed similar to the one I am in now but with less druggies and dropouts. That's to be expected but it's kind of nice. I didn't get the same "extension of high school" feeling that I got at Adams State.
• The campus is really nice and pretty. Lots of rd brick with a healthy does of more modern looking buildings. They manage to look new and not ugly but elegant, which is impressive.
• The Library was pretty cool. It seemed extensive and, because there were so many different rooms and floors for different purposes, it was really quiet in the study aria and stacks. They have a whole mini library for music. The music librarian was a selling point in himself. He was the sort of person who is a campus legend.
• The Theater was where we ran into Ben and he told us a bit about it. Sounds like a strong program that might even talk to the other departments (music, English) despite being on the other side of campus. It's a nice old building. One of those theaters that might have a ghost. It looks like a government building or a church. Kind of Greek temple-ish. The show line up for this year had a good variety of classics (Two Gentlemen of Verona, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) and shiny new stuff. I really hope I'll have time to dip my toes in there once in a while.

That kind of brings me back to the student designed degree that the art teacher brought up. I would have the freedom to take some theater classes if I wanted to. This system works best for someone who has a specific goal in mind and none of the conventional majors offer proper preparation for that goal. Someone doing art related writing can tailor the art and English majors to get what they need. Seems like the story of my life in too many ways. I have a pathetic desire to fit into a box for once in my life. Just declare a major that is established and handed too me with all the classes dictated. The draw back of this is, of course, that I want three of them. And I Do Not fit into the overachiever box. I swear I don't. I just want to study all the interesting things in the world. So if I were to do this I would have to make some decisions about what exactly I want to study. I would have to present a capstone project that demonstrated why I'm not crazy and these things can go together and make something in some way justifiable. So... I could write a story... and set it too music... and make it into an art exhibit... Lots of possibilities. It would be perfect if I already knew exactly what I wanted to do with all these creative processes. But I'm never that practical. So it would be a little scary. I know that I really want to have a solid, well rounded education in art and writing. Music is sliding in my priority list of late. This may be a passing mood related to my dislike of my voice teacher though. I have so much music in my life already. I know there is a lot I have yet to learn but right now I just want the ability to get started in composition as a hobby. I will always sing but I don't think I could make it my life, even for three years.

Overall: I felt more at home here than Colorado. But I feel like I got an incomplete view since I don't know what campus life is really like. I think this decisions is going to come down to what I decide to study. If I decide to go the designer way, I will end up here. If I end up determined to double major, I will head for Adams State. And of course, there is still my long shot, Linfield in Oregon. I don't know what that will be like. It seems unlikely because I don't really want to have giant dept when I get out, but it will be interesting to have the comparison.

And one more...

Finished this just after school got out. That's what Christmas Break is for. I can't find the other piece I finished. I think my mother stole it and but it somewhere for safe keeping. :P

Precious is LOST

Missing: One Rubbermaid water bottle.
Last seen: Last Sunday of the school year, May 2008, In the Jesuit House Chapel under the pew to the right of the alter.
Description: Teal. About 9 inches tall with a funny bend near the top. Screw-on lid with pop spout. Wearing two rubber arm bands. One white band printed with "life is precious" and one purple band bearing a butterfly logo and the words "Someone you know has Lupus." (see drawing)
If Found: Contact ZitaLouise at http://splatness.blogspot.com. Water bottle was Zita's constant companion for four happy years and she misses it.

Found my sketch book.

Last fall (as some of you may remember) I took my very first ever art class. As soon as the quarter was over we switched bedrooms and a bunch of my stuff didn't fit in the bedroom I moved to so we boxed it up and put it in the basement where it was quickly buried with the dinosaurs. When we brought our Christmas decorations our from under the stairs we uncovered several other boxes that we haven't seen in a long time.My sketchbook was in one of those boxes so I rescued it today.
It will have to go back soon, as there is still no room for it in my bedroom, but not before I scan and post some of the pictures.

Here are a few more hands. My favorites from this assignment.
Clara posed for the glass one. I did the line drawing and then did it again in charcoal which was really fun.




David and his toy "Yellow Man" who looks mostly grey.


My poor neglected violin.


And Maleny eating some soup.

That was fun. I'll probably post a few other things.
Update on schools: Adam's State offers an art scholarship for which I would have to send in some examples of work. I want to go for whatever I can, of course, but I'm not sure what I should send in. I think the charcoal wine glass would be nice. But I really have no idea what I'm doing with that sort of thing. I'm going to talk to my art teacher when it starts getting closer to the deadline.

Thoughts on various topics in a writing lab

I am sitting in a small room (about eight by ten feet) in the corner of the library.

I am a mighty guru to whom a poor, struggling English student can come for advice.

If you read this blog and note how often I make typos, spelling and grammar errors you will see how ironic this situation is.

My English 101 professor recommended me to the peer services department for their peer tutoring program. Every day for about three hours I sit in this room and remind people to add commas, focus thesis statements, and avoid phrases like "that aint good". I was a bit nervous starting out but I"m beginning to like it. I've met some interesting people, read some really interesting papers and learned a lot about communication and the way I understand the English language.

The most common problems students come to us with have something to do with grammar. We get a lot of foreign students. We were told at training to ask leading questions and avoid giving someone the answer outright. This is very difficult when English is the student's second language. They come in with lots of sentences that are missing articles or have too many prepositions. Sometimes when I'm looking over them I realize that they way they have written a given sentence actually makes more sense by the standard rules of grammar, but it's still wrong. This is English. Sometimes there is no logic whatever behind the way it works so you just have to take my word for it. Why does it seem okay to begin a sentence with the word "However" but not the word "Yet"? They are both conjunctions, aren't they? There are a lot of grammar rules I know by gut and it's taken me a while to figure out how to tell a student what's wrong. I'm learning quite a bit about grammar while correcting other people's writing.
My favorite question so far came in my second week. It was a pretty slow day. I was doing my homework. This boy comes running in. He says "Are you an English tutor?" I'm sitting in a room that says "English Peer Tutoring" on the door. I'm wearing a name tag that says "Writing-Karen" on it (I love that name tag). They always ask, just in case I'm some kind of impostor.
Yes, I am a writing tutor.
"So, you are, like, an expert on English."
Well... I'm here to help.
"Can you look at JUST the FIRST line of this paper?"
Just the first line. Okay.

Dreams... dreams... dreams..., yes, it all starts with dreams.

I'm actually dieing to read the rest of the paper now but I look up and wait for his specific question.
"Do I need the comma at the end of the third 'dreams'?"
I don't think you need both the comma and the ellipses. Go with one or the other, but not both.
He looks very seriously and at his feet for a moment then nods grimly. "That's what you would recommend?"
Yes.
"Okay"
He leaves and I take a deep breath. About five minutes later he comes running back.
"Do I need the comma after 'yes'?"
Yes.

We are supposed to focus primarily on content in a paper. That is my favorite part. I love to see the person sitting across from me and take a little tour of the inside of their head via their writing. There was a very polite young man with a very soft voice who came in to have me read his paper on media bias. He was concerned that his own opinion came through too much thereby undermining the his goal of being unbiased while talking about how biased the new service is. I told him that some of his language was a little strong. He was considering taking out the word "bigots" in his description of Fox News. When we were done he shook my hand thanked me very prettily and walked out saying that he would visit again. I had to smile. He had a very foul phrase tattooed prominently on his neck. One has to wonder about things like that.
I have also read about oral traditions in South Korea, pop culture in a small town in rural China, the comparison between my home town and Tokyo, several papers of varrying quality on why I should vote for Obama (the best ones were by foreign students who cannot vote), and how to bake a three layer coconut frosted cake.

All the diversity that comes through my door, I have been doing some reflecting on the image I present to people by the way I dress and speak etc. Of course, we all make assumptions about a person based on their appearance etc. We try not to but it's only natural; our brains like to put things in groups and classify them. It has been interesting for me to learn bit by bit what sort of assumptions people make about me. Some of them are absolutely right on. Some are sadly mistaken. It's great fun.

I have noticed that people feel the need to apologize to me when they swear in my presence. While it is true that I don't swear (very often), I don't verbally object when other people do it. It bothers me but I actually make an effort not to let it show. After a longer acquaintance the foul language begins to creep in again without apology. I think it's funny that people can tell I don't like it so quickly after making my acquaintance.

I have also concluded that I give the impression of being somewhat stuck up, aloof and unreachable. I hope people are wrong about me in that way. It must be the curse of being an introvert. I wonder if reserve and shyness are often mistaken for snobbery. In my ceramics class this summer I was complimented on something I was making by a student who didn't usually sit near me. I was quite surprised and flattered because she was one of the better students and so I was slow to answer. I have an extraordinary lack of words when I am complimented. It takes a very long time for me to remember how to say "Thank you." My classmate didn't wait very long she muttered something in embarrassment and walked away. That confused me even more. I finally decided she must have thought I was so stuck up I couldn't receive compliments from people "below" me or something. She didn't talk to me and made painful efforts to stay out of my way for the rest of the quarter. What a mess!

I realize that I am an open book about somethings. Everyone can tell when I dislike the content of a conversation just by my face. I am correctly pegged as a conservative fairly quickly. I don't mind. I don't even mind being pegged as a very religious person. That is also true and I'm not ashamed of it. What bothers me is all the assumptions that come with those labels. People tend to think they have me summed up at that point. That's annoying. I was recently pegged as the "smart girl" in my math class. That was rather shocking. Not sure whether I should shatter that illusion or not.

I guess all this means that I need to work on being explicitly compassionate and interested in people. One more step in conquering my introverted, non confrontational nature. This is where the theater background really helps. The challenge is to be myself and not an artificial character learned in acting class. I have to put my real character a little closer to the surface. Not an easy task for someone as reserved as I am. At least not in person.

College Search

Boring updates on Karen's academic career and prospects.

I have narrowed my list to three school I will apply to for fall 2009.

The Short List:

• Adams State College, Alamosa, Colorado.
• Central Washington University, Elensburg Washington
• Lindfield College

All three offer majors in music composition, art and creative writing.

Adams State
Last week I got to visit Adams State. While it is all fresh in my mind (sort of, the fifteen hour drive home was not the best thing for keeping impressions fresh.) I want to write down the pros and cons and various things that will be important to my decision.

General Information: Alamosa is a very small town in southern Colorado. Adams State is very small public school. I had it on my list because the art department looked amazing on the web site. The music and english departments were passable also but the art department really stuck out.

Important stuff:

• Music: I was not overly impressed with the music department. There are not a lot of vocal ensembles, which is the drawback of a small school I guess. I have been kind of spoiled by the schola. The vocal faculty was very nice as was the theory teacher. They all showed an interest in me and were very excited and welcoming. Especially the theory professor. He was very excited about his composition program. It sounded pretty intensive because of all the personal attention a small school offers.
• Art: The art department was AMAZING!! They do everything! There is almost no limit to what one can play with. They have plenty of room for everything they do and encourage kids to explore as many different media as possible. Really awesome. The faculty I met were very friendly. I just met the painting teacher and the ceramics teacher. The painting teacher who gave us the tour must have known the names of every student in the building. So that was kind of nice.
• English: I didn't get to see the English department or talk to any one. I have e-mailed the head of the department but have had no reply. They offer a creative writing major and a student built English minor. I think I would be doing the minor.
• Campus Ministry: The Catholic students on campus meet Sunday nights for mass and dinner afterwards. Priests from all over the area take turns saying mass for them. It sounded like a small but happy little group.

Other noteworthy aspects:

• Student life: Adams State is not a party school. It's a dry campus and it sounded like no one minded much. The art department was telling us that they really do spend their weekends working in the studio not in a bar. I heard similar things from other kids. This school plays outside. Our student tour guide asked me what I liked to do. I said I liked the arts. He was looking for what sport I played. Rock climbing and biking and skiing are big it seems. Their recreation hall included a dance floor and a basketball hoop and a climbing wall as well as a ton of exercise equipment. Sports and outdoor activity is king at Adams State.
• Library: Not impressive. I don't think the students like it much there. They were plugging the coffee cart they were planning to put in. No one was excited about it and the only thing our tour guide could tell us was that there were a few laptops that you an check out.
• Campus: A lot of the buildings were really old and dirty. They said some of them were getting replaced and updated.
• Theater: The theater department looked pretty cool. I got the impression that they didn't do musicals very often, which is understandable, but that the drama department was lively and growing.

Over all: It's hard to put an over all impression into words. There was no feeling of "This is where I belong" when I was on campus. It was more like "If this is what it takes to get into that ceramics studio I guess I could adapt."

Marches

I've been listening to the Lord of the Rings sound tracks lately. The music is one thing I don't complain about when it comes to the LotR movies. Howard Shore did a good job. I haven't listened to them in a really long time though. I like Return of the King best. I liked it so much it almost made me want to watch the movie. Almost.
This time I noticed that there are a lot of marches in those sound tracks. I used to think of marches as those happy, grand pieces of music that one hears at parades. None of the Lord of the Rings marches are like that. What a wide variety of moods a march can have. I knew that all along but I've just never really thought about it. I had one stuck in my head and with it went a few little bits of script from the Two Towers.
Theoden saying

"If this is to be our end, I would have us make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance."

Or something like that.
I think the march is actually from The Return of the King (Pelennor Fields I think but I can't find a good recording of the bit I'm thinking of) but it brings those lines to mind because Howard Shore did an amazing job of putting that sentiment into his music. Whoever is marching to that music knows they will probably not come back but they go on with as much honor and spirit as they can muster.
That's why I want to study music composition in college.