1. Most people underestimate the difficulty of art classes so you constantly defend your major like a goddamn warrior.
2. And people often misunderstand that there's more than just graphic design or painting. WE DO LOTS OF COOL SHIT.
3. There's never enough storage room for your materials so your workspace looks like it's been hit by a tornado.
4. Projects can be HUGE so transporting them involves intensive manual labor, blood, sweat, and tears.
5. Every cent of your tiny income is spent on supplies because even the smallest purchases cost a fortune.
6. Sometimes you need WEIRD STUFF for projects, so weekends are spent diving through dumpsters, searching for treasures that could possibly contaminate you.
7. Even the tiniest projects can take forever and are extremely tedious so lol BYE SLEEP, NICE KNOWING YOU.
8. Waiting for paint to dry can be torturous because it makes projects take even longer to complete.
9. Doing homework in bed isn't an option since a lot of the equipment and machines you need only exist at the school's studios.
10. You have to work with CRAZY DANGEROUS tools that could probably chop off your fingers or kill you.
11. If you do find time to actually sleep, it’s in an art studio on a bed made from random objects or chairs. COMFY.
12. LET'S NOT EVEN BRING UP SMUDGING. Screw you, charcoal.
13. Your outfits are so destroyed from chemicals and paint it looks like you participated in a color run. NOPE, JUST WENT TO CLASS.
14. There's always someone who will criticize or judge you for a public art performance because they just don't get it.
15. The disgusting scent of oil pants and turpenoid lives in your nostrils daily.
16. If someone in one of your classes asks to borrow a piece of paper, there's a good chance you don't have anything with lines or smaller than 16" x 24".
17. There’s nothing like waking up to a 9:00 a.m. drawing class and having to stare at an old man’s junk for 3 hours.
18. Your paint water has been confused for your drinking water several times.
19. Critiques are intense AF, last several hours and often go over their time limit.
20. Reviewing people's work can get strangely personal and emotional, so shit gets deep real fast.
21. There's so much software on your computer that it's constantly crashing, overheating and ruining your life with the spinning wheel of death.
22. It can suck working with mediums you have no experience in, with classmates who mastered the skill in the womb.
23. You constantly debate over whether or not to focus on craftsmanship or concept since IT'S TOO HARD TO DO BOTH.
But in the end, you've chosen a path where you can pursue something you love deeply and no one can take that away from you.
Thumbnails courtesy of Matthew Weinberger / CC / Flickr