#i just am really really good at research and applying what i learn to creative projects

[bhaalsdeepbat]

i applied for a job that i'm like slightly underqualified for in formal education, but overqualified in terms of experience and actual knowledge base and i have to wait until end of feb to even know where this is going

[elekinetic]

What are your hcs about the Stranger Things characters’ futures? Like concerning their careers, where they wind up living, pets, colleges, or anything else that you want to talk about!

ohhhh i’m torn. i want them to all end up in the same place. i don’t think this is the canon answer but this is what makes me happy:

the party ends up in california for college. they all go to uc santa cruz, cause they didn’t get a chance to do the whole college application thing while saving the world and owens pulled some strings. el and max are roommates. dustin mike and lucas get put in a triple, but if mike starts staying at a certain party member’s single most of the time…..that’s none of their business. max starts as a neuroscience major until she fucking hates it. she’s at the arcade one night and watches someone repair a broken machine and is like, oh shit. that’s kinda cool. she switches to computer science, then to computer engineering bc CS is for nerds. (dustin does CS.) lucas came in as a political science major, but he realized he was way more interested in helping max with her neuroscience homework. he ends up doing a double major in political science and human health sciences. mike majors in communication cause it’s a compromise between getting a business degree like his parents insist and studying something he’s actually interested in (this is the problem. mike has no clue what he wants to study). will is a visual arts major obv. el switches her major about seventeen different times (zoology, religion, international relations, mechanical engineering). she ends up graduating w mike in communication bc its the easiest to apply her various credits to. el and dustin get really into improv. el also does theatre, and mike ends up getting dragged into the tech scene. lucas plays club basketball and gets involved in student govt. he sets up a lot of food and blood drives. the party goes to a board game club, but will goes EVERY week and makes a bunch of great friends. max learns guitar and starts playing at open mics (el is the only one who knows. and lucas, a little later). they all join the college radio station. first its dustin helping a mutual friend fix radio tech, then its will filling in for a mutual friend’s missing cohost, then it’s will and lucas starting an advice show, and el and max starting a show where max makes the tapes and el just talks about whatever she wants, and mike fucking around in the background of all his friends’ shows and shouting out unsolicited comments. when they all move off campus, mike and will, dustin and lucas, and el and max get their own apartments respectively. lumax starts talking abt moving in together and el is like “i love you both but i am not trying to third wheel in my own home.” thus, henderhop house is born. these two were BORN to be roommates. they become such good friends and are so respectful of each others space and are so so communicative! and they both love to cook. henderhop lives together for like, six years post college. listen, they have two cats together. they don’t want to traumatize them with a divorce. mike and will get a dog when they’re older (late 20s, early 30s). they used to catsit for their neighbor, but mike is crazy allergic. it always sounds like he’s going through puberty again. the party ends up in southern california. el becomes an archaeologist and travels a lot. dustin lives in pasadena and works for JPL. max does some work with him, does some contacts for a few different companies. she eventually becomes a professor and spends her off time doing research. lucas becomes a pediatrician. later in life he serves on city council, then turns to non-profit work. will get a job as an illustration intern at a comic house straight out of college and works his way up from there. mike bounces around office jobs, does some time at a publishing house, and goes back to school for a creative writing MFA. he sells some original stuff but he ends up mostly writing comics for IPs with will. they make a name for themselves in the Star Wars EA and actually get invited to a couple comic-con panels. dustin flips his shit.

[salvadorbonaparte]

Hey, regarding the PhD path I can highly recommend it, and passion really goes a long way in the application. I have a PhD and I'm a researcher at a university, and I have a part in screening prospective students for our lab. The thing I can tell you with absolute confidence is that grades don't predict how good a person is going to be at a PhD, and the people hiring know this. People with immaculate grades aren't always cut out for the challenges of a PhD (and sometimes they are - grades alone aren't a strong predictor).

It's an entirely different skill set and the key skills are resilience, passion, and creativity. Passion being the most important by a long shot. During the course of the PhD any gaps in knowledge or weak areas will be filled. But PhDs are challenging and the thing that's going to get you to the end is passion and creativity. And that's what people are looking for most of all.

I'm not in Linguistics (but omg I wish I was, I love Linguistics so much I'm considering going back to uni and combining it with Arabic which I've been learning for a few years - your resources have helped so much!), but to give you an idea of numbers, I applied to 21 programmes here in the UK, I got 2 interviews, and I got 1 offer (I only went to one interview). But I didn't have a Master's degree, just the BSc, which was a disadvantage. The point being is to cast your net wide and don't give up or be too discouraged if it takes a while. If you want it to happen it'll happen - this stranger on the internet believes in you!

One interview tip: at the end, after you've pitched your thesis proposal and told them how passionate and dedicated you are, they'll say: "do you have any questions for us?". At this point, show them how serious you are and ask them: "given everything I've told you about my goals and intentions, is this the place for me? Can you provide me with the environment and resources I need to achieve my goals?". It shows that you aren't just desperate for any position, you're willing to look elsewhere, you have options. It might be a bluff, but it'll make them want you more, especially if they suddenly think you might go somewhere else.

Best of luck! Sorry for the long ask!

Thank you so much for the tips! And don't worry about the length of the ask :)

I'm definitely going to keep this in mind! I'm planning on applying for a handful of places with good funding opportunities and just hope I'm lucky (or try again next year) and I definitely have a lot of passion. Like a lot. I've been telling every living soul about my current thesis project for a year now.

Based on what I've been through I'm also very resilient. Everyone tells me how tough a PhD is and I definitely believe them but I've also been through a lot so I am very convinced my passion and resilience would make me ideal for that kinda environment.

[chaos-in-deepspace]

Hi! I'm the person who sent the anon about topping and bottoming. I apologize if it came off as condescending! I didn't intend for it to be that way.

For a little bit of context, I'm someone who studies sex and sexual relationships, more specifically in queer relationships. This isn't like, an official thing though, it's not for school. It's just a topic of study that I'm really interested in. And "topping" is almost always referring to the "giver", and "bottom" is almost always referring to the "receiver", in most sources that I have found. This doesn't just apply to gay relationships either, from what I've found.

I just wanted to give a little bit of context as to why I was confused, lol. Those are just the definitions that I've learned in my studies, and I haven't really seen it used in any other context before this point.

For the record, though, I am on the older side (comparatively to when others seem to first get started in fandom spaces) and fandom is relatively new to me, so these definitions that I've learned may not be used like that in fandom spaces.

Again, I apologize if I've come off as rude or given you any emotional distress!

Oh no no no, honey, sweetie pie, sugar, don't even worry about it. I did initially think it was a condescending message but I reread it I figured it was just actual confusion which is why I replied.

So I'm not entirely sure about the kind of reading or research you do, but it seems to be more on the academic end, which doesn't always translate when it comes to creative writing.

While I do agree a majority of the time the Top is the "Giver" and Bottom is the "Receiver", it has nothing to do with penetration. It's more of a Submissive and Dominate setting, and those roles aren't always set in stone as they can be switched up, sometimes several times in a single scene. I'm sure you read the replies on the last one and heard the term "Topping from the Bottom", which is a good example.

I can give you a quick example of what it means to be a top or bottom and how it's very much dependent on the situation and context. I'm going to put it under the cut though since it does get into more smutty territory as well. Imma use Xavier for the example since my man screams switch to me.

Setting: MC is about to sit on Xavier's face.

Situation A: MC is the Bottom Xavier grabs MC by the thighs, dragging them over to his face. MC is bashful as he coaxes them gently to just sit, informing them that they won't hurt or suffocate him. MC finally does and Xavier begins eating them out. He pulls orgasm after orgasm from MC until they're shaking from overstimulation, telling him it's too much. Xavier is praising them from underneath, telling them to give him just one more.

In this scene, MC is the bottom and Xavier is the top. Even though MC is physically on top, the situation is in Xavier's hands and he's controlling what's happening.

Situation B: MC is the Top MC tells Xavier to lay on the bed. They tell him how cute he is as the straddle his face. MC tells Xavier that he's going to be a good boy and eat them out, and if he does a good job they'll reward him. They lower themselves onto Xavier as he begins doing so, working MC into climaxing. He tries using his hands to aid him, but MC slaps it away and tells him he needs to just use his mouth. Xavier groans underneath them as he does just that, trying to please MC.

It's the same exact sexual act, but this time MC is the one who's on top. Even though Xavier is giving them the pleasure, MC is the one in charge and controlling what's happening. You can also see there isn't any penetration happening, but there's still a very clear distinction on who's the "Top" with just the context.

So as you can see from this, situations are very dependent on the context of what's happening. There's no solid rule when it comes to Top and Bottoming. This goes outside of fandoms as well, in both erotic novels and Queer relationships. I've been reading and writing in the genre for about ten years now, and this "Top" and "Bottom" situation goes into the published, original novel realm. I'm also a member of the LGBTQ+ community and have several friends and they'll agree that this is pretty accurate on how it works.

I hope that helps clear things up on how I, and a lot of other people see this. I won't claim I am right, but I know a lot of people who would agree. Since you're new to fandoms and possibly even erotic literature (correct me if I'm wrong) there's nothing wrong with not knowing certain things.

If you ever want, my DMs are open for conversation or if you have questions I'd be happy to give you an answer to the best of my ability.

[whentherewerebicycles]

omg just had SUCH a good talk with that former older student of mine about how to get transfer students involved in research + what he thinks four-year faculty should know about students who are making the transition from community colleges. it was just so, SO interesting!! the basic takeaways were:

mentorship, mentorship, mentorship. his view was basically that no single factor matters more in determining a student’s trajectory in college & likelihood of graduating than mentorship. he was able to name five different mentors he had at different stages in his CC/four year college/grad school career, all of whom built a relationship with him and took the time to learn a great deal about how he thought and what he was interested in and where he wanted to go, and then provided him with extra guidance, feedback, and structured support to help him advance towards those long-term goals.

but also: mentors may need to more explicitly name what they’re doing—like, he had a fantastic CC mentor who hired him as a TA and got him involved as a paid member of this committee that was redesigning the school’s core curriculum and helped him network with other faculty… and my student said it wasn’t until years down the road that he realized the professor wasn’t finding him extra jobs just to help him make more money, he was actually working to acclimate him to & familiarize himself with the cultures and norms of higher ed, and helping him hone his skills in talking to faculty and administrators about his interests and his long-term goals and so on. that was very interesting!

CC students are less likely to know that talking to faculty, sharing their goals with advisors, taking advantage of professional development offerings, and seeking out extracurricular opportunities tied to their academic/professional interests is actually a really important part of being in college. he said he was totally focused on getting all A’s and thought that was all he needed to do until a professor took him aside and was like “you HAVE to network, you have to apply for these other things, you’re too smart to just do your work and go home and not take advantage of everything that’s available to you here.” he also said that you can’t just give CC transfer students information—you also often have to understand and correct the misinformation or mistaken assumptions they’re coming into the institution with.

students aren’t going to get hooked on research via research papers lol. he was like you CAN get them to the point where they actually legitimately want to write research papers because they’re that fascinated by the questions they’re asking. but you have to get them to discover and fall in love with their questions first. so he was advocating for starting with community-engaged research or applied research or creative projects that are grounded in research but work on other levels too, and using those kinds of things to get students thinking about the kinds of questions they could be asking, and then slowly introducing formal research tools and building up their understanding of the methods that researchers in different fields use to answer big questions and so on.

he said he thinks a big challenge for CC students who are considering transferring to four-year colleges is all the mixed messages they get about their abilities or aptitude for college. he was like, “you can be a smart, capable student but you’ll be sitting in a class where the professor’s talking to you and teaching the course like it’s a remedial class, and it can really get in your head, because they’re a professor and maybe they know more than you do about what level you can perform at. and then maybe you’ll go to the next class where you have a great professor who encourages you, but in the back of your mind you’re like, what kind of student am I? am I the remedial student or the student who could get my bachelor’s degree?” idk just so interesting always to think about how much influence faculty attitudes can have on students’ own self-perception

much to think about!!! I have more in my notes I just gotta sit with it for a bit and do some more thinking about how I want to talk about it in the campus visit.

[zwoelffarben]

A question actually addressed to me (i think based on context: @iwillgotoheavenforyou correct me if I'm wrong), so I guess I now have to take the time to answer it because "It's the autism," is entirely too pithy an accurate response to be useful.

How do you know so much

The first caveat to say is that I don't actually know all that much: I'm fond of saying, "I pretend to know things," and that's not really true because I do know things, but I generally give off the vibe that I know more stuff to a more indepth mastery than I actually do. This is cause of three four things.

I'm a knowledge generalist: I don't know a lot about most subjects but I pick up a little bit about everything.

I'm autistic and for me that manifests in being very good at connecting dots to draw beautifyl patterns, even given a small number of data points.

I'm autistic and I'm very particular about how I phrase things, with nuance and depth, such to avoid being misunderstood.

I was taught how to do basic research, and I try to make a habit of doing it before speaking when unsure about something.

I typically only know enough about something to be dangerous; often I need to look things up to remember exact details but I also try to make a habit checking my position on the dunning-kruger graph before speaking by looking shit up: You will however semi-regularly find me called out for having misjudged where exactly on that curve I am enrealis; and one whoopsie-daisy of a conversation with some actual expert later I'll admit that to being wrong on the internet out-loud for the world to read. It's never a pleasant experience but I assure you, I'm always so very brave about it. That's how I maintain the illusion of knowing so much™.

Now as for how I actually go about knowing things, well the things I know a lot about were either special interests of mine or things I specifically learned about in school and college. I went to the liberal arts school ███████ where I learned a shit tonne of information and then my autistic brain started connecting dots and forming opinions about things I have no business having opinions about. I have never filed my taxes (on account of not making enough to be legally required to file taxes) and yet, I have opinions about W2 forms which I won't be sharing here because they're not relevant.

My actual areas of expertise are quite limited in scope to 400 creative writing, 250s math, (english) literature, 200s chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, economics, art theory, painting, computers and coding, 100s of many miscellanious disciplines, blorbo from shows, shows, minecraft, and my lived experiences as an left-handed autistic queer white dude whose shoelaces deep into tumblr. This is a normal amount of things to know stuff about.

I know just about as much as anyone else who is my age and has had my level of education, but my autism might make me marginally better at connecting threads across multiple disciplines to apply knowledges in synasthetic ways, but mostly I'm practiced in the art of appearing to know what I'm talking about (not because I want to seem smart but because as a baby autistic being labelled 'smart' made surviving K-12 easier for me.)

How do you have time to write in such details

I'm fortunate enough that my living situation is stable such that I don't need to hold down a job nor make a living and can spend most of my time shitposting, seriousposting, and playing minedcraft.

I do type faster than most people because I'm a left-handed person both because I type a lot and because I'm using a DAVORK-L instead of QWERTY. I actually can type fast enough to cause minor-major sprains in my right wrist. I don't tend to do that, but it's happened and will continue to happen in the future.

But mostly, I just start a post and type until it's finished. I enter a fugue state and exit it hours later +1 reblog. (This matches my general approach to creative pursuits like writing and painting.)

How do you remember all of this

Most of the time I don't. There are two relevant modes of memory (there are a bunch of others) recall and recognition: I'm good at exactly one of those things; and well, my brain is not a well-ordered library of facts that I can look things up in.

It is a mireous bayou that swallows knowledge to rest beneath its murky waters; and if I'm looking for a specific factoid I need to navigate through the generally unmarked trees until I find a vaguely familar spot or happen upon the information randomly.

The thing you don't see is all the memory aids I have when posting about topics I'm less sure about. I have a folder on my computer called knowledge I put inforgraphics in. I have a folder in my browser book marks (sorely in need of organization) called use where I keep my citable links to stuff. When I need to know a specific fact and I can't find it in the bayou of my mind, I open 2-6 tabs on wikipedia to search for it, some of which I link in the post, and some of which I don't because I'm lazy or I actually did.

I don't remember all of it all of the time: I've recently started systematizing the tools and strategies I developed over the years to help me find my way back to specific information so that theyr better at helping me navigate the murky waters of my mindswamp, but most of the time anything I techincally know is completely forgotten about until it's needed again and dredged from the muck.

[potentiallypolyglot]

Career Plans Update

Alright it’s been two weeks since my initial decision to switch careers from sales management to Mandarin to English translator. I’ve gone back and forth a lot and done a good bit more research. This is not a decision I can afford to make emotionally. However, I’m still in favor of making the switch. In fact, my plans have taken a turn for the slightly more extreme.

For one thing, I’ve learned that getting certified by the American Translator’s Association is more of a mid-career achievement, not a ticket into the industry (Something they say explicitly in several articles lol. Common misconception of the uneducated (me)). I’m also aware that I overestimated my ability to pick up the language through self study around my current job. I set my goal to begin my new career approximately 18 months from now, which is definitely not enough time to gain sufficient fluency.

So my new extreme plan is to self-study for the next year or so and then get a position teaching English in China for 1-2 years. I understand that just being there won’t improve my understanding of the language in and of itself. It will take intentional dedication to pursue immersion and apply what I’ve learned. 

I also realize that I’ll need to devote efforts to improving my writing ability in English. I’m a native speaker, but translators are held to a higher standard of writing than just casual blogging in most cases. There’s also the need to understand nuances in creative vs professional writing as well as specialized types of translated documents. Deciding on an area of expertise within translating is something that I’ll wait to do once I gain more knowledge and experience.

Lets talk pros and cons of why I’m deliberating

Cons

- My mom will worry about me - My sister will think that I am abandoning her - I’ll miss out on what my friends do while I’m away - The thought of leaving my current job is a little scary because I don’t want them to think that I’m abandoning or betraying them

Pros

- I’ll get to travel and see the world - My day to day will vary bc of new cultural experiences - My day to day will have consistencies, such as the students and coworkers, and I’ll be able to see my students make progress - I already have some experience solo travelling and loved it (longest adventure was 4 months studying abroad) - It will be a really nice break from the cycle I’ve found my day to day in - It will help me achieve greater fluency and cultural understanding  - So when I return I can start my new career as a Mandarin to English translator - If I don’t do it now (within the next two years), it will likely never happen - I’m coming back anyway so its not forever

Not an exhaustive list but these are top of mind. I’m mostly just publicly journaling here, but if anyone has experience teaching English abroad or being a translator or making a similar decision/move in anyway, feel free to advise. Thanks!

[scribl1ta]

I am interested: why do you like Emperor Hadrian so much and when did you start liking him?

Thank you so much for asking! It's not something I've thought about a lot, but here's what I came up with today:

I really became curious about him seeing his influences on Roman art, which i was referencing and researching a lot a few years ago. I was reading a lot about Hadrian through his relationship with Antinous, which led me to learn a lot more about him as an individual. I felt like we had things in common during this time in my life, when I was around 14 years old. I liked art and books, I wrote a lot, and I had just read Plato's Symposium and became obsessed with classical Athens. I also think coming into my lgbt identity was related to it in some way but that isn't something I've explained to anybody before, and not really something I can verbalize right now :/ there was just a connection that made sense to me.

The first thing I think of these days is that Hadrian's inner life is truly mesmerizing to me. Because he enjoyed writing, he seems like an expressive, creative person who would offer a thoughtful perspective on his life and circumstances. He was adopted, and there were a few scandals at the beginning of his reign over his legitimacy and relationship to Trajan; then his relationship with his wife is also very complex, and many sources disagree over how they felt about each other (and I think Sabina is a powerful and fascinating figure in her own right); and I still find the love between him and Antinous a really compelling subject, and a good example of how Hadrian challenged Roman traditions and morals. Reading about all of these things humanized him so much in my eyes, and it's impossible not to think about everything we still don't know. I really wish his autobiography had survived (if one existed), but the fact that it doesn't at least gives all of this some mystique😉

In case it needs to be said, I don't agree with any of the Roman emperors politically, but I do think Hadrian had a unique and sympathetic policy focused on securing and culturally enriching the empire's existing territory. I liked that he traveled so much and kind of decentered Rome as the Caput Mundi, which shifted the culture of the time a lot (we can see this very strongly in sculpture from this time period, for example, which show strong Greek influence in both popular fashions and artistic techniques). He promoted learning and the arts, and gave cities including Athens more self-determination. His Philhellenism interests me a lot since although many Romans admired and learned from Greece, Hadrian studied, applied, and accessorized aspects of Greek culture in very different ways from his predecessors, to the point where it became characteristic of his empire and his own identity. His contemporaries made fun of him for this, and I think his use of Greek culture sometimes seems fetishistic, but it also contributed to his liberal attitudes and focus on improving the quality of life for his subjects.

Lastly, I am also very interested in his reception from historians and modern people. Many historians acknowledge that he was an authoritarian and scheming and power-hungry, but that he was also a dedicated student of art and literature, and he wanted to understand the people he ruled. It's not easy to find other historical figures treated with such nuance (in my experience).

I hope that answers your question!! I'm always happy to talk about him and I'm always learning new things, so I appreciate your interest🥰❤️

[always-andromeda]

Meda!! i am in TEARS!!!!!!! your response to my last ask was so so so so so nice and I am giving you the biggest, warmest hug!!!!! we are definitely bunkmates at summer camp!!!!!!! I'll be the weird kid who's always sharing strange, niche, and macabre historical facts lol 😅 but I'll make up for it by making yummy treats bc I love baking ☺️

(putting a cut here bc this got long - sorry😅)

and you think about me sometimes???? 🥹🥹🥹🥹 I am so SOFT 🥹🥹🥹🥹 as you said, I know we're internet friends who have never met, but I think about you as well and send you good vibes always!! sometimes I'll see something I think you'd like - like a Pedro Pascal meme or something - and I'll think to myself, "oh, Meda would like this!" 💙

and huge congrats on finishing up the semester!! and my goodness I totally get you about feeling kinda worthless if there's nothing academic to validate my existence 😅 I wish I could give you some words of encouragement with that, but honestly it's something I'm still unpacking with my therapist and trying to work through myself. but I think I can offer this if it's of any help: since I don't know you in an academic context (I don't know what classes you take, what grades you get, etc.) I can tell you that you have so much value outside of academics. your writing is incredible, and you are such a kind, welcoming, warm person. I am so lucky to know you (even if only virtually) and you bring such light to everyone with whom you interact. while I know that academics/the grading system can really fuck with your sense of self and self-worth, just know that you are a whole and complete person outside of those things, and you are valued, appreciated, and loved for all the wonderful and unique things you bring just by being yourself. 🥰🥰🥰🥰

and I also brought stickers!! I didn't have all the animals you mentioned, so I threw in a few others that I thought were really cute (and a red panda bc they're my favorite ☺️). since you're already done with your semester, they can be celebration stickers!!

and thank you so much for the well-wishes on my MA and for the summer! I'll be applying to phd programs in the fall so I'll be researching and reaching out to profs over the summer (pray for me 😬). but I do hope to have some time to just relax and make edits and write. oh and we're getting a new puppy in June!!! I will be sure to send photos!!

I also wish you rest when you need it and creative inspiration when you want it this summer!!

I'll be over here in my bunk at summer camp, so reach out absolutely any time! 🥰

sending you love, hugs, and all things good,

charlotte 🎨

Of course I think about ya!! It's little things that remind me so much of you. Like I have these vintage style flower stickers I use pretty often to decorate things and they remind me entirely of you. And almost every time I hear a Taylor Swift song it makes me think of you too!!

And oh gosh, you're talking to a person who, as a kid, was massively hyperfixated on learning everything I possibly could about the Titanic, the Kennedy assassinations, and like every true crime case I'd learn about on TV. So we would definitely be the weird summer camp kids together, just swapping our weird little fun facts and treats with each other (because I'm also a huge baker)!!

(I'm also adding a cut here because whOO so many paragraphs of things for me to say)

That entire paragraph you left...is so affirming and so lovely and I just– I have no words to express how wonderful it was to read that. Thank you. I also feel incredibly lucky to know a person like you with such a massively generous and kind heart and a vastly wonderful taste in the arts. And I can say that even just through my computer screen, you bring me so much joy, so I can assure you that to the people who get to interact with you in real life? You must absolutely radiate pure light.

Maybe you can relate a little bit to this? But growing up, the only thing that I was ever really taught to value about myself was how I was doing in school. I was taught to always prioritize productivity. So now as an adult, it's so hard to justify giving myself breaks and just letting myself find peace and happiness in the quiet. These are all things I'm working on in therapy, and the approach that my therapist has given me is just like...viewing myself as a stranger.

Because if I were looking at any other person who does the things I do and is the kind of person I try to be...I would love them. I would do everything in my power to support them and make them feel as loved and valued and cared for as possible. It's a little bit easier to give myself kindness with that level of removal there. Maybe that's helpful to you, maybe it isn't!! Either way, I thought I'd share it. 💞

AND OKAY MASSIVE TONE SHIFT BUT OH MY GOODNESS CHARLOTTE THOSE STICKERS ARE ALL THE ABSOLUTE CUTEST THINGS EVER. GOSH THOSE MADE ME SMILE SO BIG I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Thank you so much for the celebration stickers and gosh, next time I find some adorable stickers, I'll have to send them to you as well!! Just to spread the sticker love around!! 🥰

Goodness gracious, wishing you the absolute best with your academic pursuits this summer!! And I'd just love to see pictures of your puppy when you get them!! Very much looking forward to what this summer brings for both of us, bunkmate. I'm sending all of your hugs and thoughts of love and support right back at ya!! 💞✨

[whynotcherries]

you wanted asks, so i’m here with asks! two questions that are slightly similar:

what do you think deserves more representation in media?

what do you think is getting a good amount of representation in media, but this representation is usually inaccurate?

thank you for the ask, anon! <3 i kind of rambled (hence the cut), i apologize, but i would hope you wouldn't answer this question without expecting a long response 😭❤️

for the first question, i think disability as a whole deserves more representation in media. i am slightly biased in wanting to see more chronic illness rep (because that's sort of the thing that i definitely would've benefited from seeing in media before ending up with one) but i think most (...all?) disabilities are under-represented.

i would love to see more representation of *specifically* the chronic illnesses people live their whole lives with, but don't generally know they have until they're in unignorable constant pain/discomfort. like, an example of a big one is EDS. like, children should know chronic joint pain isn't just what everyone experiences, and people should know about co-occurring illnesses, and how being "double-jointed" is, way more often than people would assume, hypermobility.

it's just common chronic illnesses taking years to be diagnosed because nobody's heard of them. i would love for that to stop happening. i feel like tiktok is introducing more people to things like POTS, but there is such a need for it in official media. it's important for people not to be learning solely from strangers on the internet.

the second one is a really hard question to answer 😅 off the top of my head, there's not really a specific group that's represented in a way that's well-described as "as often as it should be, but badly."

in general, i think the issue of misrepresentation of any group is the result of under-representation on sets and in creative spaces... and usually when a group is under-represented on sets, they're under-represented in media, too. when there are voices of any given group involved in the creation of media, there are more people working to make sure the thing is created accurately. and when there's enough existing media depicting one group, there's more public critique from the audience about the accuracy of how they're depicted in said media, which will allows for more well-researched and accurate future work... (obviously, this only really applies when artists listen and do research). to help fix the issue of under-representation, more people need to create media with more diverse casts, and they have to actually involve people of those groups in the creation of their media in some way, and they have to accept criticism after doing both of those things.

but ALSO, the idea of something getting a "good amount" of representation is kind of subjective, and in most cases, so is accurate representation.

**and, just as a disclaimer, i am not an expert on any of this and there are definitely points of view i haven't learned yet. i am nineteen years old and taking one social justice class, which is not nearly enough experience to know a lot.**

[plaguery]

i want to just get a steady job first so im going to keep applying to average retail/customer service stuff since thats what my experience is in but once i do get that job and i can worry less about making my rent and stuff i think i want to look into union trades. depending on what i choose i might have to get certifications first and those cost money but a lot of them do pay you to learn as an apprentice. i was thinking about going for welding before but i dont know if theyre one of the paid apprenticeship ones or not. once i do more research though i might pick something else. welding seemed cool to learn as a trade that i could even apply to art as well. basically i need to find a good career that wont require me to go back to college because i really dont think i can make it in college. as much as i love the lectures/seminars and learning, the workload was massive for me. despite how good i am at these, im still a slow reader and writer. when i was in college i was trying so hard to study and get all my coursework done and, not even procrastinating, i STILL was staying up until the early morning hours every day trying to get things done in time. and thats not even touching on how much the environment bothered me. it would have been different if i wasnt reliant on merit scholarships at the time and could risk lower grades or hits to my gpa. but now i dont even know how i would pay for it because i refuse to take out loans with my fear of debt.

so a trade that pays me to learn hands on, on the job would be kind of perfect. it would be at the expense of... probably a major part of my identity while also satisfying a smaller, but still significant other part. but i need to be able to make the money i need to take care of myself and live the way i want to outside of work so i think that sacrifice might have to be made.

idk it just sucks that a more dominant part of me wants a path that would either require college and likely still suffer financially with it or just trudge through retail/customer service forever, barely scraping by to support my desire to learn and create. and the other part of me is like "hey i got this!! give me a rough trade and i can keep us afloat so we can live the life we want!!" like why cant i just nun larp and do religious studies and creative writing with a focus in poetry like i wanted to forever and make enough money doing that... or why cant i be a mysterious librarian/archivist or even an enchanting mortician without selling my soul to the demon of academic grading and degrees... but NOOOO the part of me that wanted to be a mechanic when they grew up is winning the career game!!!!!!

[bomanipld]

Reflective Statement and feed back.

Reflection on my research skills.

My Tumblr research and exploring design choices was poor, After reflection and during my process I became aware that I was not providing enough research and design style that may influence my final posters. I feel my main reason for this ‘low effort’ with posting on Tumblr is due to the fact it's all happening in my head and I'm just doing it, not logging it. So for the summative, I need to log more in addition to an increase in research and exploring design styles.

Reflection on my creative process.

My poster originally had a lot of meaning behind it, and I feel as if I did well prevailing that but the poster itself is quite bland and I feel I need to add something and remove multiple aspects to help illustrate the message further. After reviewing my formative feedback I can practice this in a more advanced and knowledgeable way.

Reflections on my decision making.

I feel it was a terrible choice to choose to have a green background and a lighter tone green for my main text. And by having a large white receipt it really distracts the viewer from the main message and can create confusion with what I presented. I think my decision for the theme and topic is a very good topic and can be opened up to many pathways and topics.

Reflection on the overall progression of my work and learning.

I've had many challenges with my work throughout this journey as I've never used any digital platform to design stuff before. I have been practicing over the holidays and researching more and have found a ‘style’ I am interested in and want to attempt to apply to my work for my classes. I have also accidentally made my form of Tumblr blog on Instagram which I'm going to apply to my Tumblr and give more comments on.

Feedback from my peers:

Talk more on the process of how I designed it and what were the steps to get to my final result. As I will already be talking about my design choices by time you get to the other thing.

What Im going to do to improve:

I will be reviewing what exactly each section of my thing will be for example this is my current idea of what everything is so I will came back and figure out what exactly is which by going into canvas and from there rewrite and improve my current reflective statement and maybe other parts of my writting.

[baileytomkinsviscomblog]

'Intersections' - Pt. 1

Brief

This project, as the title makes clear, is about intersections. An intersection, put simply, is the point where two things come together. Examples of intersections that we experience each day are bus stops, train stations, car parks, bridges, or even corridors. Intersections can also be things that don't necessarily take a physical form, such as conversational intersections, for example, the joke you didn’t understand, the comfortable silence between a conversation, or the hand gestures used to fill in the gaps. These intersections happen to us every day.

The brief for this is to explore a series of specific sites and find an 'intersection'—somewhere that is the border between two different spaces. Once we have discovered, documented, and explored our chosen intersection, we must then interpret it and create a response to it. This response must either conceptualise a method for highlighting the space or, alternatively, attempt to bring together the two spaces and the different entities within them.

Research

As an artist, when I'm presented with a challenge or an opportunity to create ideas, I will often jump straight to the end result, as it's part of my mind's natural creative thinking and curiosity to want to immediately solve problems and picture in my head all the possibilities. This thinking process is helpful to me; however, during this course, I've learned to try and slow down my thinking, attempting to properly structure my process of research and development. I usually start with a mindmap and primary research, as I feel that this is the best way to start thinking about different ideas as well as understanding the brief more effectively. I feel that the mixture of the theoretical and the practical creates a good balance of data, from which I can start to dive deeper into certain areas that I find most intriguing.

Often, when throwing out a wide net, you will get some ideas that you later realise don't have much potential; however, I think that it's still worth doing this as you can compare those ideas to your better ones and examine why they would be more effective. I believe this process makes it easier to develop good ideas instead of applying a perfectionist approach where every idea must be profound and well thought out, which can restrict and slow down your creative process.

Mind Maps

Although many of these ideas I knew I would be unlikely to pursue, this exercise really helped to open up my mind and get the cogs turning. Often, it can be helpful to have less substantial and weaker ideas for comparison, questioning why other ideas may be stronger, why they connect with me, and how they may relate to others. From these mind maps, the idea that stood out to me the most, even at this early stage, was related to the concept of being present and always looking forward. I find that I will often use ideas that resonate with me on a personal level. I believe this gives me a better understanding of the work I am going to do and also increases my passion and motivation for the project. Despite locking into one idea, I was very interested in all the other possible paths I could have followed, and it may be useful to look back at them for inspiration when starting a different project.

Primary research

These are just some examples of the initial primary research I did at the start of the project. I found that photography was a great method of collecting primary research because it was quick and also encouraged me to explore what's around me. It turns out I didn't need to go far to find inspiration; most of these intersections I come across as part of my weekly university routine, for example, walking to the shops, travelling home, getting ready in the morning, sleeping, and jogging. I enjoyed collecting this research as it allowed me to stop and look at the world around me, seeing things from a different perspective.

[702maddihohneck]

INTERVIEWS

Jacky Jiang

Could you please briefly introduce yourself? What is your name? Where did you graduate from? What was your degree and major?

My name is Jacky Jiang. I graduated from AUT in 2019. I studied Bachelor of Design (UX/UI Major).

What is your current job?

I quit my full-time role in Auckland last month to pursue a new life in Melbourne. Before quitting, I worked at Purple Shirt as a User Experience Designer.

Tell me about yourself and your experience in the design industry.

During university, I started freelancing as a digital designer, my role mainly consisted of building brand identities and bootstrapping digital experiences for small to medium size businesses. I continued to freelance after university and during the first lockdown. I then worked in my first full-time role as a digital product designer for Edition. My main responsibilities were assisting with the end-to-end design process alongside the senior/lead designers. I then moved on to work for Purple Shirt as a user experience designer. At Purple Shirt, I was responsible for owning the design process and was also part of the research and user testing team.

Do you prefer freelancing rather than working in an agency?

I do prefer freelancing because I enjoy the idea of working for myself. Freelancing is challenging because the amount of work comes and goes, you’re spending a lot of time on sales and emails rather than designing. Eventually, I’d love to go back to freelancing full-time. But once you can get a few consistent retainers onboard it’s a lot easier and the money is good too! In an agency, you can get thrown around in projects quite a bit (especially if you’re the youngest in the company) and that is why I want to pursue an in-house product role for my next role.

If applicable, how did you make a brand for yourself? What platforms did you use to get going, or to keep customers?

I branded myself by setting up an Instagram account as well as a website. I’d share my best work on Instagram and use hashtags to get my work seen by new people. The website is more of a proper channel for new clients to get in touch with me.

Was there anyone who inspired you to become a designer? Is there anyone you look up to?

Not really! I used to want to be an architect but I realised I disliked math and using rulers. There are a few designers whom I look up to here in Australia - https://holtdesign.com.au/ and https://www.mgiesser.com/

Could you share some personal advice that you learned from your own experience you wish you knew earlier in your career?

Managing client/stakeholder expectations is a super important soft skill. I found that it’s better to under promise and overdeliver rather than the other way around. This applies to the amount you’re delivering as well as the timeframe.

Finally, what are your future goals for design? Do you have any tips for upcoming graduates entering the design industry?

My future goal is to eventually become a senior product designer and then transition into full-time freelancing/starting my own business. I want to gain some more experience before I make the transition.

One tip I would give to graduates is to just put yourself out there for opportunities. Don’t be stuck being comfortable!

Some of Jacky’s Work:

https://jackyjiangphoto.com

Maddie Fletcher

1. Could you please briefly introduce yourself? What is your Name? Where did you graduate from? What was your degree and major?

My name is Maddie Fletcher, I am 22 and living in the most beautiful city, Mount Maunganui. I studied at Auckland University of Technology, graduating with a Bachelor of Design, majoring in Interaction Design.

2. What is your current job?

I currently work as a full-time designer at LIFE, a church of 18,000 spanning over two countries. The design work covers various focuses within the organisation - ranging from projects with lots of creative thinking to creating promotional material and campaigns for community initiatives reaching 1,000s of people. Developing and redesigning websites is a big part of my role as well as designing fresh brand identity and carrying out various print collateral.

3.  Tell me about yourself and your experience in the design industry.

I have absolutely loved my experience in the design industry. My job has allowed me to push my creativity and given me a massive scope of opportunity since stepping into it right out of university. Jumping in the deep end with a lot of responsibly and time pressure has enabled me to develop my skill quickly.

4.  What is your experience with freelance work?

As well as working full time, I always have some kind of freelance work going. Sometimes just one project, but have also found myself working on up to 5 projects with different clients. Although it takes away a lot of my nights working on these projects, it has been incredibly beneficial to learn how to work with people efficiently.

5. Do you prefer freelancing rather than working in an agency? Or vice versa?

The benefit of working in an agency is obviously the financial security and consistency. And you can build incredible relationship with your team. While freelancing has the benefit of being able to have control over who you work with and enable you to strengthen your own brand. In my situation, I love that I can always have steady work, while being able to build my own brand on the side through freelancing, so one day I can go out on my own and feel like I have a strong leg to stand on with it.

6. If applicable, how did you make a brand for yourself? What platforms did you use to get going, or to keep customers?

Currently, my freelancing has come from people I know or word of mouth. I have used social media and a website, but it’s hasn’t been necessary yet as work has flowed in naturally. Eventually my goal is to get to a place where I am more specific about what clients I want to attract, and at that stage in my journey I will start to push my brand.

7. Was there anyone who inspired you to become a designer? Is there anyone you look up to?

The person who worked in my role prior to me. She is an incredible design and so talented in pushing the boundaries of creativity. She has been able to mentor me practically but also be a creative inspiration.

8. Could you share some personal advice that you learned from your own experience you wish you knew earlier in your career?

One of the best things I have learnt is that I’ve always got room for improvement, and an ability beyond what I think I’m capable of. I have a rule for myself that when I design something for the first time, even if the first version seems good enough, to challenge myself to do it again and make it better than the last - and I always surprise with what I am capability of. There is so much room to grow!

9. Finally, what are your future goals for design? Do you have any tips for upcoming graduates entering the design industry?

For now to keep working hard & pushing the boundaries of my creativity. And be really diligent with freelancing on the side, in the hope of being able to build my own name as a designer in New Zealand.

My tip would be to always push your creativity, and have an attitude that seeks to produce your best work in every project. Be confident in what you have to offer, while always being open to the right persons feedback and allow it to always fuel you rather than bring you down.

[iridescent-lemon]

Reflective Blog Post: Dickinson’s Computer Science Curriculum

College is a way for people to learn about topics that they are interested in and grow immensely through a variety of academic and personal experiences. Thus, it makes sense that students take the time to research colleges and carefully decide where to apply to, and which one to go to. Two of the main reasons that I decided to attend Dickinson College is because of its liberal arts education and the small class sizes that make it easier to build relationships with my professors and peers. Through the variety of classes that I took, especially during my first and second year, I feel that Dickinson has achieved its mission of providing me with a useful, innovative, and interdisciplinary education and has consequently helped me reach my personal goals.

I am currently a Japanese and computer science double major, however it was not always my intention to study computer science. I entered college with the desire to major in Japanese and biology, with the hopes of pursuing my interest in marine biology. However, after reflecting on my interests during the winter break of my first year, I decided that I wanted to find something else that excited me. To figure this out, I took classes covering a variety of subjects including philosophy, psychology, sociology, and computer science. My introduction to computer science was COMP 130, taken remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I had never taken a computer science course before and had very little knowledge on the subject in general. Despite the difficulties of taking COMP 130 during the pandemic, I found out that I really enjoyed the logical and creative aspects of programming. From that point forward, I have continued taking computer science classes, and now here I am today, just months away from graduating with a degree in computer science. Reflecting back on my time as a Dickinson student studying computer science, I believe that the classes I took managed to fulfill most of the goals set by the curriculum.

Through the core classes of the major, I have reached the technical goals of the curriculum that include understanding concepts such as data structures, algorithms, computational complexity, computability, and abstractions. From the very start with COMP 130 and COMP 132, I learned the fundamentals of programming which included the syntax of Python and Java, how to write functions and organize code, and about the benefits of well commented code. I remember in the very beginning of COMP 130, I didn't even know what a “comment” was in coding, or how to write them. Looking back, commenting code was a very basic concept and I remember feeling a bit embarrassed about asking the question in the first place. However, as this was an introduction to computer science, my professor warmly and enthusiastically answered my question, which created an atmosphere where I felt comfortable asking questions.

In COMP 132, another introductory class taught with Java, I recall being introduced to the ideas of polymorphism and data structures such as linked lists. The labs and homeworks for that class were engaging and did a good job at reinforcing the material that we learned. I especially remember our final lab, which gave us the opportunity to create our own Java class hierarchy concerning an appointment making system. This was the first time that we were not given any starter code, and the assignment was set up in a way where we implemented our initial idea the first week and then revised it based on feedback for the second week. Even though it was a small project, I felt proud to be able to create something completely from scratch, which boosted the confidence I had in my programming skills.

In the higher level classes, specifically COMP 256 computing abstractions, COMP 314 computability and complexity, and COMP 332 data structures and algorithms, I was able to further my knowledge of the fundamentals of programming and learn about how computers operated in a more general sense. I personally found computing abstractions to be a very interesting and engaging class, as it gave an overview of how computers were built from 0s and 1s that represent an abstraction of electrical signals. In that class, I particularly remember that learning about and working with lower level languages, such as assembly, helped solidify my understanding in how computer programs worked. In both the computability and complexity class, and the data structures and algorithms class, my knowledge on Big-Oh notation, well known computer algorithms, and types of computable programs was furthered. These two classes were two of the most difficult classes for me, particularly COMP 314. Despite this, I remember COMP 314 in particular sparking my interest in the P vs. NP problem. This inspired me to read parts of a book mentioned in my COMP 314 textbook titled The Golden Ticket: P, NP, and the Search for the Impossible by Lance Fortnow.

In addition to the technical goals of the computer science curriculum, I have felt that the courses I took met some of the goals concerning softer skills such as problem solving and working in teams. The computer science classes at Dickinson heavily emphasized groupworks to encourage strengthening our communication and cooperative problem solving skills. In the introductory level classes, we had weekly labs. Although group work was difficult sometimes, mainly due to communication issues, I believe that the heavy emphasis of group work early on helped us foster our abilities to work with people in a technical setting that may be helpful in pursuing a professional career in computing, and more generally, any career. 

In the upper level classes, group work was easier to do since most people had the experience from the lower level classes. I remember two particular instances where I felt my partner and I pushed each other to grow by helping each other understand different computing concepts. One was in a lab in computing abstractions about writing our own interpreter for a made up programming language. I remember my partner being patient with my initial frustration of the lab, and helping me debug our code so that it worked. That experience helped me appreciate what a second pair of eyes can do in terms of reviewing code. And the other extraordinary group work experience was working with a partner for a database class to read and present a research paper about database systems. That was the first time that I had read such a technical research paper, and both the instructor and my partner were able to support me in understanding such a technical paper. 

Aside from learning through group work experiences, Dickinson’s computer science curriculum has helped me develop my technical communication through various writing assignments. Two that stand out to me are creating a metaphor for the concept of web caching in my computer abstractions class, and creating and writing documentation on a merge sort algorithm in my data structures and algorithms class. The former allowed me to develop abilities to explain technical concepts in a non technical way, and the latter made sure I could write about a technical topic clearly and concisely. Furthermore, engaging with open source projects has also furthered my networking and communication skills, by giving me a sort of “simulated work environment” without the pressure of achievement, as long as I showed I was learning and making my own progress.

Generally speaking, I believe that achieving the goals of the computer science curriculum is consistent with the college’s mission of providing a useful, innovative, and interdisciplinary education. This is specifically emphasized in goals set by the computer science senior seminar of gaining an understanding of the impact of computing, and the social, legal, and ethical issues raised by computing. For me, the senior seminar discussion sessions have provided a safe space for students to talk and respectfully debate about a variety of computing topics. These discussions are not only informed by assigned readings, but by the personal experiences of my peers which opened my eyes to several new perspectives. Additionally, these discussions remind me that the field of computer science is not purely technical, and that there are many social, legal, and ethical impacts of computers as well. This multifaceted way of looking at computer science certainly achieves the college’s goal of providing an interdisciplinary education.

Last of all, both Dickinson’s goals and the goals of its computer science department has helped me towards achieving my own personal goals for college. My goals for myself in college were to make connections with several types of people, take advantage of the opportunities presented to me, find out what interests me, and grow into a more well-rounded, confident, and thoughtful person. Through just being in my classes and all of the group work, I have met people from a variety of different backgrounds. I was encouraged and inspired by the amazing computer science professors to pursue my newfound interest in computer science, which has presented me with memorable opportunities that allowed me to grow into a more well-rounded person. These opportunities include being an undergraduate researcher as part of an REU program over the summer and working with Dickinson’s academic technology specialist to develop chatbots to help Japanese language learners practice basic conversation skills. In all, I am very thankful to both my professors and peers who have contributed to my computer science education at Dickinson by encouraging and supporting me through my journey.