art school

This is what I wrote in my journal shortly after I officially accepted the ministry position with IV. It's a natural thought, especially in our country and culture I think. I've spent three years and an unsavory amount of money on a fancy degree in science journalism with a minor in Latino studies. Do I feel like I am throwing all of that away by pursuing a job in a completely different field? Heck no!

Truthfully, I'd been mulling over this thought for a while, even before I was certain about my call to a year in ministry. Three years is a rather short amount of time to cram in a four-year degree and while I've managed the workload, it's been just that--a load. Working at a newspaper on top of studying journalism has also been amazing, I honestly love my job, but I've just been so entrenched in this world, this industry, that for a long time now I've known that I wanted to take a step back from it all when I graduate. I didn't even know what I wanted to do. Continue as a nanny? Go back to being a barista? Become a professional house wife and get paid to bake and clean and read?

I'm sure I'm not the first person in the world to reminisce about their time in college as they approach graduation. And I am just astounded at what I see when I make this list of all the things God brought to me during my time in school. I had no clue that following my little curiosity about this small school in a big city would produce any of these things!

The other thing I'm (still) learning about in art school is what exactly makes me "artsy." I have not honed any great skill in the fine arts, but I am confident in my creativity. I am enchanted at the thought of making things that didn't exist before. I believe humans were made in the image of a Divine Creator, so the joy of creating is in my genes.