grad student reception!

i DON'T have pictures for this entry, sorry. i think they're better with pictures, but oh well.
after getting a little lost and walking down a street that went UNDER the freeway and almost continually smelled of pee, i made it to the reception building. i was early by 30 minutes or so but there were several people already there. i was offered white wine as soon as i walked in (great sign) but opted for the water (which turned out to be mineral water. yuck.). i made a friend almost right away. he was sitting at a prime table for people watching, so i sidled up to that situation. ben in motion picture & television. he was great. very relaxed. easy to talk to. we didn't want to mingle and people eventually came to us.
we met anna, from russia, in graphic design and so freaking sweet. and nikki in advertising. it was a nice diverse little crew and we made fun of people together and laughed a little (i DID eventually accept a glass of wine).
the sad part is that i probably won't see any of them, but maybe they'll take fencing with me or something. you never know. there are many 'activities' to participate in. the president spoke for a good 10 minutes and half the room couldn't hear her.
welcome to this prestigious school. (prestigious? i don't know about THAT.)
as grad students with ma' s or mfa's you'll be equivalent to doctors. (hahahaha)
then we were split up into our respective departments. (bye, friends)
in the illustration room were about 38 people, about 70:30, girls to boys. the head of the department has been illustrating for 37 years and was delightful. he made me laugh out loud several times.
the question was posed about doing illustration AND animation and how much sense that makes, or would it make more sense to switch majors into animation. i am so grateful this was asked as i was thinking the exact same thing but am shy with dominating rooms of people who may not be interested in the answer to the question.
the answer was this: illustration will make you a better animator. go into the animation program and you'll be an animator who can't draw very well, which doesn't make sense.
the program is so open and self directed that i can take all the cores to fulfill the major and then take electives and 'directed study' in animation, which has the potential to be equivalent to 10 classes in animation.
so. awesome.
i was skeptical of how that would work out and if i was in the right place, and now i feel better about the place i'm in.
if i'm here, it's right.
and i'm excited!