As I look back on the five assignments I completed, Find Your Dream House, Beautifying World, It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, 4 Seasons Collage, and Draw It, I realize how much I’ve learned along the way. Each project gave me something different to reflect on. I thought about the kind of home I might want in the future, I remembered and missed my grandmother, I confirmed just how annoying flies can be, I admired the natural beauty of the changing seasons, and I even learned how to create art on the fly by following video tutorials. More than just new skills, these assignments taught me patience. Some tasks took longer than I expected, but in the end, persistence really did pay off.
Of course, it wasn’t always easy. I struggled with resizing pictures because I could never quite find the right prompt. Lining up images in the correct place also gave me trouble. What looked simple often turned out to require a lot of focus, energy, and attention to detail. On top of that, I had never used Flixir before, so I had to teach myself by watching tutorials. It was frustrating at times, but those challenges pushed me the most and taught me lessons I wouldn’t have learned otherwise.
Some parts became easier once I got into a rhythm. Repeating the same steps helped me develop a sense of muscle memory. Even though I found drawing on the class tablet surprisingly difficult, I discovered that stepping away for a quick break often gave me the clarity I needed to work through my mistakes. At times, fixing one issue seemed to cause another, like when I accidentally kept shifting the paper bag layer over the photo in Flixir. It was a little maddening, but it also showed me the importance of patience and problem-solving.
Despite the frustrations (and even forgetting to post my Vegas trip story online after finishing the artwork), I came away feeling proud of my progress. These assignments reminded me that creativity isn’t always neat or easy—but it’s always rewarding. Learning new ways to create brings me joy, and even though the process sometimes feels messy, the end result makes every struggle worth it.
