Pre Grad School

It's common knowledge that being accepted to grad school can be very challenging, and this is one of the things that scares me most about going back to school.  I've already almost completed three out of seven pre-requisite courses I need in order to apply, but the fear of "what if" continues to linger.  What if I didn't do enough, what if I don't get in? 

My plan is simple, straightforward, and what many admission counselors and grad school advice forums would tell you; do as much as I can to be the most competitive applicant.  By this I mean while one of the programs I will be applying for does not require volunteer hours, I am knocking on every door of opportunity I can find to volunteer, especially with an Occupational Therapist.  This has been such a challenge for me, especially given the fact that I work full time and am taking 10 units at the moment, but I know it's crucial.

I have good news...I found the perfect opportunity as a communications intern for a pediatrics company - and its online!  It's a win-win for me, I get to research about the field I am interested in, and I am able to help a wonderful organization from my own home.  In case you're wondering, I found this on VolunteerMatch.org, a great website that will help you find practically any area you are interested in volunteering in.

Borrowed from "Hokuto's Awesome Blog" on Wordpress

One important crumb of advice I can give is this - stay open minded and keep trying!  Even if it's not Occupational Therapy, or directly related to the specific volunteer hours you need, it may be a great opportunity to meet inspirational people, and who knows where it can lead you.

The Art of Failing

I've always admired my mother's ability to apply watercolor paint to a blank canvas so freely and openly.  Her beautiful brushstrokes create dream-like scenes of forests, flowers, exotic animals and seascapes. 

I tried to paint a lily when I was about 10, and was unsuccessful.  I believe this is because I tried to control every aspect, every color, every runny water mark.  I design the same way.  My personal favorite garment I've made is extremely technical, and won two awards - one surface design award for the use of laser cutting, and the other was an overall technical award for my couture collection senior year of college. 

 Now that I'm out of college and work full time to sustain living in Los Angeles, draping, pattern-making and sewing are squeezed into a schedule with a 50 hour work week, a social life, and any other useless time sucks.  Sometimes when I get home all I want to do is eat and watch some show on Hulu, but then I remember my ultimate goal and how bad I want it.  I work on patterns for a dress for a couple weeks in between working and living, make sure they are perfect, cut out a mock-up, put it on the dress form...only to be disappointed that it's not what I envisioned.  You see, when I'm at work and we need a pattern it's a matter of an hour or so that the pattern maker has the pattern completed, it's put up to be cut, and we are looking at the sample by the end of the day.  It's not that easy when it comes to doing everything yourself. 

 So now I have this semi-complete mock-up of a dress that I know I don't want to spend any more time on, and am starting to accept that not everything I start is going to come out perfectly, but in some way still helps me get a step closer to my goal, and maybe one day I'll have a pattern maker who can whip out patterns for me.  Until then I'll try and learn from my mother and take it one brushstroke at a time.