A long time coming
I love this town…I think. But I don’t think this is the place for me anymore. I’m in a major I don’t want to be in taking classes that aren’t for me. I’m still where I am because I’m afraid of the drastic change that comes with transferring schools, or studying abroad, or what have you. Right this moment, I want to take the credits I’m accumulated thus far and somehow apply them at another school that actually offers an intensive sound engineering/production degree program. I don’t want the work and money I’ve put into my college education thus far to go completely to waste. I want to transfer to a school that’s going to allow me to throw my heart and soul into my studies, and that means an intensive audio school. I’m investigating several schools. Columbia College in Chicago, McNally Smith School of Music in St. Paul, and the Institute of Production and Recording somewhere in the cities. There are dozens if not hundreds of schools across the country that offer degrees in sound design, but with the way my GPA looks right now, many of them are out of my league, pending some sort of deep conversation and mind-trickery with an admissions officer. I just want to be passionate about school. I haven’t had that feeling in so long, school to me is a task, it’s something I don’t want to do. That’s not how it’s supposed to be. College is supposed to be a stepping stone into a desired life, not simply a hurdle to overcome before life can start.
I feel like I’m finally at a point where I can leave Duluth. Who knows if I’ll feel this way next week, or tomorrow for that matter. But right now, as I write this I feel like I can leave Duluth and everything I love about it, knowing that I might someday come back, or even meet up with the people that make me love Duluth somewhere down the road. Most of the people that make Duluth so great for me are about to leave anyway, if they haven’t already left. I think I’m done with this town, for now. I want to be somewhere else starting after summer. Hell, maybe I’ll go somewhere else for the summer too. Camp is still an option. I could move all my stuff back home to Minneapolis and work at camp for the entire summer, then set up shop in Chicago or Minneapolis come fall. I couldn’t possibly live with my parents, but there are at least a couple of options open to me already as far as living in the cities.
I’ve had this thing against moving to the cities, because so many people seem to be trying to get me to do it. I want to move to the cities because it’s what I want to do, not because people tell me to. I think I’m getting to that point though. There are a lot of appealing things about the cities, and even more appealing things about Chicago. First of all, the school offers Bachelors degree in Audio Arts and Acoustics. Second, I talked to an admissions counselor at great length yesterday, and even with my poor GPA, I stand a very good chance at getting into Columbia as a transfer student, and a lot of my general ed credits will transfer. Third, every single class in the curriculum made me say “ooh, I would love to learn more about that.” I wish I could say the same for my classes at UMD.
This blog was written in two sittings a week and a half apart. It’s a little disjointed, I’ll post a followup today or tomorrow.
I feel like I’m finally at a point where I can leave Duluth. Who knows if I’ll feel this way next week, or tomorrow for that matter. But right now, as I write this I feel like I can leave Duluth and everything I love about it, knowing that I might someday come back, or even meet up with the people that make me love Duluth somewhere down the road. Most of the people that make Duluth so great for me are about to leave anyway, if they haven’t already left. I think I’m done with this town, for now. I want to be somewhere else starting after summer. Hell, maybe I’ll go somewhere else for the summer too. Camp is still an option. I could move all my stuff back home to Minneapolis and work at camp for the entire summer, then set up shop in Chicago or Minneapolis come fall. I couldn’t possibly live with my parents, but there are at least a couple of options open to me already as far as living in the cities.
I’ve had this thing against moving to the cities, because so many people seem to be trying to get me to do it. I want to move to the cities because it’s what I want to do, not because people tell me to. I think I’m getting to that point though. There are a lot of appealing things about the cities, and even more appealing things about Chicago. First of all, the school offers Bachelors degree in Audio Arts and Acoustics. Second, I talked to an admissions counselor at great length yesterday, and even with my poor GPA, I stand a very good chance at getting into Columbia as a transfer student, and a lot of my general ed credits will transfer. Third, every single class in the curriculum made me say “ooh, I would love to learn more about that.” I wish I could say the same for my classes at UMD.
This blog was written in two sittings a week and a half apart. It’s a little disjointed, I’ll post a followup today or tomorrow.
3 comments:
i feel you hardcore on this.
college isn't something you "should" do. college is something you should WANT to do. it's too much of an investment of both your finances and your time to have it any other way. otherwise it could end up being just a waste.
i think that if you are unhappy you have to follow your instincts. if you're doing something right, you'll know it. if you're doing something wrong, you'll know it.
it's scary to leave duluth. it's scary as hell. will it move on without you? yes. but it will move on without you at any time. a very wise person once told me, "the truth is, everything has changed. every semester it changes, and pretty soon duluth will never be what we had. i'm realizing that nothing ever stays the same."
don't wait for duluth, because duluth won't wait for you. you've got the drive, but not the passion. go get the passion and watch what happens.
Well put. These are good ideas that are actually making me think too. Even though it lacks as much fame as LA or NYC, the cities has a thriving local scene and I know people who are happy at both Mcnally and IPR. But Chicago certainly has that allure to it. You've already figured it out though, it just has to be what you want.
Transferring schools is scary.
I've Done it, I started off in a town i could hardly stand and was in a major I wasn't quite sure was for me but I did it. I left and came here, I am happy with the move, yes.
Going to college is a lot like life, sometimes you have to make the hard decision to move on, and move on you must.
Also as a student who has already switched schools (with a poor GPA) its way easier to get into a school as a transfer than incoming freshman.
but if you stay in duluth this summer 2019 has a place for you.
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