There is no art class in college

I was sitting in my living room, hair on the top of my head, chewed pens on the floor, scratched out school work surrounding the garbage, when I realized something:

My whole entire life is consumed by schoolwork.

Books. Study. Write. Read. Study. Homework. Highlight. Notecards. Study. Ten pound backpack. Statistics. Study. Repeat.

And I wondered, aren't these supposed to be the most fun years of our lives? How is it that we are so bogged down by schoolwork that we don't even make time for ourselves?

We lose our lust for life, our sleep, and even our personal hygiene. We live in a routine filled with letters, numbers, assignments, exams, and stress.

What happened to living spontaneously? Creatively?

What happened to finger-painting? What happened to art class?

Our world now consists of multiple choice, true or false, and short answer questions.

I am sick of answering other people's questions!

I want to think for myself.

So I will.

I will live spontaneously. I will live creatively.

And although I know I cannot completely change my ways, the new life will look a little something like this:

Books. Study. See a show. Go to an art museum. Cook something new. Study. Dance. Paint. Explore. Ten pound backpack. Repeat.

There is nothing more important than you. There is nothing more important than your happiness, your self-expression, your art.

So, I conclude my rant with the simple plea for you to allow yourself to get out, and get artsy. You deserve it.

And lucky for you, you no longer have to wear a paint-covered smock from your marginally eccentric art teacher, Ms. Johnston, to get artsy. Minneapolis has a fabulous art scene. Its true that Minneapolis has more theater seats per capita than anywhere else in the nation, besides New York City. So get your butt in those seats!

And if you're a dance fanatic like me, 2011-12 Northrop Dance Season has a lot of artistic inspiration to offer. The season is moving downtown this year to the Orpheum Theatre while Northrop Auditorium undergoes revitalization. Anyway, I hear the seats at the Orpheum are super comfortable.

But, you should find out for yourself.

-Allyson Taubenheim
Marketing Intern, Northrop