Yeah, it's pretty lame two paragraphs. A HUGE part of it was sucking up to the Great They that decide such things as who will become a grad speaker. When I end up writing for such official-esque endeavors, I get stuck in a really formal and bland tone, as many years of essay writing (and tutoring) has accustomed myself to do so. Ah well, it's all for naught now.At some point, most (if not all) students that attend ACAD are confronted by friends and family that their choice of education (and passion) isn't quite legitimate – both in terms of usable skills and the nature of the field. Many think that the stereotypical “Art School” experience is fairly lax and not serious. I want to speak about the reality of our time at ACAD, mentioning amusing anecdotes, tales of hard work and the invaluable skills we've acquired. The purpose is two-fold – to celebrate what we've achieved as aspiring artists and creatives, and to enlighten the audience as to what happens within the ACAD walls, showing them what a significant accomplishment and unique opportunity it is to attend and graduate. Furthermore, I want to approach it from the perspective of any creative individual; there has been some concern among some of my fellow students if whether or not a design student can represent a fine artist, or if a glass blower can be relevant to a photographer. I believe that regardless of background, future goals, or specific discipline, we all share the similar struggles as visual artists and creative minds, and there are some truths that are universal and worth sharing.
I want to convey what a unique experience the Alberta College of Art and Design has been for the 2013 graduates, celebrate how that has translated into skills, determination and invaluable life lessons, and speak from the common ground that all students share.
But the interesting thing was that in order to apply to be a graduating speaker I had to be nominated by a fellow graduating student. Over the course of a couple months, was approached by three or four separate people telling me that they think I should do it. I kind of wanted to speak before anyone said anything - I thought it'd be fun to do, in the way that twisted individuals like me who enjoy doing presentations tend to get excited. I won't lie, more than a few times I've mused over the different topics I'd like to cover during convocation, with little pokes at art school culture. It wasn't meant to be. But I digress again.
I wasn't going to say anything about wanting to do it unless someone else approached me about it, and they did. And when the dust settled, someone actually wrote up a short paragraph for why they thought I'd do a good job, and signed off on it. And even though that was all that was needed, another 16 students then signed off as well.
That's a good feeling, mang.
And when I've informed the few people I've told so far that I wasn't accepted, they all seem genuinely disappointed, and said that they thought I would've done a good job.
I'm not a popular guy - no one asks me out to party on Friday nights, I don't have several people regularly stopping by my desk to see what I'm working on. But it's nice to know that some think I'm trustworthy and articulate enough to represent them at the celebration of four years of hard work.
It's a pretty cool thing, and takes (most of) the sting out of getting turned down. I was worried maybe that was going to be a bad omen for things to come... But when you look at it from another angle, maybe it can be a good omen instead.
-Cril
Well maybe it is just the time of year,
Or maybe it's the time of man
I don't know who I am,
But you know life is for learning
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden
Austra - Woodstock
