For admiring every now and then...

The large lion statues outside the Art Institute of Chicago Museum.

~

So a friend of mine just got accepted into the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for his Masters in film. Extremely thrilled and happy I was for him at his accomplishment, but I would be lying through my teeth if I said I did not feel any other less chivalrous emotion. Yes, I'm not afraid to say that the green eyed monster possessed me for a while there, all because I once tried, though not as valiantly, to pursue a path not too divergent from his.

Getting into a good art & design school is in itself a gargantuan achievement, but the thing that I admire and respect most is the dedication and perseverance in hanging on to the passion and the dream that spurred it all.

I had applied to Rhode Island School of Design once, right after my A levels, thinking that I might want to pursue a career in industrial design. However, given that I only tried applying to one school and that my portfolio was haphazardly put together in 2 weeks, the decision to pursue design overseas was made when I was informed that "there are(were) many talented applicants like you(me) but we (they) only have(had) places for a few". So I set my sights on the rather reputable industrial design course in NUS but that too was relegated to the back seat when I thought, 'why not pursue it as a Minor while I pursue a more practical Business finance degree?'. After all, I did enjoy economics and I imagined myself leaving Business faculty for the School of Design & Environment if I could not cope.

Well, we all know how that turned out - inertia is one helluva force to deal with.

Maybe I was stupid to apply only to one school, maybe there were too many applications, or maybe I lack the talent to see me through the gates of a design school - there are a multitude of reasons for me not having entered the design and art arena. However, one reason has bugged me the most - maybe I was too flippant to want it as much as my friend does. I love design, I love aesthetics, and www.core77.com is read right after bbcnews.com and bloomberg (sometimes before). However, at that time, I remember being half hearted in my application: 'design can wait, I just need to get a high paying job first' was something I often repeated to myself. Well, yes LY. Design will wait. It will wait till you're 80 with one foot in the grave.

I have a problem with making important decisions and that constant state of wavering, I'm sure, might just force me to fold up my dreams (and now, I don't only mean pursuing design), wrap it in 3 feet thick of excuses, and hide it somewhere far in the crevices of my mind. My friend's perseverence is something I admire greatly and I am sure he will have no trouble answering to himself in the future. It is one thing to have a calling or a dream, and another to pursue it. That is something I need to keep close to my heart if not, I will find my future self constantly taking those dusty old dreams, unwrapping them and admiring them only every now and then.

I wish my friend all the best, and I'm sure he will have a whole lot of fun. A whole. lot. of. fun. =)