When I graduated from Benson H.S. in 2015, I remember one of my uncles saying that it was great that I finished HS at 17, and that it would be impressive to finish college at 21. Welp. At 24 and turning 25 next month, it’s safe to say that I didn’t meet his or my parent's expectations. I went straight to PSU majoring in Graphic Design thinking that I would use PSU as a stepping stool for 2 years to transfer to a well-known art school and find a way into the Animation Industry as a character designer or vis dev artist. 2.5 yrs deep into an Art Practices degree (I switched to AP cause atm I thought PSUGD requirements were too “rigid”) and a rejection letter from my dream school later, I was stuck. I wasn’t feeling challenged and I was scared about what to do next despite me being both calculated and unsure at the same time. I talked to my counselor and he suggested a gap year to figure things out. But also if there was a time to maximize an undergrad degree without becoming broke as an already low-income first-gen student this would be it. I worked retail for two years in hopes of saving money to minimize possible student loan debt for a more accessible private art school that I was accepted into. But no art school is not worth going into damn near a quarter of 1 mil over debt and I had another counselor tell me that. (pt 1) photo: @alliisonder mua: @shantillyartistry ad & styling: ya girl #newgrad#grad#graduation#gradphotoshoot#conceptualshoot#artdirection#graphicdesigner#story#essay#golf#pdxcreative#dsw#fyp#tbb