10. Art school is different from regular school. All the kids I've met here so far are "chasing their dreams." I'm not excluding myself from that category, but it just feels a little off meeting people that announce they're going to be the next big director, singer, musician, fashion designer, or dancer after hearing nurse, physical therapist, or engineer for the last 7 or 8 years.
9. Art students don't consider a party a party without some form of alcoholic beverage, joint, or shot so they can see all the pretty colors. They say it's "inspiring" and it helps them cope with being "different." Someone please throw these people a real party with Cranium, water, and home-made cookies.
8. Chicago is a one-season city. The thing I miss most about living in the suburbs is the color. The trees planted here are set in cement, and the only green you see is at the park or along the sidewalk where the weeds have grown over. The leaves on the trees don't change color either. They just fall off.
7. Public transportation isn't all it's cracked up to be. Let's just say that some guy woke up on the L with another man cutting open his thigh with a knife. I walk... everywhere.
6. The kids at art school are a little more accepting than the general public. With all the unique cultures combined, no one really cares how many piercings you have, what color your hair is, if you draw on all your clothes with permanent markers, how many boyfriends/girlfriends you have at a single time, your sexual orientation and preference, or if you have your own vocabulary (well, that can get a little confusing, but the moment they understand one word, they're going to ask you to teach them the rest.)
5. Art school has their foot in pretty much every department of the world you can think of. For example, actor Sam Rockwell (Galaxy Quest, The Green Mile) came here several weeks ago to answer questions after screening his latest movie, Choke. I was fifteen feet from a famous actor. That's a new one.
4. Expectations cannot always be fulfilled. When I moved into my apartment with my three roommates, we had a leaky ceiling, stiff drawers that creak every time you open them, beds that creak louder than the drawers, ants, centipedes that were the size of my pinky finger with antennas twice as long, and almost complete solitude being that we were the only ones on the eighth floor, other than the dorm advisor. Let's just say I haven't made a lot of friends yet.
3. I'll say it loud and clear: I miss home. I miss my bed, my dogs, my family, privacy, my room, the grass, the smell (I feel like I'm breathing dirt here), the people in the hallways at school, MY FRIENDS, driving... the list goes on. Luckily, I'm close enough as where I can just take the train home if I really need to.
2. There are extreme levels of maturity/mental capacity here. One of my roommates, for instance, asked me how to heat up a microwave dinner, but she's had 47 "boyfriends" and there's a warrant out for her arrest in Texas. Another kid in one of my classes knows where to get any drink or drug on the planet. Another student has been able to answer all my questions about Calculus when the teacher couldn't, and this one kid has the most extensive vocabulary I've ever heard. Hopefully all the positive things will influence me the most.
1. There is no way to prepare for college. It's one of life's best curve-balls and I strike out every time I'm at bat. Every corner has something new to shove in front of me. I really wonder if I'm just completely naive about everything from living in a bubble for the first 17 years of my life. I think I've learned many of those things that can't be taught, they just have to be experienced, but I feel like I'm the only one that is going through the entire process. Anyway, I've accepted the fact that I'm new at this. Let's hope that it just goes uphill from here. : )
