Viva Voce

On the 25th of September 2017, I planted a tomato. I've always wanted to start my own herb/vegetable garden but I believed that I possessed a black thumb. Plants always have a way of killing themselves around me so I knew this would become a challenge for me. The experience surprised me as I found out that I actually can take care of something besides myself. Surprisingly, I remembered to water the plant every second day and it continues to grow on my little balcony. This experience helped me learn that I shouldn't doubt my capabilities.

During the course of the week 2nd of October to 6 of October I met a 2nd year student named Koketso (Kookie), on the Open Window Campus. She was a very kind young women and told me that she was triple majoring in Photography, 3D and Communication Design. The experience was eye opening as I got to know a fellow student on campus that I have similarities with. Strangely enough, I felt an artist bond between us and hope to see her around more. This experience encouraged me to know more people on campus as I might be surprised to find many people that I could form strong bonds with and inspire me.

On the 26th of September 2017, I cooked something I would find intimidating - Eggs Benedict using a Gordon Ramsey recipe. As a first year university student,  I  live on McDonalds BigMacs and Debonairs pizza so this task encouraged me to finally put my kitchen to good use. To make the stakes even higher,  I decided that the eggs benedict would be supper for both me and boyfriend that night. My first attempt of putting the eggs in the swirling pot of water was a fail the yolk broke and I had to start again. The second eggs came out a bit better and thus a felt encouraged to carry on with the recipe. I've only tasted eggs benedict in my life and it was over 5 years ago so I anticipated since the recipe was hard, the outcome of my cooking had to taste amazing. I was SO WRONG as it ended up tasting revolting. This task taught me that as a creative, I should constantly try to do/make things that I may find intimidating as I could learn something new about myself or the...

On the 25th of September 2017, I watched a film I had no interest in seeing - Kingsman: The Secret Service (Vaughn 2015). I don’t enjoy spy/action films, as violence doesn’t entertain me. I have also found that most action films lack character and plot development thus, when I started to watch the film I had a feeling that I was about to waste two hours of my life. As I continued to watch the film and get into the story, I slowly began to let go of my rigid mindset and started to enjoy the films wittiness. By the end of the film, I was surprised that I had enjoyed it and at how the film managed to change my attitude in the span of two hours. I think this activity will encourage me to not judge a film but it's poster as well as to not go into tasks/projects with a specific mindset or with a lack of interest as I might be surprised by the outcome.

On the 3rd of September 2017, I received a massage from my boyfriend (Lonestar). Lonestar offered to give me massage to help put my mind at ease before dreaded week 9. This experience was extremely uncomfortable at first as my shoulders are generally stiff but eventually became therapeutic and relaxing as I allowed myself to forget about the work I have for a slit second. This experience helped me take some time out my work for relaxation and thus will benefit my creative process by encouraging me to give myself a break when working for long periods of time. Side note: Excuse the messy hair, it's a side effect of week 9 stress.

On Tuesday the 29th of August 2017, I watched Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Hand 1937). It's embarrassing to say that as an animation student, I have never watched the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs film. When I was younger I read the book, as I've grown older I've watched the remakes (Maleficent) and even know a couple of conspiracy theories that surround the story but have NEVER WATCHED THE FILM. I took out the time (procrastinated a bit during my week 8) to watch the film for the first time. The experience was intriguing as initially,  I felt stressed and guilty watching the film as I knew I should be working instead, however that changed as got more engrossed by the film. By the end of the film I felt more at ease and actually ended up getting into my work easily without stress clouding my judgement. This experience will benefit my creative process by encouraging me to not work while I'm stressed/worried but rather do an activity to put my mind ...

On the 15th of August 2017, I set out to learn more about the students and people at Open Window through replicating the Humans of New York Instagram photographer Brandon Stanton. I was helped by my friend Samantha to be my trusty photographer for this task. "I'm struggling the most with my love life. Boys are liars. Every guy I meet has a girlfriend and lies about it. I have been cheated on. I didn't love him, love is a big word that I don't really use much. I'm still good friends with him right now and I'm good friends with most of my exes. I forgive easily. " (Centurion, South Africa) "The biggest thing I'm struggling with is dedication to studies. I tend to put a  lot of other things first. My relationship is always going to come first for me. No matter what, she is always coming first. I'm also struggling to stay fit because of the lack of time, working, studying and maintaining a healthy relationship is difficult. B...