Many people get to say they learned something from a class they took, but very few are able say they learned a lifestyle. Art History AP and Modern Art Seminar AP are not courses rather they are class that moves people forward in life, allows for growth as a person, and above all else assists in the quest of self-discovery during high school.

Because in all honesty, Art History is not a subject; it is a culture.

Webster’s dictionary defines a culture as, “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.”

That’s what we will do. That’s who we have become.

We discover, learn, and achieve collectively. We are no longer 10 individual students, but a unified family. We pick each other up when we’re down, we help each other with homework; we wait on pins and needles for each other’s college decisions just as much as our own, and we look out for each other. We are all so individually great, but together we are unstoppable.

And as I sit here and reflect on the past two years, it would be wrong to thank my team for making these years incredible and not mention our coach. We owe it all to one woman. A woman who wrote unreal recommendations to the college (or colleges) of our dreams, a woman we all feared at some point yet respect more than anyone, a woman who saw the success in us before we did, a woman who broadened our horizons and expanded our minds beyond our own belief, a woman who truly believed in us when no one else did, a woman named:  Susie RomCom.

            And in true Mrs. L fashion, yesterday we were each given a folder with the deepest and toughest questions we have ever seen in this class… and she made it due in 24 hours.

            “Pick you’re favorite piece of art”… One piece? ONE. PIECE?! You can’t be serious. We have worked for two years learning thousands of pieces whether good, bad, intriguing, ugly, violent, peaceful, or mesmerizing. I thought the task of picking one to be my favorite was an impossible one. So in true Nicole fashion, I took it upon myself to change the question.

“What piece has taught you the most?”

And for that question, I do have an answer. Rousseau’s Sleepy Gypsy. Now, I know you all, so I know what you all are thinking, “Really? That one? We have learned so many better or art world changing pieces” But, before you let your mind or mouths run wild, let me explain.

The Sleeping Gypsy is less of a painting and more of story. A story with no end.

There is a sense of unsaid movement in the piece; no one truly knows what is going to happen next.

Just. Like. Life.

            There are going to be so many moments in our lives that seem still like a painting, but there is always an unspoken movement awaiting. Life is scary, and there is no doubt in my mind that there will be moments where we wont know what will happen next or where to go from where we stand, but remember… if you can survive Art History AP… you can survive anything. Each and every one of us has the necessary skills whether socially or mentally to overcome whatever challenge we may face, and we have each other and Mrs. L to thank for that. I promise that in life, there are no endings only new beginnings. So adventure on, my fellow Art Historians, your life will be filled with Sleeping Gypsy moments, but as Rousseau did eventually, you too will figure them all out.

So there you go, Susie RomCom. That is my “favorite piece.” But I’m not answering your second question, at least not right now. Because I cannot tell you why exactly, in words, Art History matters. I have to show you. And all ten of us will. Not with words or papers or architecture presentations that last four months, but with our lives. Each and every one of us will go off into the world and teach others why art history matters. Robert Smithson once said, “Art history is less explosive than the rest of history, so it sinks faster into the pulverized regions of time.” We couldn’t possibly at this moment know the ultimate reason of why art history matters or how to use the plethora of knowledge we have gained in the past two years. It will take time for us to give back to the world what this class has given to us, but I know we all can do it. Because administration, other teachers, and fellow students may read “Art History” on the curriculum planner, but we 11 read, and forever will remember it as “Life Class.”