Why, YES, I *am* insane, thanks for asking!
So my big plans to get more artwork posted here and just post more in general have sort of...died. I'm sure everyone is surprised by this. XD But I have some good excuses, really!
Firstly, I've bitten the bullet and decided to go full-throttle on my entry for Tokyopop's contest. There is no guarantee that I will make even the top 20, but for the first time in my short history of attempts, I *LOVE* my story and my characters and I actually have confidence in...a lot of things I've never had much confidence in before. Consequently, I devote the majority of my free time now to working on this story.
In addition to this, I've made the decision to quit my job after Christmas. As it is, I've already pared down my hours to the bare minimum, and am only working enough to remain part of the staff, rather than to earn any sort of decent wages. It's a sacrifice I've decided to make to give my little manga as much of a fighting chance as I can. Because while I can certainly afford to lessen my work hours, I *cannot* afford to let my grades drop in school...
No, I'm not that much of an academic freak, never have been, but over the last week or so, I've come to make some rather large decisions about my future. The long and short of it is, really, that I have found my ideal university, with an art school and degree program that seem to be the answer to every burning wish and fervent hope I've had with regards to my life as an artist. There's just one teensy problem...
It's on the other side of the world. >_>
Kyoto Seika University, in Kyoto Japan, is a liberal arts university with a specific department for the creation of story-comics (manga) and animation. Just the breakdown of the curriculum over a four-year period was enough to make me want to cry. It's everything that I've wanted to learn or wondered about since I realized that there was such a career as 'manga-ka.' When I first heard about this University, it sounded like a beautiful dream, but not one that I could ever attain on my own. I assumed that the tuition and cost of living, not to mention getting TO Japan in the first place would take more funds than I care to think about...
But then I started reading about the student fees. KSU gives up to a 60% discount to students applying from overseas. There are year-round living accomodations, and they have separate dorms for women and men (which I much prefer, kthxbye). Everything is located within an easy distance from restaurants, shops, and entertainment. And the total fees for a year of tuition and rooming/boarding would be little more than what I'm paying now to attend my current University.
I would apply tomorrow if I could, but the University requires at least an intermediate level of fluency in Japanese before an applicant can even be considered for admission. In addition, there are entrance exams, essays, interviews and portfolio reviews to get through. So, for the next year to year-and-a-half, all my energies will be diverted into a plethora of art classes and accelerated Japanese classes as preparation for application to Kyoto Seika.
I realize it sounds like a rather...far-fetched plan, but...I have to try. The thought of staying in this dying, gray-sky town is too sad to think about. And the more I think about Kyoto Seika, the more my instincts urge me to follow that path, regardless of how much work may be involved. It would be hard to leave my family behind for so long but we all seem to be stuck in our own respective life-ruts, and perhaps, if I can break out of mine, they can escape theirs. Besides, if my mom was able to pick up, leave all HER family behind and move half a world away to go to college, I don't see why I can't do it, too :3