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Out of context: Reply #25349
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- ismith0
Read the last paragraph first.
...I went to Sharon Center School from kindergarten up through 7th grade. I lived one small house away from it, so it was very near. The school went up to 8th grade, but I hated every fucking minute of it (I had moved to this little town from Weehawken, New Jersey, right on the river and a quick ferry hop from Manhattan).
I went to the Stony Brook School in Long Island, boarded there 5 days a week for one year. I had a fair scholarship and financial aid, since my grades were mostly As and some Bs. Interesting experience, but being a Christian school I thought they put too little effort into academics and art and too much into the religious family aspect (which wasn't actually too bad, except when it became part of the classroom)...
Next I went to the Salisbury School, just two small towns from my house. Mostly because the commute was much shorter and because I had kept up my grades, so the financial aid and scholarships would cover it even better. I met some cool people, but the school was complete shit and cared about nothing but hockey and lacrosse (which is cool, and I love hockey now, but it made me far too relaxed for my own comfort). The curriculum was designed for the sole purpose of keeping even the dumbest athletes in the system.
None of these schools allowed me to have an art class for more than 30 minutes, once a week which is pathetic. Even though I was good at the more traditional general ed classes, I really only had the patience for them because I thought they could improve my art/design sense. I had to move on, since otherwise I would be playing sports and doing 3rd grade grammar lessons from 7am to 9pm. I told my parents I wasn't going to go to my classes come next term (this would be sophomore year of HS). After touring the facilities at several community colleges in CT, I saw Tunxis had just gotten a massive grant and was revamping their entire graphics and art department. I applied, took the placement test and got in easily.
So now I'm in my third semester here, choosing my own classes and loosely following the path to an Associate's Degree in graphic design with a fine arts option and a 3.78 GPA. I've been to a number of schools (RISD, Cooper Union, SVA, and Pratt to name a few) to talk about transferring options, which is probably what I'll do. I'll be able to get at least one degree from Tunxis by spring next year. Around the same time I'll be able to apply to receive either a GED or high school diploma from a "distance learning HS program" thing just for good measure. Transferring to another college would allow me to skip foundation year, which I don't mind doing but I wouldn't be able to afford anyway.
All the talk about transferring is of course assuming that I don't make it to the next stage in my music, which seems to be getting more and more likely and tempting (since I could have full artistic control over my music and any visuals to accompany it). Success here would most likely mean postponing any college work unless I could find a way to integrate it without things getting too stressful.
I've also noticed in the past that having a girlfriend greatly increases my productivity, since there's nothing that can motivate me like high and worn out sneaking-in-through-the-bedroom... sex after a long day (or days straight) of hard work and self-loathing.
I tried to summarize it, but this is probably pretty damn long anyway. For Jaline, you can just read the third paragraph up if you want a little more info on what I said in OMG's friday night lights thread.