Friendships

I made friendships and formed relationships in my school that I could have never imagined. I was a very shy person so I didn't think I would easily fit the college student mold. I was also very focused on what I was there for and knew I wouldn't have time to go out a lot.

It also didn't help that before starting school I had heard horror stories of how the students in such schools of design were extremely competitive, to the point where they were destructive toward one another. Students' work and materials had to be hidden and locked away to prevent being ruined or stolen. There you were in competition to be the best among your peers; here it's more like you're competing with yourself to do as well as you possibly can.

It was a pleasant surprise to make friends so quickly when I expected to be competing with them instead. Such camaraderie paid off, especially when it came time for exams. For many of our exams, groups of about six of us would get together to share notes, make study guides, or walk each other through problems.

I hadn't known the kind of camaraderie and bonding I would get from going through such stressful times together. We were confronted with tasks that were more demanding and arduous than any of us could have imagined. In our situation, it made people very helpful toward each another. Over and over, I found that classmates' opinions gave me a new and fresh outlook on what I was doing.

As working methods in our discipline shift from hand to computer methods, many students have discovered that they can accomplish a good amount of their work on the computer at home. Although convenient, it is not necessarily a good thing. The collective culture suffers when there is less interaction among students. Even if your roommate is in the same program, it's hard to enjoy your work and stay motivated into the middle of the night when most people work at home.

Our class takes up most of our day so we spend copious amounts of time together and often work late into the night as well. A lot of goofy things can happen at those times when we are tired and punchy. All of a sudden, it will be 2 am, and a group of kids will decide to take a break and go on a fun outing. Some of us climb around on the roofs of different buildings. We call ourselves the NightClimbers. We play dumb punchy games with things that happen to be around our working space. Sometimes we even have late night dance parties as we work!

I know that people in our program stay in contact with each other long after they've finished here. Now, when I think about it, I can easily see why. I know that with some people it will happen, but right now I can’t imagine not keeping up with many of the people I’ve gotten to know here. In just a brief time, they have become my best friends.