Maybe life isn't chill, it's just crazy!

So this semester has been so busy! I'm so glad that I dropped that one class. There is no way that I would be able to handle this semester with it. I am definitely learning a lot. Just working on homework all the time everyday. I'm so ready for this semester to end.

My bedroom after working on a project for graphic design. Oh man, yeah I hate messes but I do what I gotta do to get my homework done!

Check out my links on this webpage to see some of the websites that I have made this semester. I know that they are really basic but I'm happy I got them done. I feel like I've learned a lot! :) Actually, I love my web design class. 

Click here to see my work then go to Mary Anderson 

Life's Chill, Enjoy It!

In high school and growing up I always was the kind of person that would take honors classes and try to get ahead in school. I've always pushed myself to the max. I was going to graduate college early because I had credits from high school but I changed majors and it set me back so I would graduate on time.

But, this week I realized something after attending the first three days of my new semester. I think I was pushing myself too hard. The second day of class I had to stay up till midnight just to get my homework done and already had over 30 hours of homework to do this next week. I realized this wasn't living. Why did it matter so much to push myself this hard in school. I need to enjoy life. So, I dropped a class. Something I've never done before. My semester will still be challenging and that's ok. But, taking it a little easier will allow me to do other things that I enjoy. I love school but I want to grow in other area's of my life as well.

Because I dropped a class I might have to graduate a semester later then I was planning. But, I'm ok with that because I'll still get my degree and I'll enjoy my life more in the mean time. Sometimes people just need to do something for themselves.

Life is supposed to be enjoyed, not rushed through.

Internship!

I just got excepted for an internship! I'll be one of the graphic designers for Cedar Breaks National Monument. I'll be creating wayside signs. Those are just the signs that might tell the history of the area, or give info on wildlife etc. So not the most exciting thing ever but it's a foot in the door for something better. So if you ever visit cedar breaks and read one of their signs; there's a high possibility that I was the one that designed it. 

Example of a wayside sign.

A lesson in Food Identification

Throughout my college experience I've been amazed at how much people know. There are so many things that I never learned when I was growing up. But, I'm also surprised at how much people don't know.

I grew up on a farm in a small town. Every summer I would help in our peach orchard, our garden, and worked for a local farmer. What I thought was common knowledge apparently isn't. The following are things that have happened to me that prove a lot of people just don't know their vegetables and food like I do.

"What's wrong with this bell pepper?" I hear my roommates discussing the possibilities. Then one of them said. Mary knows her vegetables we should ask her. So I decide to go into the kitchen to see this weird bell pepper. When I spot the pepper I just burst out laughing. I then had to explain to them that why it looked so strange was because It wasn't a bell pepper at all. It was actually a green tomato that they had picked early!

 This past Sunday my roommates decided that they wanted to invited our home teachers over for Sunday dinner. My roommate Tara wanted to make some spring rolls and have a Asian themed dinner. I made some fried rice to go along with it. I was cooking in our downstairs kitchen and they were all upstairs. When I came up they were explaining what goes into the spring rolls; carrots, mint leaves, lettuce, and bean sprouts.

I was a little confused. Where were the bean sprouts? They pointed me to the plate filled with rice noodles. I explained how they were not bean sprouts. Those were rice noodles. They were really mad and insisted that they they were bean sprouts. They pulled the package out of the garbage and read "Bean Strings." Our home teacher then piped in how that actually refers to the width of the rice noodle. Well all I can say is that they were pretty upset that they were wrong once again. 

 Yesterday, I got home from class and my roommate had arranged some vegetables that she had gathered from our garden in some bowls on the counter. She asked me how we were supposed to eat these peas. Do you just eat the pea inside or can you eat the entire thing? And then started to excitedly tell me about this huge zucchini that we got. I just started laughing and explained that you could eat the whole pea because it was actually a green bean and you can eat all the parts of green beans. And the reason that the zucchini was so large was actually because it was a green pumpkin.

I guess what you should get from this post is that I know my vegetables. I'm surprised that some people don't. Hopefully I've educated enough that you won't make these same mistakes. 

Binh Danh

Every Thursday night I have a class at 7pm. It's a required class for all art majors. Every week they provide a speaker and you just have to listen. But, since I'm required to take it every semester, I get kinda bitter that I have to give up my Thursday nights every week of my college experience.

Last night I changed attitude toward the class. They posted a list of the speakers but I never read the list. When I arrived to class I was so excited to find that it was Binh Danh. He is one of my favorite artists of all time.

He uses photosynthesis to transfer images onto tropical plants. I love his series that he uses images from the Vietnam War. They are beautiful and moving. It was fascinating to hear about his connection with the War since he is a refugee himself and made me appreciate his art that much more.

In the end of his presentation he left us with this quote:

"We dye with the dying:

See, they depart, and we go with them.

We are born with the dead:

See, they return, and bring us with them."

– T. S. Eliot

He helped me want to become a better artist, by making a statement with my work. And to become a better person. To remember the past so we can have a brighter future. 

About the Blog

I'm a pretty random person. So, I decided I'd make a random blog. Hopefully I'll be updating it every week. I'll be posting stories from my life, events I go to, recipes, thoughts, whatever I might be thinking about at the time. It's quite random but that's the point.

Mary