Tufts Blogs

So this is it.  I'm a declared art history major.  I've known it for a while, but now it's on a form filed somewhere in Dowling, I'm on a new elist and I'm a real person!  Well, I'm not really a real person just yet, but I'm out of the undeclared club.  Right after I had done the deed, I called my mom and told her that I finally declared.  Her response was "Oh so you declared International Relations with a minor in Engineering, right?"  Funny, Mom.

Even though I just declared a few days ago, I've been telling people that I'm an art history major for a while.  Part of it is that it's just easier to say that you have a major instead of saying that you're undecided.  The other part is that I really did know that I wanted to do this, I just didn't fill out the form because I'm lazy.  Whatever the case, I finally did the deed.

After a few weeks of email tag and Monday-on-Thursdays, my schedule finally matched with my advisor-to-be's.  When I took her fantastic course on Medieval Architecture last spring, I'd basically decided that I wanted to be Professor Karen Overbey, but because that's not exactly possible, that I wanted her to be my advisor.  I've had quite a few professors, but Professor Overbey has this way of talking about art that lets you know that she truly loves it.  She'll look at an image on the projector, just taking it in, and then sigh before turning back to the class.

While I was in her class, I was lucky enough to actually go to England, where I saw some the of structures we were discussing.  She gave me some light extra reading so that I could have some more background knowledge, and then when I got back we sat down together and discussed at the photos I'd taken and the things I'd seen.  After that, she mentioned that if I did end up becoming an art history major, that she would love to be my advisor.  I think that sealed the deal for me.

When I saw her again this past week, we exchanged pictures of cool works that we've seen recently, discussed museum trips, and talked about upcoming courses.  Oh, and she signed the form that made me officially an art history major and her advisee.  That sheet might define me academically in the eyes of the university, but in the course of the meeting, it really did seem like a small thing.  Somehow, discussing the interplay of the ceiling mosaics, the hanging lights, and the water in the Baptistery in Ravenna really was more important than a piece of paper.