How miad makes you a better learner, thinker, reader, and writer

When I started the semester, I thought myself to be a very visual learner, critical thinker, through reader, and an underdeveloped writer. As I have progressed through the semester I have learned a lot more about how I tackle the battle of developing as a student. There were times when all I wanted to do was sleep and not think of anything but sheep flying above my head and times where I stayed awake all night because I just couldn’t stop thinking about my next project. Inspiration flowed threw me until exhaustion hit me like a brick wall at 4am and I was left to spend the rest of the day a zombie.

After a couple of weeks of being at MIAD and developing as an artist I confirmed my notion of being a visual leaner. I always thought myself to be a visual leaner dur to the fact that I am constantly on YouTube to learn how to put something together so I can see it being done. When I started working in the 3D lab with my space forms class I was glad they demonstrated how to use all the saws and machines. They even did it a few times just for safe measure and even though the demos can seem kind of boring they are only helpful in the end. As I learn I also found that I must do the action to really get it to sink in. I might be able to tell someone exactly how to use the scroll saw but I know I can’t confidently use it myself if I don’t use it beforehand. Let me cut some wood for a couple of minutes with someone standing by and then let me go because after that I will know how to use it from top to bottom and side to side.

As a thinker, I tend to lean more critically and logically. My mom calls it thinking in black and white, it either is or it isn’t. As I have lived thru this semester I have also learned to look at things with a bit of grey in there and to look at an object or problem from multiple angles. When I was writing about litter I thought there were many things I was very sure of; litter is bad, litter builds up in the oceans, litter kills animals, and litter can be stopped if everyone only just picked up litter or threw away thrash before it becomes litter. At the same time, I had to think of other things that might constitute more as grey thinking; what to do to help stop littering, to recycle, to go plastic free and not use plastic, to build gardens to promote health to the earth, and ways to take that garden into a small place like an apartment. This is greyer thinking because after you have thought black and what, what the actual issues are, you have to blend them to create an outcome of grey or in this case the action to help stop litter.

When I read I read slowly. I have gotten a lot quicker in the past couple of years but I still think of myself as a slow reader. My friend Emily and my Mom can read a 400-page book in a matter of a few hours were as it would take me about a day maybe a little more. This is what makes me a though reader in my eyes. I like to read every word and not miss a thing, sometimes rereading. A problem I face with reading is that I only like to pleasure read and can hardly work up the motivation to read something that is assigned to us for a class. When I read, I read historical books that have spins of fiction in them and lore. I am also very precise when I pick books to read, which doesn’t help in a class setting. I only particularly read historical books that are set 1700 or earlier and they must be in the UK with some sort of fantasy to them. Yet still during the semester I have read the readings I have come to like the ones with very informative information in them. One day I can only hope to not be a though and lazy reader.

During high school my worst grades where always in English class. It’s just not my strong suit and I have come to terms with the fact that it is going to be a very slow process to be able to effectively write and not mess up on small things like spelling, grammar, and citation. As I have had to write more in my classes it is slowly becoming apartment to me that I write how I talk. Not good, or so I’m told. It’s hard for me to write something with depth and length while keeping it very professional. So, in a kind of protest to this new find I consider myself to be a very underdeveloped writer with protesting quality’s. I am underdeveloped because of how my easy mistakes and I protest by adding my literal voice in my writing, take that Jake(my boyfriend) and mom.

Ending this semester, I have found out a lot about myself as a leaner, thinker, reader, and writer. All of it has helped me create my art in a more mature way that I hope can be seen. So threw all the sheep and sleepless nights I have been able to live sun filled helpful days at MAID growing and developing in all these categories. Some days where hard but I still learned and read. I would still create and think about my next project or write a hopefully informative witty essay, like I am maybe doing right now. All in all I completely am proud of how I have grown as a leaner, thinker, reader, and writer.