I have spent the last two weeks in a Summer Challenge program at Boston University. It was my second time away from home and without my family. On my first experience being away, I got super homesick. This second time, however, I was very lucky to go with three of my friends from school and to have my sister just a few miles away from BU, since she is studying in Boston. In spite of my ongoing homesickness and the fact that I felt out of my comfort zone, attending this program has been an enriching experience that I will never forget. It has definitely made me grow as a student and as a person.
The two weeks passed by very slowly – I woke up early every day and went to sleep very late. I really enjoyed my both classes –Visual Arts and Mass Communication – but the gaps of leisure in between classes made me feel very anxious. Still, starting the day with Visual Arts was refreshing and exciting. I woke up to go to this class, in which I was able to relax, pursue my passion and learn a lot from my teacher, my classmates, and my own learning process, which included successes and failures. These two hours of my every day in the program were my favorite. It was awesome to pursue my passion outside from school, surrounded by people from different parts of the world and experience new opportunities of growth and learning. Stepping out of my routine and comfort zone was daunting at first, but inspirational and worth it in the long run – it opened my mind to new ideas, people and experiences. By taking this class I realized that I am really passionate about the arts and I definitely want to pursue a career related to this creative field. When I was doing art, time past flying by when, my imagination came to life and I was completely relaxed, enjoying every part of the process. As Confucius wisely expressed, "choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. I really admire this quote, and I totally believe in it after being totally immersed in a task that I love. Lastly, this experience has given me more insight on who I am and want to be; it has shed light on the path I want to follow, which is a life that keeps me close to art and my creative side.
My other class was Mass Communication. As it only lasted two weeks, this class was basically an overview of different sections of Mass Communication such as, Journalism, Documentaries, Advertisement, Film, and Public Relations. Although we did not go in depth at all, it gave me the whole picture of each subject matter. Thus, I got a very good idea of where my interests lie and which professions I would like to pursue and which ones I would not. What helped a lot was that we reviewed each and completed small assignments and projects. I was mostly interested in Advertisement and I really enjoyed the final project, which consisted on creating a whole advertisement campaign for a Holographic Television; the creative part of the campaign was the most exciting for me.
Besides all the knowledge, experience and awareness I gained in both of my classes, I also got the chance to know myself better, reflect and appreciate. As my mom told me, sometimes you have to see life as a piece of art – you will only be able to appreciate it and see it from an objective perspective if you take a step away from it. At first, it was very hard. I was out of my comfort zone, I missed my family, my home, my commodities, I was tired and overwhelmed, I felt very sensitive, and I was super anxious. Taking a step away from home was much more challenging and hard than what I had imagined. Realization and appreciation came in automatically. I had never valued and appreciated my family, my home, my commodities and my life as much as I did during these two weeks. I was able to realize how fortunate I am, the wonderful family I have and I suddenly felt beyond lucky. It was still challenging and my days didn't suddenly become easier, but I had discovered a huge treasure in my life by getting outside my bubble. As with a piece of art, I learned to appreciate and see objectively the life I have by stepping away from it. I even felt that my relationship with my parents and with my sister grew and became better.
In just two weeks, I learned important art skills, what my passion is, key aspects of mass communication, what my interests are, I met new amazing people, I learned to be more independent and I got to know myself better. In this way, I believe that I matured, I learned to appreciate what I have, I realized how lucky I am and I absorbed important life lessons.
The two weeks passed by very slowly – I woke up early every day and went to sleep very late. I really enjoyed my both classes –Visual Arts and Mass Communication – but the gaps of leisure in between classes made me feel very anxious. Still, starting the day with Visual Arts was refreshing and exciting. I woke up to go to this class, in which I was able to relax, pursue my passion and learn a lot from my teacher, my classmates, and my own learning process, which included successes and failures. These two hours of my every day in the program were my favorite. It was awesome to pursue my passion outside from school, surrounded by people from different parts of the world and experience new opportunities of growth and learning. Stepping out of my routine and comfort zone was daunting at first, but inspirational and worth it in the long run – it opened my mind to new ideas, people and experiences. By taking this class I realized that I am really passionate about the arts and I definitely want to pursue a career related to this creative field. When I was doing art, time past flying by when, my imagination came to life and I was completely relaxed, enjoying every part of the process. As Confucius wisely expressed, "choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. I really admire this quote, and I totally believe in it after being totally immersed in a task that I love. Lastly, this experience has given me more insight on who I am and want to be; it has shed light on the path I want to follow, which is a life that keeps me close to art and my creative side.
My other class was Mass Communication. As it only lasted two weeks, this class was basically an overview of different sections of Mass Communication such as, Journalism, Documentaries, Advertisement, Film, and Public Relations. Although we did not go in depth at all, it gave me the whole picture of each subject matter. Thus, I got a very good idea of where my interests lie and which professions I would like to pursue and which ones I would not. What helped a lot was that we reviewed each and completed small assignments and projects. I was mostly interested in Advertisement and I really enjoyed the final project, which consisted on creating a whole advertisement campaign for a Holographic Television; the creative part of the campaign was the most exciting for me.
Besides all the knowledge, experience and awareness I gained in both of my classes, I also got the chance to know myself better, reflect and appreciate. As my mom told me, sometimes you have to see life as a piece of art – you will only be able to appreciate it and see it from an objective perspective if you take a step away from it. At first, it was very hard. I was out of my comfort zone, I missed my family, my home, my commodities, I was tired and overwhelmed, I felt very sensitive, and I was super anxious. Taking a step away from home was much more challenging and hard than what I had imagined. Realization and appreciation came in automatically. I had never valued and appreciated my family, my home, my commodities and my life as much as I did during these two weeks. I was able to realize how fortunate I am, the wonderful family I have and I suddenly felt beyond lucky. It was still challenging and my days didn't suddenly become easier, but I had discovered a huge treasure in my life by getting outside my bubble. As with a piece of art, I learned to appreciate and see objectively the life I have by stepping away from it. I even felt that my relationship with my parents and with my sister grew and became better.
In just two weeks, I learned important art skills, what my passion is, key aspects of mass communication, what my interests are, I met new amazing people, I learned to be more independent and I got to know myself better. In this way, I believe that I matured, I learned to appreciate what I have, I realized how lucky I am and I absorbed important life lessons.