I've been trying to avoid any class that has anything to do with design for most of my academic career. Unfortunately, a design course focused on web content is required for my major. So, I'm currently taking a visual communication and web design course.

We've been working toward making a website and learning how to use photoshop.
It should be a really helpful skill for securing internships and jobs.
But the pace is so cripplingly slow that I can barely stand sitting in front of the computer screen folding my hands to avoid internet temptations. And stabbing myself with my pencil.

The class makes me feel like I know way more about HTML and photoshop than I ever imagined. And it's scary because I still really really don't. Certainly not aside from what I needed to learn to finish my own projects. Maybe some parts of photoshop are just easier to learn by fiddling around with it on your own.

Then, when we are learning without the computer programs, I wonder if I'm living in a blackhole where people are telling me things that I have known since I was like 12.
I don't see any of the knowledge as something that I would ever brag about (because honestly, it's not that exciting) but I am trying to figure out if we are "learning" this because people really didn't know or if everyone's time has been wasted.

For example.
"Everything you see in magazines has been photoshopped."
Dun dun DUN. Next!


"Sign language - that's a language, too."
Language is in the name of most sign languages (ex. American Sign Language). I didn't know that this had gone so unnoticed.

Easy is good. Easy is relaxing.
But it's still killing me.
And this is only Week 3.


Last semester, all of my classes felt really worthwhile and informative. This time it's been somewhat of a disappointment for a couple of them.

It makes it difficult to fend off my constant feelings of guilt about the cost of the education.

So then I try revert back to dream world and start planning a dream vacation through Scandinavia in the Winter.