Remapping Final
Paradise : (March-June 2019) This room represents the months between my acceptance to the University of Michigan and my high school graduation. I no longer had to worry about getting into college, which had been my primary goal for the past three and a half years. This time period has given me some of my most cherished memories with my friends and family, and though it was short and enclosed, I wouldn’t change anything about it.
Rapture : (June-August 2019) This corridor represents the summer of 2019. This summer had some of the highest highs, and the lowest lows. I remember some of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had, but in that same thought, having to say goodbye to my closest friends. That summer felt so long while in the midst of it, but so short now.
Elation : (August-September 2019) This large space represents my first few weeks of college. The relationships that I formed were a mile wide, but a foot deep. I was intimidated by the prospect of finding a completely new group of friends, but I had quite a bit of fun and enjoyed my course work.
Tedium : (October-November 2019) As the excitement began to fade in my mind, I found myself experiencing monotony. I was tired of my dorm room, I realized that I didn’t have much in common with the people I called “friends”, and I was struggling with anxiety. I became annoyed with my life at Michigan, but had a few good experiences here and there.
Captivity : (December 2019-January 2020) This room only addresses my time at Michigan, and not fall semester break. At this point, I was unhappy at college. I missed my home, my friends, the weather I was used to, etc. This was probably my lowest point in my freshman year.
Acceptance : (February-March 2020) After accepting that I would spend the rest of the semester at Michigan, I began to find the brighter side of life again. I enjoyed my classes and teachers more than I had in my first semester, I found people that I had more in common with, and I felt like I was making work that I enjoyed, rather than what would get me a good grade. I felt as if I were becoming more creative, and growing as an artist.
Disclosure : (March-April 2020) This room showcases when I was on winter break and returned to Ann Arbor for a week, only to go home again because of Coronavirus. I was happy to have a short break from school. I visited my friends at Duke which was a very fun and memorable trip. No one could have expected the school year to be altered this drastically. I’m disappointed that I did not complete my freshman year of college in Ann Arbor, but in a strange way, I feel as though I’ve wished this upon myself. This year was not what I’d expected from college.
Final Thoughts:
Initially, I thought that this project may be too ambitious to undertake, but I am very happy with the final product. Many aspects of this piece were formed from the random nature of Unity’s light mapping engine. There was an aspect of this piece that was out of my control and, in many ways, my piece as a whole is about losing control. Writing down the meanings of each scene was therapeutic for me, and helped me express the best and worst parts of the past year. This project forced me to face the issues that I’ve had, in a medium that I never thought I would tackle. I really learned a lot about myself as a person, as well as an artist. This will be my final post on this Tumblr. Methods of Inquiry is an amazing class, and I thank all you who were a part of it.