How to balance Art and School
A good friend of mine recently came to me wondering how they should balance art and school. Something to note here is that their craft focuses more on the visual arts and, while I do like to play with markers occasionally, I wouldn’t say I’m an expert in this field. Regardless, as a girl taking (and passing)16 credit hours, doing an internship, board member of a club, and running SoFA, I completely understand struggling with the whole balancing act. And by that I mean I cry, like, a lot. But as my spectacularly insightful girlfriend always says, getting upset isn’t useful unless it motivates you to do something. So, here are some things you can do!
HAVE NO DEADLINE IN FREE TIME
Look, I get it. I’m running up hills to get to my classes before attendance, rushing last minute to crank out a project I already got an extension on, and in general wondering if I could possibly need more (or maybe less?) Adderall. We’re all wired up in some form or another. So why is it that when we get home and finally have a moment of peace, our first instinct is to nervously swipe between social media apps— desperate to find a bit of dopamine in the endless doom-scroll?
Well, I have a theory. We choose to waste free time brain-rotting instead of making art because we believe, at least subconsciously, that both are meaningless.
“Wait, I know art isn’t meaningless?”
Of course, we all understand that art has value. However, when there’s only an hour or two before it’s back to the grind, we often think it is pointless to make art when it won’t be done, or perfect by the time you have to work on assignments again.
So, because we might not finish everything, we choose to not start anything.
This is how art stops getting made. Never equate the meaninglessness of scrolling to creating simply because you think it won’t amount to much.
Try to spend at least 45 minutes of your free time every day creating something, anything. This could involve testing out paints, jotting ideas for projects, gathering materials, and whatever else you do in your process, and —here’s the crazy part— you don’t have to be done at the end of it. That’s what tomorrow is for and the next day after that! You would be surprised at how much more you can accomplish if you spend a little bit of time every day working towards something.
Seriously, practice the art of slowing down. There is no need to rush your creative process— just nurture it and watch it grow.
P.S. If you tell me you don’t have half an hour to spare, I WILL tell you to touch grass
ACCEPT LEARNING AS A CREATIVE PROCESS
Listen, there will be times when you can’t work on your landscape because you’re one missed assignment away from having to stand in front of dad’s recliner over Christmas break and tell him you flunked a class.
THIS IS OKAY. You should never beat yourself up for getting an education. Believe it or not, being an artist doesn’t mean you come into this earth naturally possessing everything you need to know. There is always room to expand your knowledge– and it will always help you grow as a creative.
Virtually every class required in college can be applied to your craft. Math can teach you universal symmetry, History can teach you repeating cultural themes, Humanities is always a treat, and Science can remind you how much you really hate science.
Try to engage meaningfully with your classes. People used to ask me why I would spend hours on an essay instead of using chat gpt, and I would tell them, point-blank, that I am not taking these classes to bullshit— I am taking these classes to get better. And, while I might not be the best writer to grace Florida State, I can at least create an outline without AI. That might sound harsh, but genuinely, unless you plan to go to grad school, when will you ever get to say “learning” is your main job? So, really, get the most out of it.
Hope that helps,
Hope Fell
