2026 personal curriculum
over the last year, I’ve come across a handful of videos and write-ups about the concept of a “personal curriculum” or a growth-focused, self-directed learning plan. the trend appears to be a response to the rise of anti-intellectualism — a focus on exercising your thinking muscles in the time of “brain rot.”
in 2025, I did begin practicing new skills and reading about new topics outside of work:
started learning TouchDesigner and Blender
as a result started understanding computer graphics a whole lot more
continued my drawing/painting practice, attended a couple of workshops, and have made visible progress
started researching technical artists out of interest re: careers
I went to Alaska which inspired reminding myself of American history, the gold rush, etc
I read No More Tears by Gardiner Harris, and Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, and fell down the rabbit hole of corporate cover ups, past and present
I attended MIT Day of Design and began making connections between design concepts and education
I learned how to play poker for the first time! subsequently I got really into casino game statistics…
I’m proud of how much time and energy I put into learning new things, developing new skills, deepening my understanding. I genuinely believe pursuing long term learning projects makes us better, more patient and tolerant humans.
so, I’ve been thinking about how to frame my personal learning goals for 2026, and noticing they have one thing in common: skills needed towards a developing creative vision. I’ve decided that’s going to be my theme for the year, which means anything I do art wise fits ;)
goal: work through programming for the puzzled
I’ve taken computational physics and intro coding classes more than once having studied physics through grad school. it’s the translation of using coding concepts from scratch to build something that I still struggle with. I want to refresh my computer science knowledge, because I’m inspired by creative coders and I don’t want to lose a valuable skill.
goal: finish the classic blender donut tutorial, then try modeling some stuff
learning 3D seems like a natural next step as a creative physicsy engineering person. plus, I’m really interested in mastering touchdesigner and blender’s network editing is very similar, with many more educational resources.
goal: finish development of my interactive piece, “mood ring”
I’ve been chipping away on a user-approachable object that reacts in real time with generative visuals similar to that of a classic mood ring. with this project, my goal is to self-learn touchdesigner and its integrations for interactive and responsive work, making use of accessible resources by practicing creatives. having an end project motivates me to keep getting to know all the moving parts of this type of work!
goal: sprinkle some fiction books back into the rotation
my confession: I struggle to get into fiction. I used to be a stereotypical “avid reader” kid, but somewhere between 8th grade and now, that habit completely stopped. I do get a lot of non-fiction reading in; I love memoir and investigative journalism. but I know I don’t get enough exposure to fiction these days, and do know how much of a valuable experience it is. I generally have a habit of self-inserting, and as I continue to develop as an artist and creative, I’m wanting to challenge myself to understand new perspectives.
I applied to graduate programs this cycle, but I don’t need to be enrolled to learn — and I look forward to checking in about six months later to see where we’re at ;)
