August 20, 2018 Image Pre-College Summer Session: Painting What surprised you the most about the Pre-College Summer Session (PCSS)? What surprised me the most about PCSS was the amount of freedom we had as students. It was really surprising, and I think it was a nice sampling of what college life will be like. I could stay in the studios until midnight, or I could grab lunch on Eat Street with my friends. What aspect of the program has had the biggest impact on you? The rigor of our major classes definitely changed the way I thought about my evolution as an artist. Having that many hours dedicated to painting forced me to realize a lot of hard truths, but the guidance provided by our teacher and teaching assistants allowed me to change for the better. Imani works on one of her paintings outside. Photo by Grace Olson. How has your artistic practice changed from being a part of the program? Before PCSS, I had more of a lackadaisical view of my art and its progress. My focus was on enjoying my work, even if that meant abandoning countless projects and producing lesser quality artwork. During my time at PCSS, I was more or less forced to reevaluate this aspect of myself and reorganize my priorities. I want to be the kind of artist that prioritizes the highest quality of work they can deliver, and I want to be the kind of artist that doesn't cut corners. PCSS opened up this new path for me in my art, and it's something I could've never learned anywhere else. What was your favorite experience, outside of the classroom? One of our last nights at PCSS, we played Dungeons and Dragons in the College Center. It was my first time playing, and my character was a cyborg dog whose name was "Dawg." There was also the night we all watched Ponyo, and the night we watched The Day After Tomorrow. Someone ordered pizza that night, which was pretty baller. There were a lot of moments that could be classified as favorites, but that's only because my friends were there. That was really corny. Imani's response to the What's In Your Bag? prompt. Photo by Grace Olson. What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about coming to PCSS? Live in the moment. That sounds impossibly corny, but sometimes life is like that. At this program, you'll be surrounded by like-minded people, so don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. Sit down at a random lunch table. Find some people in your classes that are also annoyed at that one assignment and complain all day about it. Make a group chat and bounce ideas off each other. Explore more about Imani Younger