Final thoughts on Writing 105M

Honestly, this class keeps me going. This class may end up being the most important class I've taken at UCSB. I've realized that the path I am going on is not right for me; it is beyond my skill set; ultimately, the path I'm on is not fulfilling for me. Why should I force myself into studying something that I've come to realize I am really quite awful at, and simply do not enjoy. I can sit for five agonizing hours trying to master my major, or I can sit five hours and not even realize five hours went by because I was having genuine fun doing what I was doing.

If that doesn't speak to the quality of that class, I don't know what will.

Photoshop Tutorials: The Internet is Endless

Here is a fantastic resource for Photoshop tutorials: http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/category/photoshop-tutorials/

Appropriately named 'Photoshop Tutorials', this website compiles tons of different step-by-step tutorials on how to do various techniques in Photoshop.

These are user submitted, so it allows the website to draw on the wide-range of talents of everyone, all over the world, who has developed their skills in photoshop. Photoshop is merely a medium for art; art is inherently creative, so this allows people to share the creative techniques that they have developed over the years and share them with others.

No Networked Media

So, I got to cheat on this one a little bit: I was in Budapest for 10 days and didn't have access to my phone or Wifi. During this time, however, it was extremely liberating to not even have the urge to look at my phone. I felt more connected with the people around me, I was yo-yoing a ton and just meeting new people and enjoying myself. I wasn't tied to any social media or text message: I was experiencing the world.

 
Here I am communicating with people in real life. Yes, real life.

I also had the opportunity to sightsee with some wonderful people I met from Serbia during my time of no internet:

I was more envloped in all the sight seeing around me. I didn't take any pictures (aside from the ones taken of me) which was also a new experience because I was just focused on taking it all in, instead of trying to record it to look at later... Which, to me, is far more important now that I think about it. Perhaps one or two photos, but the rest of the time should just be devoted to enjoying whats around me.

I will say one difficulty manifested itself in the lack of access to Google Maps. This app is my savior when it comes to getting around; not having it results in me being lost a few different times, but ultimately I was able to find my way.

All in all, I enjoyed my time without my phone and has made me rethink my dependency on it and hopefully I can use this to use my phone a little less.