Rhode Island School of Design Top Questions

I would tell myself to change certain habits such as being super lazy and procrastinating. College is where I can meet new people, thus I would tell myself to be more open about myself to others. I believe school is never just about education, a massive part of it is being sociable as well, and college is the first time you're really able to do it on your own terms. You're responsible for your education, for how you spend your time, whether or not you go to parties, and when you go out.

Dear Luiko - It gets better. So much better. You are about to experience the time of your life. You wil make mistakes along the way, but with each step, you will walk away stronger. You will search for what makes you shine out of hundreds of other stars, and realize your true potential to hone your craft. You will fall in and out of love, but realize that the most important and rewarding relationship you will ever have is with yourself. You will learn that individual research is just as crucial as communicating with others to achieve a common goal. You will finally understand that you are enough, and are capable of whatever you set your mind on. Don't forget to stop and truly feel every moment, and prepare for the next stage of adulthood in the real world. Congratulations, you made it. Love, Luiko

The advice that I would give myself if I could go back in time would be to always look for the light at the end of the tunnel. The reason that I say that is many high schoolers think that there isn't anything else out there and that education isn't important. I don't look at it like that, but most teenagers today think that high school is as far as they will go. There is a bigger and brighter light at the end of the tunnel. I would tell myself that it will all be worth it in the end.

The life where I grew up and the new life that I have started at the Rhode Island School of Design are literally opposites of each other. I had so many questions, but I was never once scared. I knew that it would be okay and my transition would not be much of a problem. I believe that the moment in time I started to put myself at ease about my life at college, I started to put almost every thought about it at the back of my head. Though it is not a bad thing to relax once in a while, it is never a good thing to let oneself be so submerged in it, deaf to the warnings of what is to come. To my past high school self, I would tell her to be alert. I would tell her to always be fervent and curious. I would tell her to be humble, and prepare for competition that would end up surpassing her. But most importantly, I would tell her to keep her hands busy, to keep sketching, keep thinking, and never stop working, even in a moment of relaxation.

“Dear Leah, when you fly north this fall, I want you to remember that you are going home. There is so much kindness and joy and excitement waiting for you, so don’t think for a second that you won’t fit in or have any friends. The most important thing I want to tell you though, is that you must leave some things behind. Don’t worry about your friends, keeping in touch will be easy enough, but you need to know which Friends to keep in touch with. Stay connected to the people you trust, not the ones you feel obligated to. Take some time to clear out your head and get rid of your baggage. You are not in high school any more so don’t let old things from high school bother or define you. Start out with a clean slate so that your old baggage doesn’t keep you from having new experiences. Things are goign your way and I don’t want you to be slowed down by dead weight. Do some healing. Travel light. Go into the fall with a fresh mind and an open heart, you will be so much more yourself."

Trust your intuition and dont doubt yourself. Stay positive and llow good energy to affect whatever I do.

I believe that everyone must react to the world utilizing the capabilities that come naturally to them. Those who have creative sensibilities react artistically, and as someone who needs to express themself visually, I am pursuing an artistic education to ameliorate the quality of that expression. I spent four years after graduating from high school working, traveling, and exploring my possibilities. As a 24 year old junior at Rhode Island School of Design, I am dedicated and focused on my classes because I took the time to discover what I really wanted to do with my life. I would encourage every high school student to take time to explore what they truly want to learn before making the decision to go to college. Because of the time off from school, I feel I am more motivated now to study and succeed in my goal of using art and foreign language skills acquired from traveling to promote understanding and a sense of community in our fractured modern world.

I recently spoke with a friend that was still in high school and had asked for my opinion on their desired major and to help curtail their anxiety of applying for and attending college. I told him that college will be challenging, and at times uncomfortable, but that is what college should be. I also told him that as a freshman I was terrified. It took me an entire school year to adjust and to find even ground. However, struggling through and overcoming the many physically and emotionally exhausting challenges during the year secured my happiness at the Rhode Island School of Design for the next four years. The words I expressed to him are the words that I wish I had been able to give myself.

Now knowing about the transitional experience from high school to college, I would advice myself to pursue what she is passionate about. That just because you believe a certain path is the best available, does not make it the best for you. Even though she did not comprehend this idea, she did already practice this by accepting her attendance to RISD and denying a cheaper school. Education had a strong value then and now. Everything that has made me who I am, came from learning through experience. If I told myself the cheat codes to life, then my younger self would not appreciate an outcome that resulted from hard work and self motivation. Naive and unacquainted with independence, she is a person that does not completely understand the concept of hard work. She would have followed my advice and changed who I was to become. Who I am now. I would have met different people and made different choices, that may or may not have bettered my life. Thus, I would fail to recollect any specifics about myself, and prevent any change that could possibly occur.

Without hesitation, two years into my art school education, I would tell the stubborn eighteen year-old boy staring back at me with glazed eyes, to take some time off before entering college. The naïve boy would quickly protest with affirmations of future artistic fame and success –and not that I still don’t believe that I will accomplish everything that I’ve always believed- what’s the rush? I would inquire that I had a lot of self-exploration to do, and to better utilize my education at the Rhode Island School of Design, I would need to realize my own artistic expression. In order to achieve this, I would advise myself to firstly get multiple jobs to eventually support myself outside of my parents home and immerse myself within the artistic community of the city, so that I could build connections prior to entering college. Only then would I want myself to finally begin the rigorous artistic education of my school in order to better utilize that resources available. Even without such advice, I have not made a bad decision and am happily halfway through my college experience.