Young Adulthood

As a tenant in a home shared with two young professionals, I slowly came to the realization that I had no peers at school or at home. Unlike my friends, who were meeting new people their age on campuses with traditional student bodies, I was navigating “the real world” alone. My parents were always supportive financially, but there was simply no one to relate to at the time. I made some acquaintances and nurtured brief friendships with older students during Art Center at Night courses. Seeking a social living situation akin to the dorms, I made the mistake of renting a room in a home shared with mostly Transportation Design and Illustration students. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more of a frat house, and the last straw was an all-night porn party held by the gearheads.

Because my best friend was only a brief drive away on the Caltech campus, we agreed to rent an apartment together near Old Town Pasadena. Yet again, I made a mistake as the living situation devolved because of my friend’s fragile mental health. There were fun times, such as going to Old Town or Glendale or Ralph’s, but I was unprepared for the toll her fragility would take on my well-being. I was attending more to her needs than to my own and decided to move again.

While the dot com boom was in full swing, my parents were flush with money and purchased a house within walking distance to Art Center’s hillside campus. The first year there was such a relief from the previous accommodations; however, the stability would not last as I descended into my own madness.

Class assignments became unbearably difficult to start, much less complete, and instructors were understandably disappointed with the lack of progress. Mood swings would come and go, even during lectures, prompting one instructor to wonder out loud if he were boring people to tears. After nearly a year of turmoil, I became suicidal and dropped out of the Illustration program.