You’re Studying Architecture?

By: Brittney Mount

1.      “That’s awesome!”

      Agreed. I will say I enjoy studying architecture. I enjoy everything from the history to the drafting to the people I spend 95% of my time with. Architecture is a major that requires you to be highly devoted, disciplined, and diverse in abilities. After just a few years of studying architecture you catch your mind wandering into the walls of a space, questioning anything from the floor tile, room size, and paths of egress. 

2.     “That sounds miserable.”

 It is. I will not lie about this. An architecture major doesn’t have the liberty of being able to cram a month’s worth of studying into a single night and having a 25% chance on being right on a multiple choice question. A project takes much more than a night to prepare, and has absolutely no luck factor whatsoever, what you have is what you have, and your critics don’t care how many days you stayed up to finish that board or how many times you cut yourself building that model. At least misery loves company and you have plenty of company around at 4 a.m. the night before a project is due and some of my most stressful times in life have also been some of my best and most memorable times in life. The bottom line to the misery is if you still enjoy it, well no one enjoys misery, but if you keep doing what you’re doing then there’s a reason for it: you want to be doing it.

3.     “I wanted to be an architect, but it was too much math for me.”

 This response is typically paired with one of the first two responses. When I ask why the person didn’t follow through with it, the same response ensues: “I can’t draw or do math.” Are these skills helpful in the field of architecture? Yes, very much. Do you have to be a mathematician or Picasso? Absolutely not. My first day of architecture school consisted of drawing objects and I was terrified. The fact is, I can’t draw, but just like in every other college major, the necessary skills you need progress greatly through your studies and you’ll feel pretty proud looking back at your progression from freshman year to the present. I still can’t draw, but I have grasped a technique that allows me to represent my ideas and concepts to my professors and that’s all you need.

4.     “Well at least you’ll be rich.”

Define rich.