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First Day of Fostering Creativity in Business Class
I was nervous and not quite sure what to expect, especially since the class didn't have a syllabus! I remember really struggling with the first few meditations- I almost got the church giggles a few times. -
First Meditation
Livejournal quote: I tried to give myself permission to just let my mind come back. I find it really challenging to just focus on my breath- I've done guided meditations (I love the color meditation) which obviously gives you visuals to focus on. I'm a very visual person, so just having the breath is difficult. My usual response to a challenge is to try to overcome it- I have a feeling an aggressive approach won't work here. So I'm looking forward to trying again tomorrow, and working on accept -
Second Class: Yoga
I love doing yoga, especially how I feel after. I've done hot yoga before, but never cold yoga! I still really enjoyed it. -
Jounral Entry: Meditation and Surrender
Livejournal quote: I did meditate both Thursday and today, after I got home from attending a Philanthropy conference on campus. Yesterday wasn't that great- I had an awkward interaction with a leader in the sector I admire, and I was dealing with feelings of embarrassment, which is about the worst feeling in the world to me. I dwell on embarrassing moments, and I even have a hard time watching fictional characters embarrass themselves in movies or TV shows. It kind of ties to surrender- I'm clea -
Surrender: Trapeze Class
Livejournal quote on trapeze experience: I was recently asked to interview for a high up position at an organization I admire. I turned down the interview for a few reasons, including the timing- they wanted someone to start right away and I want to finish school on time- but I also turned it down because having such a high up position scares me. But I realize now that I have to take that chance. I have to say yes to opportunities, I can't turn them down because of fear of failure or the unknown -
Class: Tennis Courts/Surrender & VOJ
It was learning a new way of learning. I took tennis lessons when I was younger and I just remember the instructor shouting "Is there a hole in your racket, girl?" every time I missed, which was, um, most of the time. I loved how applicable this tennis lesson was to other areas of life. -
Class: Drawing
I was torn between this exercise being frustrating and relaxing. However, I was one of the people who said "I can't draw..." and, lo and behold, my drawing looked pretty good! -
Journal Entry: Final Thoughts on Surrender
Livejournal quote: I also mention regret, because I think surrender is very applicable. Its very hard to surrender to events that have already occurred. Anyone who has had a loved one unexpectedly die has faced this challenge; your brain spins out tales of "what ifs" seemingly of its own accord. What if instead of asking Jeff to watch after our little brother, I had asked him how he was? Or what if I had remembered to call him on his birthday? What ifs and regret defined my early and mid twentie -
Class: Paint Lab
I really loved painting, but the teacher moved so fast! I felt really slow, especially when I saw how quickly some of my classmates were moving. I actually wish I had gone a little crazier with the painting and not stressed about makng it look exactly like the original. -
Jounral Entry: Voice of Judement
Livejournal quote: I spoke a few days ago with a friend from high school who still lives in Little Rock. She's married, has two kids and a house, and is a stay at home mom. She and I are obviously in very different places, and our conversations are tinged with a mixture of judgement and jealousy on both of our parts. We've never acknowledged it out loud, and I don't know if its worth it- if it would make things more awkward. She made a joke that I was "finally catching up to her." I secretly fee -
Class: Improv and Sharing Drawings
I MAY be wrong about this date, Improv may have been on March 5. But I loved the improv activities. It was great to see everyone open up to being silly and spontaneous. I felt much more relaxed about opening up in class after this excersise. I also loved seeing everyone's drawings. They were all geniunely cool, and hearing everyone going "ooohhh" when I showed mine was quite gratifying. -
Class: Check In and Project Work
I think we just did a check in and worked on our book presentations during this class. I always liked the check ins, even though sometimes they felt like they went on forever. It was nice to hear stories and thoughts beyond the usual topics of conversation among my classmates (classes and jobs). -
Class: Artists Way Presentation
Hi, I'm Jennifer and I'm an artist. The Artists Way was a little bit of a kooky read, but I liked that she acknowledges the spiritual aspects will be hard for some to accept. There are some really useful excersises, especially regarding some kind of daily writing. -
Spring Break: EEE
Almost all of my EEE moments deal with my dog or hanging out with my mom, who I got to see over Spring Break. I think in general I feel totally at ease when I'm with my family. A lot of my DDD moments deal with driving or schoolwork, which I think was related to general burnout. This class definitely gave me some tools to use to deal with burnout via stress reduction throgh meditation and physical activity and reframing issues via the excersises in both the textbook and the Artists Way. -
Yoga
Kelsey and I were the only students to come to the evening yoga session, and I brought my dog, Boston along. I was so happy I went, because I needed yoga to clear my head and prepare for the coming final weeks of class. Also, sorry that my dog attacked your face, Prof. But he does it to everyone! -
Sewing Class
When we recieved the assignment to "create something" I decided to tackle something I've always found scary: sewing. I signed up for a sewing class on a Saturday morning and was surprised when I found it EEE! I made a pillow (which Boston loves) and bought a sewing machine! -
Class: Writing Workshop
I had to go to the Thursday afternoon session because I missed the Tuesday night class to go to the funeral of the women who had died in front of my apartment. I thought the writing workshop teacher was the weakest guest teacher we had- I think writing is hard to teach withouth one on one interaction. Also, I missed my class- the Thursday afternoon class was so quiet! -
Class: Share Short Stories
I cried when reading my short stories, which was fairly mortifying, but I think it speaks to how open I felt. I didn't dwell on it...too much. Writing my short stories was theraputic, especially with death literally visiting my doorstep right before I started to write. It was a helpful way to deal with the confusing emotions I was dealing with. -
Class: Share Sun Stories
After going uber emotional for the short stories, I decided to go fun for the Sun story. It was really fun to reminisce about riding around with my dad listening to music. -
Worked on Final Projects for Fostering Creativity
I chose to actually do two projects for my final. One was sewing an actual item of clothing, which I thought would be frustrating and difficult. The other was baking and decorating a cake, which I have done many times before and thought would be easy. I was surpised at how the process actually went. The sewing project was easy and enjoyable and the baking was frustrating. My kitchen was hot and the icing roses kept melting and sliding off the cake. -
Final Project Presentations, Fostering Creativity
I loved sharing my projects and seeing everyone else's projects! This was such an inspiring way to end a great class! -
Final Class for Fostering Creativity in Business
I was really sad to end this class. Looking back over the timeline, its amazing the number of things I've done (trapeze, paint, draw, tennis, write stories) that I wouldn't have otherwise. I feel like I learned about myself and gained tools to deal with stress, problems, and how to simply enjoy. Thank you! -
Graduation!
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First Day of Work at The Art Center College of Design
I was offered a job with the Art Center College of Design, a creative place filled with creative people. I will be managing the first ever Art and Design in Social Impact sympoisum, and I will need to think outside the box, be courageous and brave in my decision making, and apply creative tactics to logistical details. I will need to surrender to the unknown aspects of the position and event. I will need to recognize when the Voice of Judgement is blocking my ideas.
