flying the coop, bit by bit

Tomorrow, I start my final semester at NBCCD. **sniffle**

I thoroughly enjoyed my break. I photographed, stayed up late, slept in, danced (including celebrating twenty years of dancing), got high on music (who needs illegal drugs when music and other art will do just fine, and maybe even better?), hung out with my parents, cooked, cuddled the cats, watched movies, listened to opera, wrote, took an online typing course (I'm good--when I started the course, I could type forty-five words per minute, and I've improved by ten WPM--but I never finished my first typing course, and as a result I'm almost completely self-taught), finally put some photos up on my 500px account, read, and stayed up late and slept in some more.

Christmas was a bit weird in that after we opened presents, I spent the rest of the day wondering what to do next. I usually spend the day enjoying my presents, but this time I didn't know what to do (though Tom and I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, which he gave me).

Last night, my parents and I had what Tom called a "life perspective" talk. I have to admit that, although I'm a good person (I'm well-behaved most of the time, I try my darnedest to obey the law, I do my chores--most of the time--and I try to treat everyone the way I would like to be treated: with kindness and respect), every time my parents say that they want to talk with me, I assume the worst: have I done or said something that I shouldn't have?

Basically, as of last night my parents have officially begun to cut me loose and to remove those training wheels. Which in a way feels great, but at the same time it's a bit scary. You mean I now have to go after things myself?? **gulp** However, I've known for years that it would happen some day. And I'm actually ahead on at least one of the things that they mentioned: as of September sixth, 2011, I've started to try to figure out what I'd like to do as a career. I know that I want to do something in photography, but what, exactly? What do I want to do within the world of the medium known as photography?

They also talked about how far I've come: prior to starting at NBCCD, I'd never finished anything in my life, and, frankly, my parents were more than a little concerned--and for good reason. Actually (and this is from me), I had finished stuff: I knew when choreography that I was working on was where I wanted it. However, I never consider a dance completely finished: I may come back later and tweak it a bit. So does that exclude it from the "finished" category? Hmm...

I remember Christmas Break of my FVA year: I didn't want to go back. But my parents basically shoved me out the door with a "you're finishing this, kid. You're graduating with your certificate in Foundation Visual Arts" attitude. And I'm incredibly glad they did.

Thing is, until FVA, I didn't really take education seriously. I think that's one of the reasons why I didn't finish academic stuff--and why I procrastinated on my school work (Mom had to ground me once when I didn't finish a report on the RCMP--even then, it was weeks before I finished the darn thing).

When I got to NBCCD, all of a sudden I had to finish my projects--otherwise, I wouldn't get into Photo. Yikes. And I had to keep my GPA at 2.0 or higher. As it was, I graduated FVA with a 2.43 GPA. And I had to worry about grades.

Somehow, I managed to survive. And here I was, on the eve of my final semester at a school that I love dearly, being told, "you're thisclose from graduating from college, and it's time that you started pursuing what you want yourself (e.g., scholarships). You are the one who has to look for job openings, scholarships that you can apply for, etc."

So, with that in mind, here's to the next semester and whatever it brings. And I want to publicly thank my parents and my college: thanks for putting up with me, for teaching me, for supporting me. I am proud to know you (parents)/be affiliated with you (NBCCD). And to get this semester off to a wonderful start, I thought I'd pick out some festive music. This is the overture from Die Fledermaus (The Bat), by Johann Strauss, Jr., which the Met Opera broadcast on New Years' Eve day (an archive performance from January twentieth, 1951, which was sung and spoken in English, rather than the original German). There's a reason why I hummed along in the shower--and I never sing in the shower!