| 5:11p |
the announcement
Hello. I know that I have a big announcement to make, and it feels funny to just come out with it. But here it is: I finished my degree on Friday! Yay! Every now and then it occurs to me that I won't ever have to do a uni assignment ever again, and it feels wonderful.
Everything hasn't really been that simple, though. And I suppose I shouldn't really expect it to be any other way. I was talking to Sonya the afternoon after I finished, and she said, "Well, you're a pretty emotional person, so I'm not surprised you're acting like this."
My Visual Communications degree ended with me doing a presentation on my precious book to three people: my teacher Andrew; the head of Viscom, Mark Roxy-dude; and this industry lady called Noff or Doff (I was too panicky then to remember now). Most of the presentation felt really horrible. I had talk really fast, to get all of my speech done within the time limit, and I couldn't tell what the panel thought about the whole thing. Their body language was pretty bad. After I was done (I even sang my song!), it was only Noff (or Doff?!) who made comments. She really liked my book- I don't quite recall the adjectives, but they were good- and she said that she was glad that I sang my song, because it revealed that my book was in fact full of lyrics, and "lyric writing is a very advanced form of writing", and she said that I wrote lyrics well. She made a slight criticism about the way that I wrote it, which was fine...and then it was over. Mark Roxy said, "I'm afraid we'll have to leave it at that, Carla." And they left. Then Andrew poked his head around the door and said that it was really good. Robyn and Clem then tactfully left me by myself for a minute, before they came in to pack up the computer stuff. Robyn asked gently, "How did you go? Are you okay?" And I said yes, even though I felt like I was about to cry.
I meant to go straight home, but I was feeling really emotional and tired and confused. So I ended up sitting in Bar Europa for an hour and a bit, writing in my journal and drinking a lot of coffee. I was trying to collect myself. I found myself just staring at people and writing about them. It was most fun.
Once I got home, my mum ran up to me with a big grin on her face, saying, "How did you go?" And I promptly burst into tears, and remained so for the rest of the afternoon! I was really upset- the whole presentation just felt so bad, and this whole year has been so difficult. My mum was really lovely- she gave me a big hug and reassured me a lot. My dad was the same later on in the evening. My parents were both awesome. They gave me a little present- two fuzzy "Thing One" and "Thing Two" dolls from "The Cat in the Hat" story! Then, they gave me a big present- money to pay for my project. My mum and dad were so lovely to do that, because paying for the project has been pretty hard. So after composing myself again, I headed back to the city (I had to drop off my guitar at home) to buy The Shoes That Call My Name! This boy called Jackson at Foot Locker (who I had never met before, but he still cried "Dude!" and pointed at me in a rock star kind of way when I entered the store) was really nice and amusing, and went running around to find the right size for me.
Then afterwards, I had to go to my baby brother's family birthday dinner. My extended family was being really lovely, and asking me what I was going to do next. I told them that I was going to join the circus, and that got a laugh. Then my aunt Helen said, "But really, what are you going to do?" Then I think that I might have said that I was going to be a fabulous ice-skater, and I think that response satisfied my family's curiosity.
I could write a lot more, but I have to go and do some design work for my sister. She's got an interview to get into Fashion and Textiles Design at UTS, and needs help scanning stuff. I was also helping my friend Nancy with some illustrations for her final year Fashion project, plus I have to help my friend Lucia with some illustrations for a job. But more on that later. So my design work hasn't quite tapered off yet. Hopefully it will all finish once the "Out of Order" exhibition is over- I really need a rest.
I'm feeling much better, though. I had a good chat with Meg yesterday morning, and had a good laugh at work today. Plus I've bought a few frivolous things. And I've prayed and read God's word. I have the odd carefree moment, and have probably been too whimsical for my own good lately. Pink nailpolish and new novels is where it's at, my friends. |