A Happy Medium by Erin Murtaugh

I love college. Although I’m not doing the typical college experience by living in dorms or near campus, I’m happy with the decision I made.

Four days a week, I drive to Rochester for a few hours of class at Rochester Community and Technical College. Right now, I’m enrolled in four classes and they are all great.

I take three classes on campus and one online. On campus, I take Darkroom Photography, Photography I, and 2D Design. Online, I take Art Appreciation.

So far, the most challenging and frustrating class is 2D Design. My strong points in art are painting and photography. So far, 2D has challenged me to draw and use an X-Acto knife to cut out tiny pieces of paper to make an equivocal space picture. My picture was supposed to turn out looking like a violin, and, well, let’s just say it was a little hard to tell that’s what it was supposed to be. Hopefully I learn to enjoy the class a little more as the semester goes on.

Art Appreciation has so far been learning about the different forms of art. Each week we do a reading and online class discussion and every few weeks are quizzed on it. In November, we will make a trip to Minneapolis to visit the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Online learning is really neat and unconventional, but I really enjoy that I am able to do the class on my own time.

So far, both Darkroom Photography and Photography I have involved working in the darkroom on some introductory projects. Both of these classes have rekindled my love and passion for photography and I am so glad that is what I am pursuing for school.

 

Sept. 11

Today marks 13 years since the 9/11 attacks. Please take time today to remember all the people who lost their lives that tragic day in 2001 and the families who never got to see their loved ones make it home. Also, remember the men and women who have lost their lives fighting for our country since that day. Thank a soldier for fighting for our freedom and keeping our country safe.

 

Albert Lea High School graduate Erin Murtaugh is a first-year student at Rochester Community and Technical College. She can be reached at murtaugh.erin@gmail.com.