A Country Hello

Good day, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to you all!

Here I am, sitting in my creaky, four poster bed in my old green and purple room at my parent's house, in Middle of Nowhere country, two and a half hours away from Red Deer, 23 days after I arrived back home to spend my holidays. It has been the most restful three weeks of my life, and I am so grateful to have such a loving place to come home to.

School ended on a not-so-great note, with a lot of people frustrated or even angry at me and how I've been running the Visual Art Society. It was an incredibly stressful week, with getting all of my classes and assignments finished, getting my artwork documented, and running a three-day art sale for my classmates. In all the chaos I'm afraid I stepped on a few toes and ruffled a few feathers. It was an unfortunate situation, but I have to remind myself constantly not to be too hard on myself. I am running a society, in a position, where there were no previous rules or guidelines, and no one to help me. I am running blind, making up the rules as I go, and unfortunately the only notice I get is when I do something wrong. It's a tricky situation, and sometimes I wonder why I got myself involved in something so political, but then I remind myself that I chose to do this, and good things come from it as well; not just the bad. Next semester we're going to be running things differently, doing things differently, in hopes of pleasing the masses, and I have faith that it will go smoother. I am thankful and blessed to have such an amazing executive team, with my VP, Secretary, and Treasurer all being capable and understanding women, here to help me and each other. Next semester we will be focusing more on workshops and less on sales, and I think I will be able to accomplish all I hoped to accomplish by the end of my run.

That being said, this is really the first time I have thought about the society, or school for that matter, since I left for break. It has been a wonderful, stress-free time away from everyone, and spent in the loving arms of my family, friends, and boyfriend. It's nice to remember how to breathe. Sometimes it gets hard to breathe in the city, and it's important to take a step back and find some oxygen. If that means running away and escaping to better climate, so be it.

If you're in school right now, I hope your Christmas break was as restful and rejuvenating as you needed it to be, and that you enter back into school with new vigor and energy. I myself have been dreaming and planning for my new upcoming projects, a new series in painting, and a new goal for ceramics. I have seven courses this semester, as I did last semester, and both semesters last year, so it's not new to me. However, deep down I really wish I only had the two; painting and ceramics; so I can truly spend all my time and energy on them. However, I trust that I will continue to learn all the skills of time management and bullshitting my assignments.. err.. rather ACCOMPLISHING my assignments in a timely manner. As we all do, of course... right? No all-nighters and stressful weekends for us!

I'll stick to more practical new years resolutions. Like, be a nicer person. I make that resolution every year, actually. Less fighting, more cooperating, more biting of my tongue. It usually lasts about 48 hours. I would like it to last longer than that this time.

Here's to the best!