stompingthroughthetulips:

This entry is long overdue, but something inside of me wasn’t able to write this entry. Being here in Amsterdam has made me question everything I do, say, and think. I think it would be accurate in saying that I have been doing a lot of inner exploring and self-evaluation while I have been here so far. I have recently in the past few months revisited an old hobby of mine. I stopped drawing and painting after my senior year, there was something inside me that just couldn’t do it anymore. I slowly started moving into painting but there was still something holding me back from picking up my old sketch pad. On my first day of my studio class at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, we had to go around and state our artistic history and what our background of classes was. I was nervous to state that I was indeed a fine arts major at one point (although, not very long) due to the fact that I didn’t want the expectation of what I would produce to be higher than the rest of the class. So, naturally I began stating everything I used to hate about drawing. How monotonous and emotionless my work became, how something changed inside of me and drawing became a chore. I guess I would say that I stopped drawing, when I stopped having assignments to draw. I used to beg and plead with my drawing teacher to let me ‘“do what I wanted” or to draw something more personal and that I could relate to, but when the time came my mind was suddenly blank. As if I couldn’t think or imagine one item or scene that I felt strongly enough about to care to draw. - It was at this point that I realized I couldn’t be a fine arts major, I destroyed my hobby. 

With that said, when I began my process of applying for classes here in Amsterdam I saw that I would have the opportunity to take a beginners course in ‘Art’. We would cover many aspect and experiment in many mediums. After I decided I would take on this challenge of going back to the fine arts, I found myself questioning if I made the right decision. - Was I really able to overcome my inner challenge and pick up a pencil? And do I really want to do it during my short stay in the Netherlands? The answer to this is obviously: yes, yes I do. As I read more and more about Amsterdam and the culture and environment I couldn’t think of a better place to revisit my past and begin again. Amsterdam is filled with museums and galleries and thrives off the people and tourists who come and visit the abundance of master collections. I began to realize that the list of museums I ‘needed’ to visit began to outnumber any other list I had made prior to my arrival.

I am loving my time here and I try to go to at least one museum or gallery a week. There and so many and I know that even with this goal, I will still never be able to go to all of them. -I’ve also been to some twice! Most times I find that my experiences each time are complexly different.

diggin’ this new album =]

A year ago I said goodbye. But until we cross paths again, I’ll keep my chin up.

Great organization, great people, great music, great singers, great videos, great fun!

EVERYTHING IS SO GREAT!

Check out The Voice Project

I LOVE TYPE!

#typenerd