Saturday, September 21, 2013

Balancing Your Life and Education

Obtaining an education and balancing the time it requires with a demanding lifestyle can be a challenge. Many students attend classes online because they have other responsibilities, such as work or family obligations. Others, perhaps, simply find it convenient. Regardless, pursuing your degree, be it your first or one of several, is one of the most important things you will do in your life; it is your gateway to a brighter future, a greater income or fulfillment of your grandest desires. Allow me to offer some advice about how to achieve a viable solution:
  • Get your priorities in order. Though perseverance is required, your education is your ticket to a more promising future. The people you love should be able to understand that you have a commitment that will demand a great amount of your time for the next few years and afford you the space to attend to it.
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  • Curb your social life. You don't have to be a hermit for the next four years, but putting real effort into the work you produce will pay off in the long-run.
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  • Budget carefully and expect the unexpected. Plan for contingencies, because life is rarely predictable.
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  • Start assignments early. Reading them for the first time on the day they are due is asking for trouble and will likely not elicit your best work.
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  • Produce exceptional work - every time. If your assignment requires forty photographs, don't shoot forty images and submit them all. Create 100 images and select only the best. If your work on an unfamiliar technique or subject could be better, shoot it/write it again before submitting it. The worst that could happen is that you'll learn something.
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  • Embrace new techniques and media. Just because you enjoy nature doesn't mean you shouldn't learn portraiture. Exploring new realms will ultimately make you a better photographer. 
Check out this video demonstrating how an OTR truck driver pursues a Bachelor of Science degree online in the Art Institute's Photography program.

The AI Experience, Deva Mayorga-Malone, 2013
 
~Saturday Ambassador
     
 

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