For a creative person like you, high school can be both a comfortable and a frustrating experience.
Your days are very structured and regimented—you’re pretty much in the same place for the same six hours every day, moving from class to class on a schedule that you had little or no input in arranging.
Your teachers and your parents are there to keep you focused on your assignments, your homework, and your assignments, and your progress. Much of your thinking is done for you, and conformity is expected and rewarded. You’re judged and graded on how accurately you memorize and regurgitate the information you’ve been taught. The opportunities to truly express your creativity can be few and far between.
Twelve years of that can be a hard pattern to change.
That’s why making the transition to a creative school can be both exciting and challenging. Let’s start with the fact that you’ll suddenly be given a practically unlimited amount of personal freedom. No authority figure will be there to make sure you get up and on your way to class. Your first semester will be a huge transition from your senior year of high school as you realize it’s up to you to manage your own time—the sometimes long breaks between classes, at night, and on weekends—yourself.
You’ll work with an advisor to create a class schedule. You’ll be expected to motivate yourself, structure your time, and establish your own sense of order. You’ll be the one paying your bills, cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. It’s all about self-discipline.
As a student at a creative school, you should have the guidance and support of your instructors and others, but ultimately it’s your responsibility to get to class, keep up with the assignments, and meet project deadlines. The education here is more practical than theoretical, and you’ll be expected to not just take in what you learn—and in a creative school, each class builds upon the knowledge you’ve gained in prior classes–but take it upon yourself to expand your learning beyond the classroom.
You should try to take advantage of every opportunity to grow as a student, as a creative thinker, and as an aspiring professional. Go to see visiting lecturers who come from the field you’re interested in. Take field trips to related businesses in the industry. Join groups and associations, both on campus and out in the community that offer experiences that are helpful. Explore the possibilities of internships with companies in your field. And from the very start, you should be building a professional portfolio of your best work–always updating it, always looking to improve it, and always making sure it represents where you are in your progress
Make sure you take advantage of your instructors’ knowledge and experience. Remember, most of them have actually used the skills they teach out there in the real world. They know what it takes to launch a creative career and be successful. So they’re incredibly valuable sources of information and advice.
Start working with career services people well before you get close to graduation. They’ll help you with your portfolio, give you resume-writing tips, even help establish contacts among potential employers.
But by far the most important part of your transition from high school student to creative student is picking the school that’s best for you and your goals. Look for one where the programs are designed by creative people, for creative people. A school where the learning environment is collaborative and supportive. Where you and your ideas are valued. And where your creative energy and passion can be channeled into the marketable skills you need to start a fulfilling career.
How will you evolve … and what will you create?
The sooner you choose a career path and get the focused education you need, the sooner you’ll be entering a creative world where change means opportunity. Start by exploring the programs we offer at The Art Institutes. Visit create.aii.edu.
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