The following 'paper' was for my Studio Arts Foundation Class. This class was basically a discussion class where the teacher tried to make us think outside the box and find new, innovative ways to create art. After each class he'd had out a paper with a question on it and he'd expect us to answer the question and freely as we'd like. I can't remember exactly what the question was, but I believe I state the question in my first
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Tom Hoang
Page 349, #1
2/15/06
A time in my life when I had to go into a new community would be in high
school. My high school was a vocational high school, where students from
five neighboring towns came together. I only had a few friends in the early
stages of my freshman year. I only knew them from middle school back in my
hometown. The first year of high school really just felt hard,
uncomfortable, and awkward. Towards the end of the freshmen year, students
were put into their career designated ‘shops’ that they had picked earlier
throughout the year. The students would be in these shops for the rest of
their high school careers. This was just another level of having to be put
into a new community with new people and new surroundings.
Sophomore year I still felt very uncomfortable, I felt as if I didn’t stand
out at all nor did I have a sense of myself, I was simply just there. As
Bateson “felt invisible, non person” (341), I felt the same way. But
sophomore year is when bonds in the shop began to form between the students.
Slowly during the year everyone got to know each other very well and by
junior year everyone couldn’t ask for better classmates. Even the teachers
said they’d never seen a class as close as ours. And in that instance, for
the first time other than in my home or family, I felt accepted and I felt
like I was a part of something. My entire person changed in those two years.
I changed from a very quiet, polite boy, to a very open, almost obnoxious
kid who was happier than he’d ever been.
Everyone in our shop soon began to share the same sense of humor, and we all
just got extremely comfortable with each other. These kids that just a
couple of years ago I was so distant and new to became the people I couldn’t
live without. They gave me a tremendous amount of confidence and security.
“Membership in a human family or community is an artifact, something that
has to be made” (Bateson 339). This quote from Bateson’s article is what
happened with my class and me. We all made ourselves part of the shop
community. We made relationships between one another, we made connections,
and we made memberships. Each of our memberships are indeed artifacts, I
hold each of these connections very close and I hope that they never cease
to exist.
Every one of those classmates added something to me. Some influenced my
taste in music, movies, and art. And others influenced my opinions on
different things such as people, work ethic, and humor. Every one as a whole
shaped who I am as a person. I know that without them I would still be a
somewhat quiet person who had a small amount of friends and never took a
chance in the world.
During senior year was when I was most comfortable. This is why I was very
upset to see my classmates choosing different colleges. At the time I
suppose I was excited, this was a chance for change and opportunity to meet
new people. But now that it is not the case. Without the familiarity and
comfort of my old high school friends I find myself feeling very lost and
sometimes a bit depressed. This shows me that I have become very dependant
on my friends.
In closing, I feel that my adaptation through high school did help me
develop my ‘self’. I change considerably, having developed more confidence
in myself. My self did change into something somewhat dependant on my
friends. I feel as if without my friends, I have no sense of myself.---------------------------------------It's debatable if I still feel this way now. It was two years ago, coming close to three.
There are more papers I found that I'll most likely feature again next time.
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