So I recently saw on my Facebook feed that this year the annual RISD Alumni Reunion will be especially for graduation years ending in 2 and 7…which means that for the first time, my class of 2007 will be far enough out of college to have a REUNION. WHAAAAAT!

The further into the past that my college days get, the fonder the memories become – and I actually have quite a problem with doing that across the board, so I know that as I sit here in my comfortable apartment with my dog and not-Ramen dinner it’s easy to romanticize my days stuck in my studio until the wee hours of the morning. I also have a car, gainful employment, cable, a bathtub, and gorgeous LA weather now…pretty much everything that I grumbled about NOT having whilst hoisting my wet oil paintings up and down College Hill in the snow for four years.

Still, the grass is always greener and I find myself missing EVERYthing about college, and Providence too. Waterfire, the trolley, Antonio’s pizza on Thayer, the RISD Museum, The Pit (helloooo mac and cheese), the Nature Lab…but I think most of all I miss the genuine enthusiasm everyone had for exploring and playing and experimenting and collaborating and creating. Yes, there were nights when I did not want to draw a deer skull in minute detail because I was delirious with sleep deprivation, but overall the school was abuzz with genuine passion and ambition and I NEED TO CAPTURE THAT AGAIN.

My natural inclination is to spend my leisure time doing something that will qualify as productive — ideally something that I can sell, something that will make me money. But more and more I’ve been struggling with this tight feeling in my chest pushing me towards just playing and experimenting like I used to, with no consideration for adding it to my portfolio or tailoring it for a particular client or brand. I think after several years of strictly advertising and digital design I’m finally ready to go back to drawing and painting simply for personal enjoyment.

As for the reunion weekend, I think I just found a worthy investment for my ’11 tax return!