Ready to seriously injure someone
By someone I mean first year students. By "seriously injure" I mean that I will crush them emotionally because they are weak and will not survive the winter.
[b]I'm just angry. I don't even care if you read this. I just needed to type it out. It's seriously too long and probably not at all interesting. Sorry.[/b]
I'm a third year at university and I have been in this specific field (design) for about 6 years professionally. I don't like saying this because I don't want it to bite me in the ass, but I'm good at what I do. If anything, I'm the most experienced student in the course.
Term started last Monday and we were given an ungraded "bonding" project in which we had to team up with the first and second year students. In this project were are to create a digital magazine, which none of us have ever done before (It's not that hard to be honest). The deadline is Friday, which is incredibly short for such a project, especially when none of us have done this before. Although I gotta say it's a fun challenge. I'm teamed up with 3 other third year students and three first years. The third year students aren't entirely useless. One of them is simply a good student with interesting ideas and creative ability and another one takes on whatever work I pass her way (and does this correctly and how I want it to be). The other third year decided to not show up after the second day, which means all design work is now my problem.
The first year students are a joke, a complete joke. University is a place where you learn things but these people just don't have the basic skills to even get accepted in first place. Knowing from the start that first year students aren't quite as capable as us third years, I decided to ask them what they could do, how experienced they were in the software and what they would like to do. It resulted in one of them taking care of the presentations and the other two taking care of the research and the writing of the magazine's articles.
Let's start off with Monday. Rather than listening to any of my ideas, the group decided to go with an idea that would be too much work and completely beside the point. The brief basically requests us to create a magazine for other creatives. The group thought they'd have to make a whole creative solution with the magazine as a medium. When presenting the idea, we get slaughtered by the teachers who explain exactly what I have been telling these people. After being destroyed everyone decides that this is a good time to go home. Imagine that, staying after 2PM, that would be silly! We are told to create moodboards and do research. Two of the first year students are in charge of this. I stay behind and do some work of my own because I immediately knew that this was going to be a disaster if I didn't put in the extra work.
After an hour or so, one of the students returns to the studio we all work in. He says to me "I have enough for a moodboard, I think it's quite good like this", after which he shows me a standard sized sheet of paper with 6 images. I look at the boy and walk away, toward my friend who happened to walk into the studio that very moment. She had been creating a few moodboards herself and accidentally printed one twice, meaning I got to take it with me as an example. Hers was a beautifully put together A3 sized moodboard with many images for the magazine's aesthetic, as well as a separate one for all of the content that her team was planning on creating the magazine around. The kid looks at the moodboard and realises that his work was crap. He says that he will redo it now that he has seen an example. I tell him to make use of the single iMac in the studio that wasn't being used. He refused as he didn't want to use a mac. I said to him that he could use my laptop if he wanted which is a windows laptop (I prefer mac for design work anyway). He says no and goes home. A few hours later (5:30PM) I decide to go home for the day. When at home I am met with the messages of two of these first years. The moodboard guy was still confused about what he needed to do, which took me an hour to explain. The research guy didn't know what to research, which after another hour of explaining he still did not understand. I ended up telling them to do whatever felt right and the following morning I woke up at 7 AM and spent 20 minutes creating 10 moodboards. The evening before that I had quickly put together a full page of handwritten research which answered all of the requirements. When I showed them this page they were actually impressed. It was a notebook. They were impressed by a page of notes in a notebook.
We discuss all of this over Facebook. During this time one of the first years kept nagging about how this was too much work, how he needed a drink and how he was pissed off with the university's internet. He had been working for one day, on which he left early. His only task was to do a bit of research, which I did for him. After hours of his nagging I stood up and walk across town to my friend's place, with 6 cuts in my foot, because that was less agony than responding to this guy. By the end of the night I was walking around a 6ft drunk man. England is a classy place for sure.
The following day one of the teachers is going around the room, looking at our work. He sits down with us and looks at me rather than our spokesperson. I immediately whip out my notebook and start explaining exactly what I had been doing, what my thought process was and what kind of further steps I would be taking toward the completion of this project. The teacher immediately says "Sue, this is all your work isn't it?" as this teacher is very fond of my work style and would recognize it immediately within all of our student's work. Which I reluctantly admit as I don't want to talk crap about my fellow students.
I give everyone a task for the day as well as I can. At some points people just can't work as there is nothing to do and even that I tried to avoid by telling them to teach themselves the software that was required for this project, even while they didn't actually have to code and create it (my task). I tell the first year students to get 5 articles to write about, of which I had already provided 3. I gave them an hour because honestly it's the easiest darned job there is. They took all day. This day (Tuesday) wasn't really much more eventful. My neighbours had a loud party and a fight in the hallway so that was fun. I haven't had more than 3 hours of sleep this week.
Finally we reach today (Wednesday) and we do a mini presentation. Again the teachers tell us exactly what I have been saying all the time. They point out all our errors which I had been telling them about since day one. Nobody listens to me. Is it because I'm a woman? Is it because I'm a stupid foreigner? Is it because they don't like me? I don't know. I honestly wish there was an explanation. At this point my fellow designer has bailed. He is a third year and in the past 2 years I think I have only seen him show up for class about 5 times. I knew this from the start and didn't bother depending on him in first place. Still it would have been nice if he had lessened my workload a little.
We get through the day quite decently. People finish up their work and I start to understand the software we are using. The student in charge of the article writing now starts sending over his work to be proof read by the one capable first year student in our team. After sending it all over he leaves because he has nothing to do. The capable first year student starts sending me the snippets the incapable student has written. I'm personally not natively English. I taught myself this entire language. I am a student in England. This student has worse writing skills than me. His one task was to create these fairly short articles and he managed to mess it up.
Quoting his first two sentences of one article:
"Sight is a key sense in the human sensory system, and is a big part in everyday life. In terms of interactivity the human sight has been used to create a variety of products based on that sense, examples of this LEXID (Lobster vision), Virtual Reality headsets, Medical which use X-Rays to detect broken or fractured bones or teeth cavities, and finally Google glasses which allow the user to see different apps right in front of them, replacing the need for a Smartphone or tablet."
There's too much wrong with this sentence and I don't think I even need to explain it. This stuff doesn't have to be very easy to read for non-creatives, but creatives should be able to read and understand it. I'm a darned designer and I don't even understand what he is talking about. Now for another article, he decides to simply copy and paste something from the internet. We fail students who don't create content themselves. He's lucky this project is ungraded.
To top it all off, I come home to a party next door. Another party. I'm so tired I could cry. They have opened their front door so that people can easily walk in and out their flat. This being a fire door, they can get fined really high. Aside from that, because of all the doors being open, a lot of sound comes through. I can't even concentrate on this project let alone sleep. I'm just so, so, so, SO tired.
I will make these first years suffer as much as I can before never talking to them again. Also this first year who can't write keeps making bad jokes while I'm talking to my best friend and it's seriously annoying because he doesn't understand the dynamic between her and me yet. Like we have this thing going and people just accept that we say weird things and that we can just wave or groan and understand what we need. All the other first years have accepted it already the moment they saw us doing whatever we do. This guy does not and he keeps interrupting it like we're talking to him.
-groans-
Why do they make me mother around first year kids. I don't deserve this.
EDIT: I nearly forgot, we are meant to be in the design studio from 9 to 5 like a real job. Everyone arrives late and leaves early. I'm always in there from 8:30 to 5:30. Usually I go back after dinner or I do some more work (4 hours at least) at home. I also do an hour work in the morning before I leave I work for about 15 hours a day and I get no sleep because of my neighbours. I'm supposed to go to the hospital because I was diagnosed with several diseases and start treatment for it. I am starting to forget to even take my medication and I got my angry father calling me telling me to go see a doctor. I also don't even have time for breaks. I'm so tired. I'm just so tired.
24 Comments • Newest first
@leopard16: It really just all comes down to me not wanting to allow my illness to be in charge. I'm really sick and tired of letting it get the best of me and I refuse to give in to it this year. I won't overwork myself and I know my limits, but I do still feel like I should prove my worth at the times that I am feeling good enough to do things, as there will be times where I won't be able to.
@ilikeanime: They're university students, so it's not exactly like they chose a major. They chose an entire course purely based on design, which are not exactly the easiest courses. They've gone through college and should have a better attitude than the high school crap they're doing. These people aren't in their teens anymore, they should know better.
I wouldn't take first year design students serious. They're mostly slackers that don't know what to do after highschool and have no idea what to become in the future. If they want a major they want something that is fun and easy, so no things like math, language classes, geographic, economics, biology, physics etc.
[quote=skyenets] Last year I got really sick and missed out on a lot of things. The teachers really gave me a lot of slack and I still feel extremely bad for it all. I'm working this hard to prove to them that I am a hard worker and that my attitude is absolutely perfect.[/quote]
I'm sure if you had a valid excuse; such as being extremely ill while being a really good student, you should be cut some slack. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the kind of work you're putting in and the amount of sacrifices being put usually leads students ill. Being ill in the first place is definitely be bad. Just be careful.
Also, work smart,not hard.
Thanks everyone or the responses. Hadn't expected that many comments.
[quote=fakestories]i'm sorry - that sounds absolutely awful
but what kind of design university opens courses for both freshmen and upperclassmen? surely it's not csm or fcl[/quote]
It's a very tiny course based around interactive design and media. Our third year only has 15 students, second year only has 8 and first year 17. The course being so small means that we easily interact with the other students. We all make use of one room and we are allowed to go there whenever we want. I'm not really sure how the rest of the system works or any other system really. I'm just a silly foreigner in good ol' England.
[quote=averymbii]I understand how you feel. I'm not a professional in any sense, but I do understand what it's like to be a part of a dysfunctional, or at least incompetent, group when you need to accomplish something. I'm transferring to University from CC next year and this made me remember just how much work I'll be putting in towards bettering myself and that makes me excited, so thanks .
On a side note this concept of mood boards interests me. I'm a fine artist and not a designer, but after looking at some examples it doesn't seem to be to hard of a concept to grasp. There are probably some decent first years out there so don't stress about being stuck with some less than stellar ones since they are in fact there to learn. I personally don't have it in me to be strict towards people who don't know what they're doing, but I can understand the frustration if someone just doesn't have any drive for what it is they are doing.[/quote]
It brings me a lot of joy to hear about fine artists and designers who want to work towards bettering themselves, you have no idea how happy it makes me to read that. Either way, moodboards, they are a very easy to grasp concept. You find images of things relating to the subject for both content and aesthetic, so that you can find yourself a general direction to work in. Pretty easy. Get images, say why you like them, go from there. Really something that doesn't take more than 15 minutes.
I'm being a bit harsh and too strict with these people because really they are just first years and I shouldn't be expecting too much from them, but their attitude is so bad. I'm just really glad that I'm a third year and therefore in a position to really be critical.
[quote=holydragon]I'm not sure if you're the fun kind of fastidious or the scary kind. Or both. It was an interesting read. Stay healthy and try your best.[/quote]
I'm a mixture of the two. When people are competent and motivated it reflects on my attitude as well. I would never be harsh, mean or scary toward anyone who tries their best, even when they're not good at what they do. Thank you very much!
[quote=amazing]i didn't know you still used basil!
also good luck dealing with morons. If you want the grade, you literally have to do all that work yourself. I learned that the hard way.[/quote]
I lurk around the chat and anime sections a little. Sometimes check up on the Evans.
[quote=leopard16]Why are you putting so much work in something being ungraded? You're sacrificing your sleep, health and time. Since you're such a good student, I don't think it'll hurt flopping an ungraded project once or twice a year, if that even makes sense.[/quote]
Last year I got really sick and missed out on a lot of things. The teachers really gave me a lot of slack and I still feel extremely bad for it all. I'm working this hard to prove to them that I am a hard worker and that my attitude is absolutely perfect.
[quote=fun2killu]that's why i always have my knife handy.
need to cut a hoe? Check, check and check.[/quote]
This is such an English thing to say.
[quote=bearsandlions]okay well for starters You're doing something good, and it's a shame that you aren't getting the level recognition by your teammates that you deserve. If you've tried your best to get them operating, which it sounds like you did, then it's their own lack of passion and drive to shape up, and and not in any way a reflection of your ability to manage things effectively, and also by taking on this role, you're already going beyond what is necessary, as leadership is different from an independant project, and leadership is a thankless job, unfortunately, but at the end of the day, you took on a role which most people aren't willing to do or have the capacity for, so you're doing something very noble , hopefully that resonates in some way, at least.?
that being said, if you want to continue to pursue the role, it's helpful to know that there is a danger in being too liberal, Most people typically fall short of meeting the minimum standard they're expected to operate and produce at, whatever that standard is, and by not challenging them, they're likely to stay the same or fall even shorter of the mark, it's a slippery slope for people who are compassionate and generous. I understand the reluctance of making other people jump through the same hoops as i had to, but these are clueless first years, they're at a stage where they have no conception of what "difficult" is and have this false idea that stage II and III will be equally as much of a holiday. I also understand the difficulty in being moderate, if you make it too hard and they'll drop out. My best advice is focus your attention on the other third years who will help carry the project to its completion and only dedicate enough time to bring the first years up to the mark they need to be at, because they aren't likely to shape up any time soon. For the first years, maybe just emphasize really basic things like quality over quantity, making personal sacrifices, putting 110% in, making an active effort to improve in all areas, etc. you've probably already considered this. Obviously it's difficult with a team of people who clearly as dedicated as you are, I believe that it's better to have no people who are committed than some people who are marginally committed so that at least there isn't uncertainty, but it sounds like you have the support of your co-ordinators, at least? if not, then obviously this project is unsatisfactorily moderated and the environment isn't professional. at the end of the day regardless of how this particular project turns out, its the attitude they have towards the work that will carry them however far they end up being (if they have any interest in pursuing it)
and if it's any consolation, it sounds like you're going to go way further in the long run than them b/c you clearly have your head in the game and are thoroughly committed / dedicated to your work. sacrificing your own time to help someone else can become a slippery slope too, and also, it's not because you're a woman or a foreigner, it's because those people do not have good work ethic or the right attitude, you obviously have the capacity to adapt and improve in all areas across the board, and in the future you will be more experienced at dealing with this type of group layout, (assuming that project management is an ability you wish to refine.)
hopefully something in there helped?[/quote]
There is definitely a danger in being too liberal however I think it's also a lot less stressful to me being just that. From the start I expected people to fall short and having that expectation means I don't depend on them to begin with. Knowing the work ahead of me straight from the beginning makes it all much easier to deal with.
I will be focusing my attention on the first year who does lovely work and the third years that show up. They actually state that they wish to do more work and just that already brings me in a good mood.
that's why i always have my knife handy.
need to cut a hoe? Check, check and check.
i'm sorry - that sounds absolutely awful
but what kind of design university opens courses for both freshmen and upperclassmen? surely it's not csm or fcl
I'm not sure if you're the fun kind of fastidious or the scary kind. Or both. It was an interesting read. Stay healthy and try your best.
Why are you putting so much work in something being ungraded? You're sacrificing your sleep, health and time. Since you're such a good student, I don't think it'll hurt flopping an ungraded project once or twice a year, if that even makes sense.
Yeah. Group projects suck. Just goes to show that college isn't for everyone.
That is generally why I always plan a solo-route before any group projects (academic or otherwise). Just take into account the "what-if" scenario that involves everyone on your group being completely worthless and adjust accordingly.
You should listen to Slayer to destress.
And that sucks. Luckily the freshmen at my university are pretty good, according to most upperclassmen. (I'm a freshman BTW.)
What uni do you go to?
Dam, thats rough. I had the same problem in lower-level classes where some older "professional students" loved to mess around and never contribute. And my roommates would come back home way past midnight dead drunk and with a gaggle of friends who would sleep on any flat surface in the living room. Since my space was in the living room too, i'll wake up at 6am to see a bunch of snoring adult-size children everywhere.
Then i moved on to higher technical classes and a house with Chinese guys with jobs and no more of this BS.
I hope u make it through! If I was religious, I'll tell you that i will pray for you, but God's a lil beotch and u deserve better than what he's throwing at you right now
okay well for starters You're doing something good, and it's a shame that you aren't getting the level recognition by your teammates that you deserve. If you've tried your best to get them operating, which it sounds like you did, then it's their own lack of passion and drive to shape up, and and not in any way a reflection of your ability to manage things effectively, and also by taking on this role, you're already going beyond what is necessary, as leadership is different from an independant project, and leadership is a thankless job, unfortunately, but at the end of the day, you took on a role which most people aren't willing to do or have the capacity for, so you're doing something very noble , hopefully that resonates in some way, at least.?
that being said, if you want to continue to pursue the role, it's helpful to know that there is a danger in being too liberal, Most people typically fall short of meeting the minimum standard they're expected to operate and produce at, whatever that standard is, and by not challenging them, they're likely to stay the same or fall even shorter of the mark, it's a slippery slope for people who are compassionate and generous. I understand the reluctance of making other people jump through the same hoops as i had to, but these are clueless first years, they're at a stage where they have no conception of what "difficult" is and have this false idea that stage II and III will be equally as much of a holiday. I also understand the difficulty in being moderate, if you make it too hard and they'll drop out. My best advice is focus your attention on the other third years who will help carry the project to its completion and only dedicate enough time to bring the first years up to the mark they need to be at, because they aren't likely to shape up any time soon. For the first years, maybe just emphasize really basic things like quality over quantity, making personal sacrifices, putting 110% in, making an active effort to improve in all areas, etc. you've probably already considered this. Obviously it's difficult with a team of people who clearly as dedicated as you are, I believe that it's better to have no people who are committed than some people who are marginally committed so that at least there isn't uncertainty, but it sounds like you have the support of your co-ordinators, at least? if not, then obviously this project is unsatisfactorily moderated and the environment isn't professional. at the end of the day regardless of how this particular project turns out, its the attitude they have towards the work that will carry them however far they end up being (if they have any interest in pursuing it)
and if it's any consolation, it sounds like you're going to go way further in the long run than them b/c you clearly have your head in the game and are thoroughly committed / dedicated to your work. sacrificing your own time to help someone else can become a slippery slope too, and also, it's not because you're a woman or a foreigner, it's because those people do not have good work ethic or the right attitude, you obviously have the capacity to adapt and improve in all areas across the board, and in the future you will be more experienced at dealing with this type of group layout, (assuming that project management is an ability you wish to refine.)
hopefully something in there helped?
I understand how you feel. I'm not a professional in any sense, but I do understand what it's like to be a part of a dysfunctional, or at least incompetent, group when you need to accomplish something. I'm transferring to University from CC next year and this made me remember just how much work I'll be putting in towards bettering myself and that makes me excited, so thanks .
On a side note this concept of mood boards interests me. I'm a fine artist and not a designer, but after looking at some examples it doesn't seem to be to hard of a concept to grasp. There are probably some decent first years out there so don't stress about being stuck with some less than stellar ones since they are in fact there to learn. I personally don't have it in me to be strict towards people who don't know what they're doing, but I can understand the frustration if someone just doesn't have any drive for what it is they are doing.
preach
Group projects have always sucked. Glad my major/minor doesn't have any so I haven't done any since high school.
i didn't know you still used basil!
also good luck dealing with morons. If you want the grade, you literally have to do all that work yourself. I learned that the hard way.
Now, I imagine [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woEve_i-S4Q]this[/url] to be you. Just ignore or change the subtitles as you please. (you can exclude the second scene of course)
In which case, I feel truly, truly bad for you. I'd have killed myself and let them start worrying about it if it's ungraded.
@skyenets: ok
@tiesandbowties: It's a fairly decent university in the east Midlands in England. It's not Oxford or Cambridge or anything, but it's pretty good. Rather not specify further than that.
[quote=skyenets]Most of our students end up at MIT. Harvard doesn't exactly carry our area of expertise.
[/quote]
where do you go for school?
[quote=tiesandbowties]thats why you go to harvard (or northwestern ) because everyone including the freshmen are apt.[/quote]
Most of our students end up at MIT. Harvard doesn't exactly carry our area of expertise.
[quote=lazylazylazy]Did you really cut your foot?[/quote]
Injured myself while running around for my flight last Thursday. I had forgotten to take my medication that day which affected me quite badly. Which led to me becoming unwell and making a weird fall. I ended up with a few cuts in my right foot. Mostly my heel. I ignored the injure and continued to wear very high heeled shoes. Yesterday my foot decided to give out and now every moment hurts. It wasn't intentional but it was definitely my own stupid fault.
Did you really cut your foot?
thats why you go to harvard (or northwestern ) because everyone including the freshmen are apt.