Posts Tagged ‘student art’

Maintaining Relationships. Don’t Forget To Water Your Plant and Expect It To Grow

Thursday, June 20th, 2024

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in life is that friendship is a job. I’m gonna call it a job as it is something that requires effort and work to reap rewards. If you’re not a good worker, you’ll get fired. If you’re not attentive to your friends or dedicating time and energy, your friends won’t want your companionship. As kids, maintaining friendships is a lot easier because it is put upon us. Our parents schedule playdates, our sports teams and activities open spaces for bonding and communicating with peers, teachers lead ice-breakers, etc. During childhood, half the work is done for you, but adult friendships are more difficult to cultivate. The downside of childhood friendships is that we’re forced into them. Adult friendships’ beauty is that you get to choose who you associate with and keep in your inner circles.

This chapter is not about making friends in college. It’s about maintaining long-distance friendships. Upon coming to college,  I wasn’t used to going out of my way to make plans or time to chat on the phone with friends. In high school, all of my friends lived in my neighborhood or were in my classes. I’d always see them in person and get the chance to catch up then. In college, everyone is so busy, especially freshman year, is hard to be responsive in group chats or answer phone calls when you’re not expecting it. 

My high school friends and I did not want to drift apart while at school so we made a valid effort to find a time every other week to hop on a Facetime call. Hearing from home friends always made my week extra special, and I loved that we were always able to start where we left off each time we talked. If someone was unable to join the call, that was okay, too as long as they communicated. They might send us a voice memo instead or make sure to text extra in the group chat. If someone was too busy to respond to someone’s text we would make sure no one felt ignored by writing something like “Hey. Studying for an exam today. I’ll catch up in the group chat tonight with my thoughts.” Its important to continue making your friends feel heard, cared about, and loved even when you are apart.

My friends from highschool and I at our favorite beach during the Summer
Visiting Color Me Mine with friends is a great activity for nurturing creativity and de-stressing

Hogan Bingel is a rising junior at NYU who plans to graduate in May 2026 with degrees in Journalism and Politics and a minor in The Business of Entertainment, Media, Technology, and Fashion. She grew up in Arlington, VA, outside of Washington, DC. She is home for the Summer and will be studying abroad in Florence during Fall 2024. For the time being, you can find her writing poetry, listening to vinyls, and planning her next travels.


For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services.  
At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.

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How Creativity Can Be A Part of Your Life

Monday, August 2nd, 2021

Oftentimes when we think of creatives we think of the outliers in our society: the people who get paid to sing, dance, paint, write stories, or make movies. We think of experts with natural born gifts and we do not associate our untrained eyes, hands, and voices with these artisans. Yet art and creativity are all around us. Up until a certain age we are schooled in the arts, through school plays and elementary arts classes. And even now, whether we are personally involved in the creation of art or not, we have access to films, television, books, and creative videos. 

Yet, there can still retain a measure of distance between us and the art we take in. It is important for us to acknowledge and embrace the role of art in our lives. We should give ourselves over to its therapeutic qualities and understand that art is not simply a superfluous ornament of daily life but a core facet of being human. We need to tap into the arts in whatever way we are drawn to them in order to connect more deeply to the human experience. 


Escapism

When you’re having a tough day you can disappear within a tv show or a film. You can turn on music and drown out the noise around you or take a deep dive into the virtual archives of incredible artists.

One of my favorite still life paintings that I completed

Vacation

If you’re looking for something cultured and new to do with loved ones you can visit museums, take a paint and sip class, or go to the theater. Concerts, drag shows, poetry slams, and live music are great options for special (or everyday) occasions. 

Some of my FAVORITE books

Creation

You can doodle in your notebook when a lecture gets too heady and unbearable. You can set a timer for fifteen minutes and see what words you can produce to fill up a blank page. You can paint poorly, sing in the shower, write fanfiction, or create fan art. You do not have to be an expert to create art. 

Therapy

You can do any of the above activities alone or with others to deepen relationships and fellowship in memorable ways. These acts can be community building and relaxing. Furthermore there are therapists who specialize in utilizing art to reach and heal inarticulable traumas. With professional guidance, something as simple and accessible as painting can be a soothing outlet. 


Art has many places in our lives. As we work to acknowledge that truth and incorporate more creativity into our day to day habits, we will see the world in a more colorful and hopeful light. 


Taylor Custis is a recent graduate of NYU where she made her own major because it sounded like a cool thing to do. She enjoys stories of all kinds, ethnic foods, and spiritually charged candles. She is currently in Queens embarking on a career in written and visual storytelling.


For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services.  At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.

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