Academia

I'm going to sidetrack a bit and give an update on a non-Erin aspect of my life.

Right now I'm at Brigham Young University. I tried animation most of last year, but after being denied twice I decided to put animation on the back burner. In coming up with a plan B, I thought of a lot of things that I enjoy doing other than drawing cartoons, and one of them is writing.

This semester, I'm taking all of the prerequisites for the communications program, journalism track. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It's a lot of work, but I'm eager to do it. I'm realizing that I'm not as great at writing as I thought...but I'm learning fast. And it's been fun to come up to people I don't know and interview them for a story. It reminds me of being a missionary...one of my favorite parts of being a missionary was just stopping people on the street and getting to know them.

My favorite class this semester is Communications 239, Principles of Journalism. We discuss journalism ethics, objectivity, freedom of speech theories, etc. It's a lot like my political science classes. So, here's a shocker: because I enjoy those kind of classes so much...I wonder if I should get into law. (!)

For another one of my classes, me and a group started an "e-magazine." It's like a blog, only you subscribe to it and the blog posts are emailed to you. So, if you want to support a good cause (my grade in the class!), go to http://collegecritics.7h.com and subscribe. It's totally free. And I'll give you an example of what we do at this blog post here.

The Blogosphere Round 2

So...here's the deal.

I started my first blog last June. What finally motivated me to catch up with the year 1997 was my efforts to enter the BYU animation program. Other animators I knew used blogs as a place to showcase their talents and generate buzz. Also, if I knew an audience was counting on me to update my blog regularly, it would impel me to keep up with the sketches.

Well, plans have changed.

After being denied the animation program twice, I embarked on attempt number three but not whole-heartedly. Only three-quarter-heartedly. Almost all the fun had been sucked out of it, and it was turning more into a chore than a hobby. Instead of waiting around for another verdict, I switched majors. I switched to communications. It's a broader, more practical field. And it might turn out to be more fun anyway.

One problem: whatever shall I do with my animation blog?

After months of indecision, I am abandoning the animation blog and delving even deeper into the grand blogosphere. This new endeavor will be a more general blog. I suppose it has potential to be more interesting.

So, welcome, and enjoy.