High school seniors see college as the stage of freedom. Well, college, is indeed, the stage where you make critical life choices. Whatever your actions are, you are solely responsible for it. For people who have been into strict high schools, for them, college can be an ecstasy, especially for those who are going to dorm or live independently. Loads of vices surround you and it's up to you whether or not you wish to give in or resist it. And for architecture students, with all the stress and work load, budgeting your time for some fun is quite hard, depending on how you work with your task. As for some people, they tend to seize the time they have right now and cram everything the day before, while there are others who do it ahead of time and party after. Both MIGHT end in the same result, with you passing the cut-off (if ever the college/degree/program you got into has one) but the stress level between the two are totally different. And as freshmen college architecture students, you are eager to get high grades and do well on everything on all of your first tries. But that doesn't apply in architecture, at one point in this stage, you will learn something you really know nothing about. That's what I'm here to do now, to give you, somewhat, like an overview of how my first year in this course went. Like a post journal entry in one big blog post.
Anywho, for the sake of sharing, I promised myself that if ever I passed the cut-off, which we all thought was 2.25 and ended up becoming 2.109, I'll post the plates that I failed miserably.
This is not dependent on the grades I got since grades are really up to the professor that will be assigned to you. Some time in your life, even though you really enjoy what you're doing, there will come a point where you'll just run out of all the eagerness to work. One of my summer sem professors told our block about it. I actually disliked him to an extent because he really does have a way of discouraging people. He confessed to us that he really does things like that to sort out the people who are really interested, those who really desire to be an architect, and those who are not. It's a lot to take as a newbie in the profession.
Moving on with the topic, personally, I know nothing of what lies ahead of me. The only thing I know about being an architect is designing awesome houses and being stylish every time. And boy, was I wrong.
DRAFTING
To start off, I have AN experience with drafting. I've had lessons about the basics when I was in my fourth year in high school. But it wasn't enough to help me get the grades I wanted. I felt low and my self-esteem went down the drain. But the fun thing about being a freshmen is that, everyone new with things, you're not alone, you're not the only one learning, failing, making mistakes. And as time goes by, as each plate pass, you'll begin to learn, get the hang of things.
Every time you finish a plate, you get a level higher. Every time you ask for help, or ask your block mate to teach you something, you gain a level until you reach the point where you're good with it. To the point where you're the one helping others get better with it. Drafting is a skill you'll learn. Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't get it good on your first few tries.
RENDERING: VISUAL TECHNIQUES
The thing about Architecture is that this isn't what your heart desires 100% of the time, it's a medium for something else that you want to do. As for me, I wanted to change the world, I wanted to change my perception of myself, and I wanted to be great. Honestly, Architecture wasn't even on my NCAE results but as someone who sees art as a medium of expression, I took this path. Stumbling on your way through Architecture school isn't a new thing and you should not worry about it that much. Learn and grow as you go. You are working your way to become a professional. Embrace your mistakes and learn from them.
I've drafted this post 3 or 4 years ago. Now that I'm graduating and thinking back to all the things I went through, going through all those shifting thoughts went away as I realized my reason of being here. As I've said to myself repeatedly for the past 4 years, "If you're not failing, then you deserve to be here (in Architecture)". I've waited and waited for myself to fail just one subject, I've even considered where to transfer or shift to if ever I had to. But the time never came and I realized that I have a purpose here. After defending my thesis, I realized what I could do as an individual with this degree - to change the world as an architect. I realized that I could still do the things I love and fight for what I believe in as an architect. I don't have to be many things at once but I could be one thing doing different things.
So if ever you're in doubt, remember why you took up Architecture. Remember what you felt weeks, days before your first day in college. Remember why you're there. Don't worry much about what you're going to do next but never forget why you're in that place.
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