Wednesday, May 11, 2011

First Semester Almost Done

I have to laugh when I read my last post wondering "Is it Spring Break Yet?" as I spent at least 20 hours over spring break working on homework.  That was the ONLY reason I was thankful we weren't going anywhere.

So here it is, the end of the semester, and I actually stuck it out and continued to love it.  What an incredible blessing this going back to school has been.  I am so very impressed with the quality of education I received and I look forward to my future classes I have signed up for (well, not really looking forward to the building codes class I'm getting out of the way over the summer) - Codes, Problem Solving and Materials and Sources.  Problem Solving sounds so cool - from what I've gathered, we get put into different groups for 4 different projects and are given a scenario to solve with the group.  We'll obviously be not only learning how to solve our fictitious customer's problem, but also learning how to deal with the different personalities of our teammates.  What a great idea for a class!

I also really have grown fond of all of my classmates in both classes and have had fun learning about the different cultures and lives of the immigrant students too.  I really grew to like Yina and Luiza - Yina from Bejing and Luiza from Russia.  I am hopeful that all of our paths will continue to cross as we all work our ways through our degrees.

So, regarding the classes I'm finishing up this week, in Studio One, it as so neat how, with each week's learning and homework, we worked our way up to being able to present design boards on a project we worked on.  We were given a picture of a person who was to become our client.  We had to develop a story about who they were and what they wanted designed and build off of that by picking out furniture pieces and artwork that suited who we made them out to be.  We then had to incorporate that furniture into a first floor, floor plan and then draw elevations of three of the rooms from the floor plan.  So, the gal who seriously cannot draw even stick figures well, actually did learn how to draw floor plans and elevations with the help of tricks of the trade.  It was really challenging, but so interesting and I can actually say, fun.
Elevation of my client's bedroom
For Elements of Interior Design, we continued to learn about the different elements and principles of design and I really can't believe how much we learned in that class.  And, so much of it involves psychology and how our eyes and brains perceive different things, that this is right up my alley - I wanted to be a psychologist when I was young.  One of my favorite projects we worked on was a color project where we combined different colors of paint to create a neutral and then worked back out to it's compliment on the other side of the color wheel.  We then had to pick fabric and a stain color that coordinated with the neutral color we created.  I just really appreciated how we weren't just lectured at, but how we learned a particular idea and then had to do an exercise about it, which really helped to get it ingrained in my brain (I need all of the help I can get!).
Our neutral paint project
So to my teachers, I say a HUGE thank you - you both did an amazing job.  To my classmates - really enjoyed you all and YAY! One semester down.  And to Harper College - I really appreciate the quality education you provide.  And to my readers, if you're thinking about going back to school - DO IT!  If you are thinking, "I don't have the time or money", neither do I, but I found the time and through financial aid, etc., I also found the money.

Thanks for taking this adventure with me.  I'll be blogging about whatever life brings from here on out, some of which will include school, so I hope you'll continue to stay connected.

Enjoy your summer, everyone!!!  Woohoo, it's finally here!