Life by Art: Part Five
Jesse Hulse
A freshman point of view.
College, for me, was a few years ago at this point, and Tyler School of Art (in Elkin’s Park back then) was Temple’s renown art college situated on the northern outskirts of Philadelphia. The campus was relatively small, but intimate in a way, diverse, and everyone got to know each other pretty quickly. The education was personal and focused and we learned, as most freshman do anywhere, that there is more out there to explore than the microcosm of life we had just come from.
Freshman year at college was a real eye-opener for many of us who muddled our way through it. Big fish in the small pond of high school thrown headfirst into the uncharted waters of college, starting over as a minnow again. Personally, adjusting to dorm life with a roommate who rocked Grateful Dead 24-hours-a-day was a culture shock to my Beatles sensibilities. Sleeping through that first period class while nursing the previous night’s hall party became all too commonplace. Mom’s home-cooking was replaced by steam-table delicacies served by a rough-looking round woman in a hairnet who manned the flat top barking, “what’chu want, hon?” All those weary, young freshman looking to her as their sole source of nourishment and wondering why they were all gaining weight. Her daily greeting rose above the din of the dining hall as everyone lined up for breakfast each morning, watching her ladle out a yellow concoction onto the griddle that she gleefully referred to as scrambled eggs. I was scarred for life. Truly. But, eventually we all adjusted, and after a while, grew to appreciate our morning dance at the grill.
I still came home almost every weekend during that first semester, being only an hour away. Partly because I still worked Saturdays pumping gas at a local service station, and partly, to see my girlfriend — not quite ready to move on from either one at first. It just took me a little longer to embrace the changes, but eventually the world opened up and I stepped in, leaving the past, as I knew it, behind me.
Later on in life, as parents, we want to guide our fledglings on a path that we think is better and maybe more beneficial, basing it all of course, on the wisdom, or lack thereof, of our own experiences. Some of our children listened to our sage advice, some listened but didn’t always acknowledge, while others just ignored it all together. But, things have a way of working out.
“Where did the time go?” Words, I suspect, uttered more than a few times on those long car rides home after dropping off children at freshman orientation. The time spent, no doubt, reminiscing through blurry eyes about the previous 18 years. Some of those first-year college newbies looked at their new-found freedom as an adventure, others, like myself, still wanted to cling to the old ways of life that we were supposed to be leaving — some of us missing families, friends, or high-school sweethearts. The first two were probably still there at Thanksgiving, and the third, well, not always. But things changed. They always did. And, still do.
Changes
If we were to look at life right now through the lens of a college freshman, faced with the current health crisis, maybe we can accept that change is inevitable. Personally, I was never a big fan of change, I liked my bird’s nest of security, of normalcy. But change always happened, with or without my approval.
And so, we’re looking at some interesting times ahead of us. What we once knew as normal will now be different. A “new” normal will emerge at some point and eventually will become the norm again. And, so it goes. Like it did after the 1918 pandemic, and the flu outbreaks of 1957-58, 68-69, and in 09-10 as a new swine flu took its own toll. But, as hard as it is to deal with the loss, separation, and isolation that each event brought, there was always a ray of hope. New ways to treat a disease, new ways to prevent it from happening again, new ways to survive. We found ways to cope and help each other, and get along. And, we moved on.
Art school was my catalyst. My way forward in life. I’m sure you all have your own moments to look back upon. But, just remember, the only certainty in life is change. And change will happen again, with or without you, or me.
Viewing life again from those anxious freshman eyes, we should probably look at the challenges ahead with optimism. Doors will open in front of us again as we take those first brave steps forward. Ever so carefully, mindfully, and with patience. Lots of patience. Hopefully, we’ll learn something in the process as we prepare to face the new world head on.
Tomorrow is always a new day.
Drawing Class Portrait by Erin Aileen Hulse
® 2013 Erin Aileen Hulse. All rights reserved.