108 Notecards

Since December 16 it will have been four months since I moved to London and what an amazing adventure it has been so far. I just got done with my first semester of graduate school and boy was it a doozy, i've learned so much about photography, the history of it, not working with cameras. Though that would have been awesome, working with all those old cameras. I have been crazy busy with papers and learning images for two tests. 59 photographs for my 19th century photography and 49 photographs for my 20th century photography class. I had to learn the photographer, the name of the photograph, the date of the photograph and the process used to make it. I leaned 49 photographs in a day and a half, that has to be a first first for me. The reason I had to learn these is because I had a test where we would have to compare the photographs and didn't know which ones would be used. The last two weeks I had to neglect my social life and just focus on school. I was not the best person to be around, i'm sure my roommates and friends can attest to that, I was supposed to go out with a friend and her boyfriend one night but I was so worried about learning the images that I went home early.

So during the last couple of months i've had the best time with classes and making new friends, ooh it sounds like i'm in the first grade, haha. I started off this semester not knowing anyone but my roommates and have met some awesome people along the way. My classmates are all so much fun, when we go out or when we just hang out. Through them i've learned so much and had random fun when out during field trips. This semester I went to Bradford, a small town with the National Media Museum, Paris, what an awesome 4 days filled to the brim. I've been to Windsor Castle to go see the Royal Collection, amazing and that would be an ideal and interesting job to have. I've been to auction houses and just learned and formed just what I want to do. I may still not know but at least I can say i've explored my options. Those 108 notecards were not of all the photographers that we learned throughout the course, it wasn't even half. There is so much good that comes out of memorizing that there has to be a negative that comes out of that. I didn't read my notes on the photographers, there is no way I could, unless I put information down on the back of the card. Oh well, it's over with, I can't worry about it anymore. One thing I do have to think about is the 3,000 word paper due in January when I get back to London, that one i'll have to think about and do major research on. I also know what I need to do right with this paper,  as my paper for my 20th Century Photography class was not the greatest. I also would have benefitted from having a longer paper due in the middle of the semester and get that back before we start on another  paper.

Anyway enough about being worried and disappointed, i've been worried instead of becoming stressed, I learned the hard way just what that does to me, so now I just have to remain calm and breathe with everything. I get to go home (?) soon to Colorado, the reason that there is a question mark is because I sort of consider it home, I moved out to live in London. The thing is I guess home is wherever you make it, home is wherever your loved ones are, wherever the ones that you are close to and your friends are. I guess I could say that I consider a couple of places home, Colorado, London and maybe in New Mexico, on second thought not NM cause I couldn't wait to leave when I graduated even though I have a lot of friends that live there.

I've learned so much in four months and those notecards reflect on what i've learned, i'll keep those to remind myself just how far i've come, i'll keep the essays to remind myself just how far I still have to go