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Yeah, I've hardly logged in much at all over the past... year? Two years? I honestly don't know how long it's been. These courses at The Art Institute are 11 weeks long, and the time has been messing with me a LOT. Within about one year's time (it started about midway into a year) I went to a wedding, lost a grandparent, and was swiftly back-stabbed by a friend who's wedding I attended only months before.

Undoubtedly that lead to one of the shittiest points of my life and pushed me to my limits (and far beyond). I had to make a lot of decisions at some of my most fragile points and none were made easily. At the very least I sense that my blood pressure has raised significantly, but I have yet to check (probably pushed it to normal rates).

Despite that, the next approx. years' time showed a great deal of promise (not without great effort and strain on my part). I started doing freelance work on the outside and though I do it for low pay and/or trade, it has been greatly rewarding. One company, in specific has been a favorite of mine to work with, and I'm guaranteed to have a permanent job with them once I am finally out of college.

The college part, however, will take about an extra year to complete. I've decided to devote more of my time to my freelance and part-time job, so I've cut my courses-per-quarter in half. The courses have become increasingly challenging as each quarter passes, and I would prefer to pass them with higher grades, so the extra time will benefit all of my outlets in the long run (not to mention ease some of the stress. Haven't had a vacation since I started the institute). This could change at any point, however, given that the last estimate of my current pace would be getting a degree in one year and it's tempting to try and powerhouse the rest of it through. Still, I'm worn thin. I think it best to pull back and not kill myself.

That's basically the gist of current goings-on. Probably sounds a bit mechanical, but things have improved a great deal, which includes the discovery of my own abilities and resolve. Nothing is going to stop me now!