My first week of the Senior project was a rollercoaster. No matter how many previous seniors or teachers have told me what to expect from this experience, I still couldn’t imagine it. I woke up around 10 am Monday, sat up in my bed, and wondered what I was going to do with my day. I was met with a weird sense of the freedom I have on a summer break but also knowing I had things to do. I had planned to dedicate one day of each week to go to a different museum. So I decided to spend my first day of the project at the Met museum. I wondered independently throughout the Met letting my curiosity take me to the exhibitions that intrigued me the most. I have never been to a museum alone before, but after the excursion, I had that Monday I would recommend that anyone who loves art goes to a museum alone. What I thought might feel like a lonely sad trip to Met turned out to be a therapeutic and rejuvenating experience.

Going to the Met was a nice way to set the tone for the rest of my project throughout the week. Seeing the art inspired me and gave me the urge to create some of my own. So, throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, I worked on a painting of my mom. For most of Tuesday, I procrastinated on starting my painting because getting started is always the hardest part. One of the main goals I set for myself with this project is to see how much more I can accomplish by pushing myself past my hesitation to start a new painting. Picking up my paintbrush having no expectations of how the painting was going to turn out gave me the freedom to experiment with colors, try new techniques, and be creative without needing it to fit a set image in my mind. Letting go of expectations and perfectionism is something my art teacher has urged me to do throughout this project and in general. He has taught me that the only way to learn is through producing art more frequently and making mistakes.

While I am excited by the museum trip and the new painting techniques I am beginning to learn, the most important lesson I learned occurred about halfway through the week. I woke up Thursday morning with a cold. I was bombarded with anxieties about covid, although I hoped that it was just my seasonal allergies hitting all at once. Unfortunately, it was not allergies and I quickly realized that I at least had a common cold, if not covid. The other half of my anxiety was surrounded by what I was going to do about my project. I had planned to go to school in the second period to paint in the art room all day. I didn’t want to skip out on that over a little stuffy nose and scratchy throat, so I grabbed a pack of tissues, told myself I could suck it up, and headed to the train. I got to the station and it hit me again, I was not in any condition to be at school.

Getting sick was not in my schedule, of course, so I had to work around it. I ended up resting that Thursday and I painted from home Friday and Saturday. Getting sick set me back, especially since it happened during one of the first weeks when I was learning how to get into the flow of things. I will plan to get back into a regular schedule in my upcoming weeks.