Where will you college experience leave you? This is a very challenging time for people, but the most important thing to remember is the experience you get is based off of what you put into it. The difficult decisions to be made are now completely up to you; the responsibility no longer falls to anyone else. It includes but is not limited to studying, what you will do with your friends, and deciding what you want to do with your life. The artistic choices leave the viewer with feelings and ideas that otherwise would not be achievable. One, the pictures are placed right next to each other which gives the impression of a contrasting decision or life choice. In addition, it brings about a call to action to pick one life style or the other. Second, the placement of the last set of images gives the impression that school habits as well as who you associate with and how you associate with them will dictate where you will be at the end of your college journey. Third, the last set of images brings about an emotion of urgency with the red “wrong way” sign. The sign gets your attention and makes you realize what you could be staring into if you don’t take advantage of your time there. It is these three particular aspects of the visual essay that give it the most meaning. 

When it comes to comparing, placing a picture right next to another makes the mind subconsciously compare the two. A person will begin to wonder why these two things are being compared and take this information to ultimately make a decision. This is important because the idea behind the pictures is to make you choose and ultimately see where you will end up at the end of your college career. There is the guy sitting with numerous books diligently studying as it should be done. Next to that is a picture of another guy laying down watching television with his school work sitting next to him. It is now possible to compare these two images and decipher which end of the spectrum we would like to be on. Unlike words on a page, we can truly see how different they really are. The second set of images gives the audience a clear visual as to what can happen when your social interactions are not favorable to a healthy lifestyle. On the other hand there are the kids who go the gym and play basketball which can still be a good social activity, but also is a good healthy activity. In the end the question is burned into your brain, do I want to be that person who needs a stretcher called? The third set of images includes the wrong way sign as well as the long straight road. On the one hand you can get out of college and realize that you can’t see yourself continuing on the career path you originally planned on, and on the other you have found the one and only option you have and you no longer need to stress about what your future is you just know. The difference is that when you associate two images to the ideas you are able to better understand which way you want to go. People find it comforting when they know exactly where they are going and what is waiting for them. It is not very comforting when someone has just spent a small fortune and still has no idea what the future holds for them. There is little to no reassurance in that. At the end of the day, the somewhat forced comparison between the images leads the audience to realize that they do not what to make bad decisions that lead them to that unwanted moment of “what am I doing with my life?” That is not a position anyone would like to be in. 

Another big aspect of the visual essay that allows people to even come to a conclusion is the placement of the images. The fact that the images relating to one’s future are placed at the end give us the impression that the conclusion to be made is what choices will you make in college, and how will that affect life after college. First, you study habits are brought into question in which you must face how it is that you actually study. Do you study with the tv on, or in the library or in another study friendly area is it should be done? You then are forced to answer which path you wish to take, and it is still a question not everyone wants to or needs to study in absolute silence. Second, some people will choose to go out and party all the time, others will find a happy medium or not party at all. If you are willing to sacrifice that to play basketball for example, you may find it easier to make it through college successfully. Again, the choice is up to the viewer, but the point is that the presentation of the images is forcing them to make a decision and decide where they are now. Not everyone wants to find that happy medium, and that is up to their discretion. Lastly, the end of the images forces a deeper stance to be taken. This forces the viewer to question where they are in their life, are you on a clear path, or are you skating through college not knowing what the future will hold for you? It is a deep and hard question to answer, but it is important to make sure that you are making the most of your investment. No one wants to end up finding a career that did not require all that money spent on college, it makes it seem as if it was not worth it.      

A person’s college experience revolves around the two most time consuming activities: hanging out with friends, and doing homework. When its broken down, that does truly determine whether a person’s experience will be good or bad. The overarching message of the visual essay dealt with these ideals; the idea of contrasting life styles that led one to choose which path they themselves should take. Bringing about the feeling of contrasting life styles would be the placement of the images; the call to action becomes imminent. In addition, the sequence gives off the feeling that studying as well as leisure activity will dictate where you will be at the end of your journey. At the end of the day it all depends on the individuals call to action, the type of student they will be, and more importantly the type of person they will become. These are the years that will mold you, don’t waste them away.      
