things i’ve been up to.
found this link. some very good input here and there.
“should i take up architecture? ”
i get asked this question a lot by college sophomores who were fascinated by architecture and thinking about pursuing it as their majors in the near future.
my common response would be “no, don’t. architecture is tough. lots of deadlines, lots of being creative on cue, lots of all-nighters, lots of stress, lots of disappointment. it requires a lot of hard work and dedication…”
and i would usually get a little too emotional after answering this.
i truely believe that if you want to be successful in your life, you must do something that is congruent with your passion. you have to do what you love. because if you do what you love, you’ll never feel tired about it. even if you feel tired, you’ll never complain about it.
…well, maybe you will.
and of course it’s about money too. i mean, who would want to stare at the computer all day, design and create and get paid not by money, but by the pure satisfaction that you are really making a difference in this world by providing shelter?
quick update:
1. exam is now over. the papers was kinda easy for me *flips hair, blows nails*.
2. next week is my final design review week. there’s still some re-touch up to do, and i need to finalise my presentation board. yes. more hours of ass-sitting-related-activity.
3. so far, it has been a near-sleepless but fun week for me.
4. most of my conversations when i meet up with my friends begin with “i need coffee” and end in whatever cramped little cafe i’ve chosen to drag us to.
5. Mimi is in Melbs. i’m heading there right after the review week for a weekend trip, before flying back home.
6. i’m currently in my last hour of procrastination before heading up to studio.
another update on my design studio project. nothing much, just some design ideas that were being updated.
it’s a solitary life the one i lead as an architecture student. late nights, long hours, no pay.
i remember in high school thinking Architects were rich, flamboyant, suave members of upper society (which they are if they’re 40+ and successful).
hopefully things will be better after i graduate.
some updates on my design studio project. i’m too lazy to talk about it at the moment, so let the pictures do the talking. 25% more to go!
why is updating portfolio always so stressful to me?
WTF extra area?!?
looks like i need another can of red bull T_T
reason.
they say that education is a phase in your life. everyone goes through it. i really wish that is not true because my time for the past 4 years in college was not just a phase. it’s my life. i met great people there, i learnt good things there. and i wish that 10 years from now, i won’t view it as a phase either.
i’ve considered other courses which i’m interested in, part of me still wants to study architecture. it may sound crazy, but architecture is all i’ve ever known. i like the things i learned and i enjoy it very much even if half of the time, it drives me insane. it’s just that the thought of me being a professional architect, staring at pc designing and drafting buildings, meeting clients and working within the construction industry, giving advise and preparing contract documentation on construction projects everyday from 9-5 kills me. i will go home everyday in misery knowing that there’s no end to this shit.
which then leads me to another problem entirely, i see my friends who is really passionate about architecture, who really wants to have their own firm and it stopped me dead in my track. because i know that that is not what i want. i don’t want to be a architect. i don’t want to practice. i’m not willing to sacrifice my life as an architect in a firm nearly the entire day.
i like architecture, learning about it, knowing what kind of architecture exists and i wouldn’t mind teaching the next generation about what i have learnt. but no, never would i want to practice.
i’ve been lied to by so many people up to a point where i begin to doubt every word coming out of people’s mouth. i’ve been lied to by the government, the society, my friends, my parents.
when i was young, i told my parents i wanted to be an astronaut , a fashion designer, a singer, a dentist, a veterinarian and no, never wanted to be an architect. they told me everything is possible if i study hard, do well in school and make it to a university. what utter rubbish.
i studied hard, i did well in my studies (when i do, they say its one step closer), i pass my exams (and now they say, i’m nearer to my goal), i got into architecture school (by which point, they said, its a stepping stone) and now when i am about to graduate in less than a month, i’ve realised that my parents and my grandparents have been lying to me all these while. look where i am now. look where i can go now; no where.
no astronaut, no fashion designer, no singer, no dentist, no veterinarian. i’ve strayed way too far from my dreams and my ambitions. even if being an architect was one of my childhood dream, i would still be where i am now. no where to go. the only childhood ambition i can fulfill now is to be…a dreamer.
and you know what is the sad thing? 20 years from now, when i have children of my own, when they tell me what they want to be when they grow up, i will repeat the same lies my parents has been feeding me. i will still tell them to study hard and study well. when you lie too often, the cycle repeats from generation to generation and soon it would seem like the truth.
in a way, i have to thank my parents for the lie. because i believed in it, i tried my best. i have a few paths to go. whichever way, i hope its for the best.
