I can’t believe I’m already through the first half of the semester!! It feels as if I just got here!  So far, the semester has gone pretty well.  I’ve enjoyed the majority of my classes and have learned a lot.  I’m a lot busier than last year, but in some ways that is a really good thing.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are especially hard because I don’t get done with classes (and don’t really have much of a break all day) until 5, and then have at least one club meeting, so I’m often not back in my room until 7 or 8 at night.  This has made running a bit hard as well. I’ve managed to keep up with my homework fine despite that, so it really isn’t too much of an issue, but it makes me really tired.  For some reason, I seem to have more trouble on Thursdays, but I’m not really sure why.

My painting class is going well.  We just finished our second assignment.  The first was a replication of one of Manet’s flower paintings and the second was a three-object still-life.

This is the first one.  We had to change or add one thing.  I decided to change the background.  The original background was completely black.  I didn’t realize changing the background was such a drastic change, but it actually made it very difficult since in the original background, it’s hard to see the shading.  I also had some trouble with the vase for the same reason.  Overall, I’m really happy with the finished product.  This is my first painting ever.  It is an oil painting, which I’ve heard is more difficult than acrylic painting, but I’ve never done either, so I don’t really personally know the difference.

This is my second painting.  It is called “The Casualties of Productiveness”.  I am really pleased with how this one turned out as well.  It includes a spool of thread, a violin, and a sketchbook.  The violin took me a lot of time, but I’m really happy with how it turned out.

I was hoping to share my sculptures as well, but neither of them are finished and they are going to be gifts, so I’ll probably wait until after Christmas to post pictures of them.

Overall, the first half of the semester has gone really well.  I liked my college last year, but I love it this year.  I really enjoy being a sophomore rather than a freshman.  I like that I know a lot of people and know my way around campus and such.  I do miss the workload I had last year, though.  I think this is going to be a really great year!