Plucking through the New York Times “Most Popular” articles, I find myself skimming through major news of Obama’s State of the Union Address as well as the last remaining articles of the horrid Tucson shooting.

But of course, being a somewhat hopeless romantic, I find myself in the “Modern Love” section, sifting through the works of hopeful optimists and quite depressing realists.

I eventually found myself interested in one story in particular.

A Marlboro College student who resides in the crowded streets of New York City challenged the idea of love in college within her article titled “Want to be my boyfriend? Please define.” The writer stated her inability to decipher the meaning behind “seeing someone” versus “dating someone” versus “hooking up with someone.” For all college students and even high schools students today, I think I can honestly say, “sounds familiar?”

Myself, an independent who acts as though she’s too busy too be involved in such a childish art of love, really has no idea what to expect in college.

I honestly could care less about the dating scene in the four years of all night studying and a busy lifestyle I have ahead of myself. But my sister has always told me, “don’t have a serious relationship in college, just date around.” And as much as I’d love to take my sister’s usually 100% perfect advice, I find myself asking could I really just date? Yes, I could go on dates, but I just don’t quite believe that this old fashioned soul would be comfortable cozying up to three different “honeys.”

Ok, that sounds weird.

But still, maybe it’s one of those things that you realize as you grow up.

Just as the New York author stated her difficulties through trivial dating and random encounters, she also states that she is young and it is the time to be “casual, careless, lighthearted and fun.”

So for now, I must realize that college life and love will come as it may, and whatever happens will eventually happen.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/fashion/04love.html?ref=fashion

I can still remember handing my mother a portrait of her and I walking through lines of choppy grass, strolling awkwardly towards an uneven crayon-colored house, containing numerous shades of brown and a smudge of an unpleasant pink.

It may not have been a work of art, but it never failed to make my mother smile.

As a young kid, I colored on the place mats at restaurants and unfortunately on our own kitchen walls. I believe that as a kid, drawing is the easiest, most fun way to explore your creativity.

However, with most pre-school and elementary curriculums in the United States consisting of, on average, an hour dedicated to art projects, the average parent seems to be receiving more works of art than the fridge door can handle.

“We’re getting two to four pieces of crayon drawing a day,” said 36-year-old Ms. Hanff, the mother of a 4-year-old girl who seems to get carried away in art class.

Although children may be forcing their parents to become hoarders, I believe the benefits that art can bring a child is well worth it.

David Burton, a professor of art education at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, stated that art is extremely important within the development of young children. While cognitive and fine motor skills are developed through drawing, children are also taught to recognize and distinguish different colors, shapes, and forms. In addition, just as drawing can be used therapeutically, children have been shown to use drawing in order to express their emotions.

Just as I once handed my “highly acclaimed” drawings to my mother as a young girl, I hope that children of the future will continue this ageless tradition.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/garden/27art.html?scp=1&sq=a%20tough%20art%20critic&st=cse