My high school art teacher once taught me a valuable lesson. He told me that it is sometimes difficult to know when an art project is complete. If you finish too quickly, you might neglect including important details; but if you linger too long, you risk polluting your work with unneeded elements. The trick is recognizing when to walk away.
This lesson rings true in other projects as well. I enjoy editing. Every time I read a paper I have written I can always find a thought, a sentence, or word that I think I can express better. I also always remember the lesson of my art teacher and try to protect the paper from being over-worked.
What makes walking away from this ePortfolio as difficult as it is, isn’t just the fear that I may miss recognizing the optimal completion point; it is hard to walk away because it marks an end point to my time at NYU. I am acutely aware of how special this experience has been and how lucky I am to have learned with and from so many amazing professors and students.
As I turn this page and move on to the next, I have many to thank.
Anita, I am so fortunate to have you as my advisor. Undoubtedly, the title of “Advisor” is lacking and only begins to describe the guidance that you have provided. Yours is the voice in my head that reminds me to answer the question before it is asked. It is a directive that is both simple and profound. Thank you for all of your thoughtful feedback. Every suggestion, comment, and endorsement you have given me has been meaningful and spot on. Finally, thank you for your limitless support and inspiration.
Karen, thank you for always lending your ear and sharing your expertise. Thank you for asking the pointed questions that stirred me to dive deeper for answers. I am grateful that you always reminded me to link theory and research back to practice. Thank you for your kindness and encouragement.
Larry, thank you for championing my return to school for a doctoral degree long after I thought my schooling days were behind me. This has been an amazing experience that I would not have been able to have without you. Thank you for reading every paper I wrote, listening to every presentation I presented, and cheering me on all the way. Much love.
Blake and Audrey, thank you for being the spark and the cheer behind it all. Thank you for being my models and my muses. I love you to infinity and beyond.
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Epilogue
Life doesn’t always present us with the endless possibilities inherent in an untouched bright white canvas and 64 perfectly chiseled and pigmented crayons. We often begin with the knowledge of the picture we want to draw and use the crayons specifically and regimentally to produce the desired outcome. The joy is in the designing, the drawing, and the coloring. It is in the creation process (the occupation) itself.
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