Reflection
by Arantxa Villa
Reflection
By fourth year Alexis Kelley
It’s kind of cool to me that life has these natural times to look back. As I’ve been pulled closer and closer to the end of college, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my time here. I’ve been thinking about all the people I’ve met, and the places I’ve walked, the things that I’ve done, and the things that I’ve written.
It’s like walking through an art museum and looking at the paintings, knowing that it’s something deep and personal but also something that was created to be seen. Knowing that behind each frame and each stroke of the brush, there was inspiration and artistic dreams that were being fulfilled in the very act of piecing together this art that we now get to look at. We can walk down the halls filled with those emotions and climaxes of dreams.
And maybe nothing will come of it, maybe we’ll complain that it’s too quiet or too much to look at, but maybe we’ll see something that strikes a cord in our hearts. Maybe we’ll find a theme that even the artist themselves didn’t notice. What if I could walk through my own pieces as a casual bystander? Or will I always have to explain the person I was behind each piece?
My first ever piece for tcb, I was going for funny and lighthearted. Looking at it now, I can remember each incident that inspired the culmination of relatable morning thoughts. Even something not emotional at all can paint a picture of how I was feeling in life.
I love this one. It sets my heart on adventure. It proved to me that a place didn’t need to be my house to be a home. I can hang and tape all those same pictures in a new home and find comfort in the mix of new and old.
I still think a lot about this piece. The image that I opened with is such a sweet memory and it gave me the chance to reflect on what was and wasn’t going on around me, and still helps me find my focus
“The world is too full of motion for one idea to be the perfect one.” This inspiration actually did come from a picture from someone else. Inspiration feels slippery, but maybe it’s more predictable than we think.
A time stamped piece to break the monotony. There’s no deeper thought here except I love how different faces and places look next to each other in gallery view. Funny enough, it’s like walking through a museum featuring snippets of different lives.
This one hurts a little to read now. It’s sweet and I can tell that I was trying to be positive about freaking out. Even now with a job lined up, the freak out continues. But I’m learning that it can be healthily embraced.
This poem is personal. This poem is home. It’s not what I tell people my favorite memory of college is, but it is my favorite nonetheless.
Reading Into Things, by an English major
An ode to being an english major really. One of my favorite places in the world is in a class full of people who like to read into things.
A nod to my elementary days turned into a conversation on change. Is it too much to think the world is only the backdrop to us? I like the sentiment that the passing of time is a sweet thing.
The freshest piece - I’d still like to think about the conversations that we have and don’t have. And I still want people to appreciate getting to talk and communicate even when it’s hard and confusing.
Unlike paintings or portraits, words like this can outline exactly what you mean. Or maybe they circle around the main point with flowery metaphors or examples. Still, I hope someone was moved by my words. I hope that I continue to write down thoughts and creativity so that whenever the next time of reflection comes in my life, I’ll be ready to remember inspiration. I’ll be able to look at the art as both a casual viewer and personal creator.