Molding Mud and Counting Tattoos

I said in the last post that my Intro to Archaeology professor is the best. That still holds true. We are even facebook friends! That is one of the odd things about being a 30-something college student, you are generally closer in age to the professors than you are to your fellow students. I have met some great people in my classes, but for the most part, I tend to relate to the professors more. This particular professor comes into the story again. Stay tuned...

Summer Quarter of 2016 was pretty great, especially when compared to that Spring. I took an Intro to Ceramics class and a Technical Writing class. I was not looking forward to the latter. While I (clearly) love to write, the idea of learning more and new citation styles was less than appealing. I had visions of extremely boring textbook reading and accidentally slipping into MLA format when I was supposed to use APA (if you don't understand that, count your blessings. The rules are so finicky). I was nervous about the ceramics class too. I have always loved art, but never really considered myself any good at it. To this day, I have to label the cows, cats, and horses I draw, because they all look the same and as though they were drawn by an 8 year old. I had a little success when I started painting. Let's call my work "highly abstract." I have three brothers who all received the art gene. They can sit down for five minute and create some truly beautiful, identifiable pieces. I have always been envious of them... Anyway, summer quarter, right.

Both classes ended up being a surprise. Technical Writing was unexpectedly fun, if finicky. The main project was a blast. I ended up doing one with another student (one of the few that I really clicked with. We are still friends.) on body modifications in the workplace. He and I both have multiple tattoos and piercings, we were both curious how they might affect our hire-ability once we finished with school. We did online surveys, researched trends, and sat outside a favorite bar, sipping beer and counting the number of visible tattoos and piercings that wandered down the sidewalk. Talk about enjoyable fieldwork... Ceramics class was a blast. I produced some of the ugliest pieces of pottery ever, and I had an absolutely spectacular time doing so. I found the process of creating to be fun, therapeutic, informative, and delightfully messy. It was great to experience the production of things similar to the artifacts I examined in Archaeology class. Understanding how they are made adds a deeper level to my studies. Plus, I have always loved playing with mud. If I had my way, I would always do ceramics.

Comparing summer of 2016 to summer of 2015 is like comparing night and day. From pain and illness, to laughter and fun. When I look back at the first two summers of my academic career, it is a little hard to believe that both were one person's life, and mine at that! At the end of summer 2016, I had two more quarters left at WCC, and was putting in my application for Western Washington University... More new things on the horizon.

To be continued...