Art? or Science

I found out yesterday after getting audited by my academic advisor that I could have graduated in December had I applied to do so, because as of this semester, I will be done with all of the requirements for my major (psychology).

That is a beautiful thing. :)

That basically means that next semester, I can take whatever I want.

My dilemma is, of course, what exactly to take.

For a while last year, I was so sure that I wanted to be an art therapist. It seemed like the perfect blend of art and science; in some way or the other, I have always been drawn to both.

I'm a relatively creative person, I think. I like to scribble and design things. But, having never been formally trained in art (except for a drawing class that I took last semester), there are many conventional aspects of art-making that I'm not aware of.

My original plan was to take as many art classes as free electives my senior year at Hampton as I possibly could to strenghten my art-making skills.

But this summer, I met a few folks who work as art therapists, and I kind of felt that perhaps art therapy wasn't my dream profession, afterall.

I realized that what sets me apart from "artists" (specifically, folks who make visual art that is really, really good by most standards) is that I don't really create pieces on a regular basis.

I think I am more attracted to art as philosophy. I like the idea of art and generally feel comfortable amongst folks who incorporate art in their lives in some meaningful way; I'm just not convinced that I have the drive or the talent necessary to "live" as a visual artist; being a visual artist in one's own personal life seems to be the basic requirement of being an art therapist.

I still may take art classes next semester for my own personal gratification, but I recently started exploring the idea of medicine again (I used to want to be a doctor specializing in neurology when I was a child), so I will also take some science classes. At first, I was researching naturopathic medicine (mainly because my family is made up of a bunch of vegetarian herbalists), but I have some fears about being trained in "alternative" medicine without ever having given conventional medicine a try.

So...the clear solution is that I must go to Cuba, get trained in conventional medicine for six years, then come back and get trained in naturopathy!

Only, that will take an excrutiatingly looong time, so I'm still exploring options.

But you already knew that.