Audrey and I have adjusted to our respective schedules with her train commute to L.A. after the first few weeks of summer classes. For me, it's actually worked out quite well since her drop-off and pick-up times (early in the morning and very late at night) never conflicted with her siblings' schedules. I've come to appreciate how dependable and efficient the train could be for long commutes. So far I've never had to wait more than five minutes for Audrey at pick-up time. I felt really guilty last Monday when I came a little late and she was waiting on the bench in front of the station all alone. Most of the other commuters were businessmen who drove their own cars and would disappear into the station's parking structure as soon as they got off the train at night. It seemed like Audrey was the only FIDM student with an oddball schedule. She told me the train attendant knows her by now and even "forgets" to punch her ten-pack ticket on purpose. It is true that pretty girls often get special treatment!
I was very relieved that Audrey no longer needed to walk to the subway to take the night train home. As it turned out, FIDM used to have a student escort service (this sounds terrible, I know, but I'm not sure what an appropriate substitute term might be) available upon request, that was canceled due to lack of funds. In its place, a shuttle service was made available to students who needed to get to the subway from their classes. This is similar to the doorman walking students to their cars at the Irvine campus. Audrey has never seemed to recognize the dangers of being on the streets of L.A. alone at night, but I made her promise to use the shuttle from now on.
One thing that still bothers me about Audrey's long days at the L.A. FIDM campus is she refuses to wear flats to school. I remember myself as a college student walking to classes in sneakers, T-shirts, and jeans. In contrast, Audrey wears impossible heels everyday while toting around her oversized bag full of books and supplies that must weigh at least a ton! I've appealed to her vanity by pointing out the threat of varicose veins, but so far that scare tactic hasn't worked. I might resort to getting Audrey to try sensible Naturalizer shoes and see if she can stick with them out of habit.
The popular misconception of Fashion Design being a "romance major" is just that... a misconception! I never saw Audrey work so hard in her life as she is doing now. Academics has always come easy to her and she got good grades without trying all through high school, but the rigor of her second-year college classes surprised me. A few days ago, I happened upon her working intently on her first project of the quarter, designing a fashion portfolio taking inspiration from the Brooklyn Bridge. I knew if it were me taking this course, I would have surely failed! Somehow the artistic gene from my dad skipped a generation and went straight to Audrey, bypassing me entirely! Drawing stick figures is all I can manage past kindergarten.
A patient of my ex got in touch with me recently and while chatting about our respective lives, shared the news that her granddaughter, who also majored in Fashion Design, graduated five years ago and was unable to find a job! She has since then switched gears and gotten into dental school. My friend Christine told me the daughter of our mutual acquaintance, who also attended FIDM, gave up her dream of becoming a fashion designer when she discovered she liked sketching and had a talent for it, but couldn't really sew. This girl also went back to school with a different major and ended up marrying a lawyer. While those two outcomes could count as happy endings in some Vietnamese households, I doubt that Audrey would see it that way. I just can't see her being fulfilled in any other field but her chosen career.
While taking the train home one night, Audrey drew a portrait of her friend, Jaron, from a photo of him stored in her digital camera. She didn't believe she did a good job, but I disagreed (except for his Star Trek ears). What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment