RKYV Column #2 - Artistic Relationships

This is an older column being reposted; stay tuned for the caught up version.

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Column 2 - Creation In Our World: Artistic Relationships

My deadline came up almost too soon for me to even begin working on this month’s feature; I’ve spent the past two days of sparse free time writing it. If the readers will be patient and read about my lifestyle, they will soon find that it has a significant meaning and purpose. Be patient, and enjoy the story being told.

I spent all of August packing and planning. I am a volunteer at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, and out of tradition I camp on its grounds once a year during the Washington County Fair. Though always incredibly fun, as preserving old trolleys with people bordering the line of sanity always is, this took away a full eight days of my life at home.

At the same time, I had been asked to help plan a friend’s party while he was out of town. This meant the stress of getting RSVPs and an affirmative head count for the mother. Yet another friend asked me to pick her up from the airport and flew in for the party as a surprise guest; she is doing badly financially and I ended up paying her $100 to help with her ticket. As a college student, this is an amount incredibly hard to give to anyone, good friend or not.

And throughout all of this, we must add the joys of worrying about college. I fretted about textbooks that I ordered online through Amazon and the competitive eBay; this stress was well worth it. Five books costs me about $80 or so total with shipping. Two textbooks on campus, at the cheap store, were $220. I don’t even have one class’s books yet, unfortunately.

I didn’t pack my suitcases and boxes until the day before I left my house; and even though I live extremely close to campus, my house is not a friendly environment. I was very excited to be gone. I went home briefly yesterday because I was under the impression people wanted to see me; and in seconds I wanted to leave that grumpy household and go Home. To my dorm, where I had already settled throughout the chaos of move-in.

The arrival on the University of Pittsburgh campus brought on a vast number of things to do. Other than walking up and down the streets seeing what shops take our various forms of money, and making friends with our dorm neighbors (no room mate for me, and no complaints thus far!), hours upon hours have been spent in mandatory programs. Most have had their highlights and otherwise were incredibly boring, which gave me time to think about writing.

But of course, after I would go to my dorm with the intentions of looking over some things I haven’t in a long time, the computer would call. I don’t even mean the seducing that Youtube can pull off, although I did satisfy my “The X-Files” lust while waiting for the other things I had to do. The campus gave us multiple CDs for software and network configuration. The software has been a hassle, and I have yet to finish upgrading. I haven’t wanted to work on it.

So when I needed a break, I could walk down to the streets and explore the vendors that have been out and about. I have a magnificent artwork copy in my room, titled "Entre Les Trous De La Memoire" by Dominique Appia. It’s taped to the wall above the bed with beautiful sheets that I can’t help but stare at in joy, especially because it is just so overwhelmingly comfortable at night. Out of my window is a view of the street and one of the chapels where I could go to church if I desired.

You can see how this list has gone on and on. I haven’t even mentioned the multiple clubs I was interested in; even though many were eliminated because of the dedication my new job on the campus newspaper requires, I know right now I will never make all of the meetings for any of those clubs. And believe it or not, there was a point to this two-page story in the form of a list. I have thought of many other column ideas during the last two days, and wrote every one of them down to prevent forgetfulness (as I recommended last time, if you remember), but those are for the future alone. I have one main point to make in this one.

Art is like a relationship. And when you can’t hold its hand in public any longer, it’s time to think things over.

I heard this comparison made to something else, probably our studies or one of the multiple organizations, during one of my numerous required programs, and I immediately connected it back to crafting of all forms. As anyone could tell by this long list of joys and stress on and off campus, during the last two days I have been unbelievably distracted. Some of those have been for reasons I couldn’t help (the mandatory programs and the computer set-up, since I need the laptop for class).

But the time I have spent chatting with my new friends, though useful and extremely important during these first few weeks, did not have to be as extensive as I allowed it to be. Youtube, obviously, has probably not helped, even though I have spent minimal time on it.

I make many, many excuses for why I haven’t been writing more than a couple minutes a day. For example, when writing the outline for this, I could have stopped when one of my posters peeled off of the wall. But let’s face it; it doesn’t change the fact that I have not made any progress on a single project until now. Even my job interview works for the Pitt News had been forced during my free moments. Luckily I was able to smooth them out.

My relationship with my writing is not the best that it has ever been. We once could have strolled anywhere holding hands and brainstorming together. Now, Writing is sitting in the corner of my desk, neglected other than the occasional glance over to remind myself what is there. And I have already entered the excuse phase for why this is so, claiming that it’ll work its way back on track without assistance.

I have no intention of letting this phase go on for much longer. I will find time to write; I have written down on my calendar when I should give myself time to do it, for as little as fifteen minutes until I am more comfortable with my schedule as a whole.

Life is never that easy, as we all know. It will take some considerable discipline to get work done at first, even during as little as fifteen minutes, until I find a comfortable routine that satisfies all of my desires for this college experience.

Be sure, my readers and artists, to discipline yourselves. This crazy time where people in families or you yourself begin to go back to school is wonderful, as it should be; it is also potentially devastating if you never get back on track.

Find that routine, ease into it (even use the list I gave out last month), and hopefully you’ll be able to make enough progress to be content with all aspects of your life.