As my years in college are coming to a close.. I've realized I've strayed away from what art really meant to me. I don't have the time to draw intricate yet slightly irrelevant works in my spare time.. because I have no time.
But I am not upset about this. Sure.. in the future I would like to venture back into my old ways. But as I have learned over the years... I really am in a major that I feel can do good in this world.
Industrial Design to me... is what my professor Deana once told us should be... Empathic.
I feel like I was brought into these sort of human factors and relevant design courses because that's what I want to do with my life... help people.
I am currently taking a class with "DRES" students. I personally hate the title... It makes everything feel so impersonal. DRES stands for Disability Resources and Educational Services. Currently, my University has the second best DRES program in the nation. I sit beside these students and honestly am taken back. I never realized how lucky I am to be able to do something that I love. One of my classmates, Kushal, laughed a bit when he was approached by the professor about a project. He said, "I may not be able to draw like the rest of them... but I'm sure I can show them all a thing or two."
He uses a wheelchair because he was born with a disability.
I hate when people say he is the most courageous individual they've met.. because I feel that they are only placing that title due to his chair. It's this sense of "ableism" that confines our society to believe there is no difference between empathy.. and sympathy. I wasn't taken back by his want to design because he's in a wheelchair. I'm taken back because he has what I used to... I would love to sit in class and await our next assignment.. because I loved working with my hands to create something I felt could be beautiful. But over time.. it slowly becomes less of a craft and more of a chore. I have taken time away from my design work to try to get back to my roots... throwing some paint on a canvas on occasion, but it will need to be something I can really put forth more effort into and really pursue.
I love empathic research and design. I feel that it really suits me to gear my efforts towards creating a better quality of living.