Depression and 'Will Power'

“The key to life is on a treadmill. I’ll just watch and learn while your chest burns. Because if you say you are going to run three miles and you only run two, I don’t ever have to worry about losing something to you.” ~ Will Smith

Will Smith's Interview: Will Power

Over the vacation, I learned to use my new scroll saw, and broke a blade in the process. But this isn't the story I wanted to tell in this post...
Over the last three weeks, I've tried reading up on Modern Architecture History, finishing the Louis Kahn: In The Realm of Architecture biography, and a simple book for students about the design process. But all the while, I had locked myself in my room, lights dimmed, hours late and human interaction a galaxy away. All this did was cause depression.

Yes, depression is a real thing.

The only remedy that worked was getting off my bed and onto the floor to get some exercise (doing push-ups). The other part of the remedy was to get some sunshine.

I went from a 190 lbs, depressed, introvert, to a happier 187 lbs human with more energy and a lesser tendency to snack. And this realization to change my bad pattern came after I read the interview. It made me realize what giving 110% really means.

To me, it means giving up: watching TV shows; and rewarding myself every 5 minutes, or whenever my brain said, "GIMME CANDY!"
It means going the extra mile- plus three more miles- because I'm in this for the long run. I'm here to succeed and my competitors are only giving it 90-100%. Whether it's true or not, it's still worth it to make believe that all that needs to be done is putting in the extra time and not just stopping with 'Ok'. To be at the top, you need to go beyond 'Ok', you need to be 'better than ok', its better to be tired at the end of a race than to come in second and say, "That's ok. At least I didn't come in third."
But that's the point I want to make: Don't settle for second-best. BE THE BEST.
And if you're not the best yet, there's something to yearn for. BECOME THE BEST and then go beyond that.

You can always push the limit. I've done that with rules, because discipline and authority have, for some time, been an issue. I've had a need to test boundaries to know my limits, but that was on a two-dimensional plane. There's a third dimension that exists above the ground you stand on currently. All you have to do is climb so you can get the exercise and eventually reach the sunshine and fresh air that one needs so desperately to avoid depression. To achieve that 110%!

People say to give it your 'all'.

But I want to tell you, and myself, "Give it your all PLUS!"


Good luck to all, dear reader ;)
Thanks for reading.
~ArchiTalmud

Moving ahead and onward...

Post first days of Passover, I was greeted with an email from my professor about an hour and half before the Havdalah services. She was warning me about failure since I have not been showing progress in a few weeks.

I do not like threats.

But she had a point, I haven't been moving much. Which is a complete bummer on my morale and it doesn't help anyone. SO from 8:45 pm until 6 am, with a small break between, I put together a model that had some interesting pieces, but was not complete.

I brought it into class, and the professor again asked for a previous model that she had liked originally but I never seem to bring along. SO she had me tear apart the model I had made and to start over with the anchor piece in the center and to build everything around it.

My project has an emphasis on "Floating Elements" which was mostly due to my project never having a complete model done for class.

I have until midnight to send her images of the completed model which entails:

• completing the site.
• raising the bedrooms.
• adding the studios.
• adding a roof.
• adding the roof garden.
• and finishing the stairs
• and adding more stairs or bridges to emphasize the floating elements.

This is my task. I will do it. It's not a lot of work. It's just a long list. Speaking of lists...

Later after class, my studio mates entrusted me to rate the current class rankings.
needless to say, I am at #9. because I am far behind. The rest is hidden in my sketchbook.

But please note: Lists can get you into trouble, as well as offend others. Especially when they know who wrote it. Oddly enough, in elementary school I had made a list then too. That got me in trouble. High school's list of girls... Only got me into a smaller trouble.

Keep that in mind, dear reader ;)
~ArchiTalmud

Second Semester of Architecture School?

BRING IT ON, TREE HUGGER!

Understanding your Architecting Friend or Relative

Understanding the thought/speech process of the Architecture Student

Over the course of four months, things have changed drastically. I've gone from an average-thinking Joe, to an endless thought bubble of ideas.

Here is an example of what happens:

It could just be me...

The architecture student will be talking to someone about any particular subject. Suddenly an idea or an image pops into their mind based on a word or phrase that they or their colleague may have mentioned.

Now stopping mid-sentence, the architecture student is unaware of their surroundings.

The question I want you, dear reader, to think about is "Why does this happen?"

Is it because of the sleep deprivation and now they're day dreaming?

Is it because of the caffeine and now they're ADHD?

Think about it for a moment before continuing...

Here is the reason some Architecture Students will "space out" on you mid-sentence:

After working hours on end and forced to constantly produce adequate conceptions for new projects, the mind is now forced into a new habit (which only takes 7 days to be formed).

This habit is not a bad one, although rude and a social abnormality. This habit is to continually conceptualize.

In simpler terms-- since I may be suffering from the same delusion-- is that the brain is now accustomed to creation or just losing itself in the subconscious world so it can explore and create in an infinite loop.

To explain that further, let's pretend that someone said the word "Baby Carriage". Now, try to follow along as this thought-train leaves the station of the student's mind.

Baby --> Carriage --> Stroller  --> Wheels --> Seat  --> Chair  --> Room --> Baby's Room --> Wallpaper... etc.

And then it goes into more detail, but the idea should be simple to see now. The original thought affects the beginning and end of this thought cycle.

This is only an excerpt of the psychology of the Architecture student-- or ANYONE who's designing constantly. Even book authors do this. However, the main point was to understand where your Architecting friend or relative's mind floats away to when you're in middle of a conversation.

Thanks for sticking around, dear reader.