This is actual evidence that proves everyone who says art isn't hard wrong. When I walked into my Introduction to Drawing class for the first time, I had no idea how much it was going to test me. Over and over again, I struggled and practiced and spent hours attempting to squeak out a decent grade in a class that felt far from introductory - and then came the final. Recreate this set of items in a value drawing, using solely value and charcoal, also known as the bane of my existence.

This was, by far, one of the most difficult things I had to do in my entire college career - and this is coming from someone who REALLY likes art. I worked for about four hours, and showed it to my professor, thinking that surely I was done. To my surprise, though I guess I shouldn't have been so shocked, instead of telling me I was done, he asked me, "Have you put in twenty hours yet?" TWENTY HOURS?! I've never worked on something for twenty hours in my life, as I have the attention span of a goldfish.

"Well, not quite, but -"

"Google Picasso's charcoal drawings, put in twenty hours, and come back to me to let me know if you were actually done now."

Googling Picasso's drawings, by the way, does nothing for the self esteem.

However, I took his advice, and several hours later, I found myself covered head to toe with charcoal with this in front of me - a piece of work of which I was and am so incredibly proud. This final made me realize that all the hard work I put into the semester finally paid off, because I learned something, about art and myself. A piece of art is never really done. You can work for hours, days, weeks, and years to finish a piece, and there will always be something more to add. However, the lesson I learned about myself is that learning doesn't come from making a grade. Learning comes from putting the extra hours in, and making something of which I can be proud.