In hindsight, I should have saved last week’s entry for this week. It would make more sense, right? Love and romance and all that. Hindsight is 20/20 though, and I wasn’t thinking. Instead, I’m here to gush about how incredible my students are. I’m a month and some odd days into the Spring semester, and my students (in my Creative Writing and Sound Design classes) are talented, smart, and ambitious.
My sound design students had their first projects due last week, and I have to admit the quality surprised me across the board. They took to the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) lectures and produced exciting soundscapes that I’m quite confident would work in a play or film if they had created their project for either. As we move on to their next project, I’m reassured that they all might sound design a show… Which they will, by semesters end. Hopefully, they don’t feel an overwhelming burden with that tall task.
As for my writing students, they are slowly opening up. At the start, there was a hesitation on the interaction side. Most were quiet. Now, folks are asking questions, engaging in conversation around video games, and, most importantly, sharing their work. As a writer, I can’t stress how important that is—especially for budding writers. I know they will excel in the first assignment that is coming up. I’m confident that by semesters end, their final portfolio will be a wonderful read.
This will be a pleasant end if I’m never given the opportunity to teach again. I got to teach playwriting last semester. I had sound design this semester. And my writing students continue to surprise me. Yeah, this will be a pleasant end if I never set foot in the classroom after the semester ends.
Jesús M. Rivera 