From a young age, I have always been very into drawing and painting. I was constantly going to art classes and drawing in my free time. I always thought art school was the place for me, but I realized I didn’t have a specific career goal. I went to pre-college courses over the summer of my sophomore and junior years to get a better understanding of what I wanted to. When it came time to apply to college, I spent the entire first half of my senior year intensively working on my portfolio. I even wrote my entire college essay about how much I love art and how much I wanted to go to art school. My words started to feel pretty empty later on in the year due to the stress and pressure I went through creating my portfolio. I am an extreme perfectionist even without the pressure of an assignment or due date, but the combination of the two was too much for me. I realized art school would essentially be a long extension of the same experience that took the joy of art away from me. I wanted a more academic experience, and I realized doing graphic design at Newhouse would be an opportunity to use my art skills while also applying more intellectual critical thinking skills. As I learn more about graphic design, I realize how much it makes sense for me. I love the practicality of graphic design and the way it serves more of a purpose than just being aesthetically pleasing. Something I always struggled with in fine arts is discussing abstract concepts and giving convoluted meaning to things that didn’t necessarily have any. I realize now that the way I think and approach things meshes much better with the functionality and simplicity of design.
