The mystery of art history

I am grateful that some people were created to enjoy science. I am equally thankful that there are people who enjoy accounting, the law, medicine or starting their own businesses. These past couple weeks, I have realized just how grateful I am that I was made (chose) to be an art historian. History fascinates me. I adore art (but can't produce it). I love combining the two ;)It can be stuffy yet suave, completely enigmatic, wonderfully yet annoyingly subjective, implicitly elitist... but very fascinating, beautiful, educational, inspiring, compelling and downright satisfying.

It's funny because growing up I envisioned myself working in a few different careers. When I was 7 and 8 years old, I really wanted to either be the person that built the big Lego monuments and animals at Legoland (like this lucky guy) or a bus driver. (This was the stage where I would ride my bike around the neighborhood stopping at different places playing school bus.) Then I went through a short era, that I'm convinced every kid has at some point, of wanting to be a veterinarian, until I realized that I don't like animals. After that, I really honed in on being a teacher. My mom taught early morning seminary and we had a classroom in our basement with desks and a huge marker board. I loved it! I would go down after school and teach school to my classroom of invisible students. But when I was about 12, I discovered what I thought was the career of my dreams: journalism. I wrote a lot and enjoyed it. Every career day from then on, I would always go to the journalist and listen to them tell their stories.

I fell in love with art history during my junior year of high school, when I took AP Art History. I was fascinated by it. When I studied about Michelangelo's sculptures, I got chills. I felt like the marble could start breathing, they were so full of life. When I looked at Van Gogh's "Crows in a Wheatfield," his last painting before he shot himself in that very field, I cried. But, I never really consider being an "art historian," I mean, what do they do anyways? However, after taking various intro classes in English, History, Accounting, Writing, I just couldn't see myself doing any of those things. Then I took an art history course just for fun. And the rest is history.