2nd Year Resolutions

So I've decided to make a few promises to myself before I start this academic year, and I have every intention of following through.

1. I shall not pull any all-nighters.

How do I intend to stick to this? By actually getting into studio by 8 AM, and getting out at 6 PM every day. I shall work studiously throughout this time frame, pausing only to eat (and when I am done). This is going to require judicious application of any time-management skills I've honed over the years since the course is so demanding, but I'll do it.

It's easy to say things like this when you're safely ensconced in your blankets at home, but I truly mean to do this. I hate pulling all-nighters, necessary as they seemed last year. I absolutely hate it. I've gotten good at being able to move around and function like a reasonably civilized person after 2 nights without sleep in a row, but I don't actually like that state. My head feels like it's about to fall off any second, my skin gets all stupid and pale, and I have trouble paying attention and focusing on anything.

It would be akin to performing a miracle if I were to be properly aware of the world during a crit. I really want to be awesome this year, and it won't happen if I'm falling asleep as I point my designs out to the tutors.

2. I shall be healthy.

This comes from the fact that my friends and I climbed the Law hill a few days before I left Dundee, and I was clearly the most unfit of the lot. It was hideously unfair, of course, because I'd suggested the stupid climb and regretted it nearly 10 minutes in. A lack of any proper exercise the past year had clearly taken its toll.

So my best friend invited me to come running with him every other morning once we're back. This is a stupid idea, because although I used to run (well over a year ago now!), I always did it in short bursts (a few months at a time, I never had the willpower to continue for longer than that). I full expect to get tired of it quickly and opt out, but I'll try in the beginning anyway. Besides, I live at the top of my building now, so I'll be climbing stairs every day on top of everything else. 

I'm going to climb that stupid hill at the end of the year again, and I'm going to take a flipping flag with my face on it and plant it at the top to prove that it's been conquered.

3. I shall join a society.

Well, I did this last year, but what I mean by it is that I'll actually stick with an activity this time. I joined LIP in first year, and great fun as it was, I had to drop it in second semester because of the sheer amount of work I had. This time around, I'm going to pick a club/society/activity that I can continue even when the work is tough. And I'm going to enjoy the bloody thing so much that dropping it won't even occur to me.

4. I shall befriend people outside my course.

Of course, this has happened already, but not enough. While I love the architects, I do also want to go out and meet other people. I love meeting new people. People are fascinating, each with their own stories and histories and opinions of the world. 

The majority of my friend group are architects. I know a few people that I met in freshers, and we met for coffee and stuff throughout the year, but I don't really know them properly, the way I know the architects. This is partially due to the fact that our course puts so much stress on studio time, so we're in there with each other almost every day. And you really get to know people on a more intimate level when you spend the whole night working away next to each other, helping each other get on without sleep.

So I'm going to make more of an effort in meeting people outside the course. Don't know yet how I'm going to go about doing this, but it'll happen.

5. I shall get a job.

I need extra cash, really, because I plan to do my work almost exclusively digitally. And printing costs so much money, but I work a lot faster on the computer. And I didn't spend my summer working on learning Photoshop basics for no reason. I'm going to OWN. THIS. YEAR.

Besides which, I've never really had a job before, and I kind of want the experience. I've worked, but that was more volunteer stuff without pay because of the labor laws in Dubai. The Tier-4 Student Visa lets me work 20 hours a week. I don't know if that's a lot or a little to most working people, but considering the course (again), it's probably okay if it's too little.


So those are, off the top of my head, my academic resolutions for the year. I fully intend to stick to it, so here's to hoping.

Ciao.