Contemporary WHAT?

I am excited to be in the Contemporary Art course right now mainly because I am eager to learn (as a college student, I am a giant sponge for new information), and because I have no idea what contemporary art is.  Of course, I know what the definition is.  But whenever I flip through my textbook or look at websites such as Contemporary Art Daily (http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/), I do not expect what I see; I see little to no paintings, drawings, or anything like that that I am used to being around and creating.  Instead I see objects that to me do not have meaning and make no sense.  I understand that I am not yet educated about these things so it is no big deal that I am a little confused, therefore I am excited to finally learn about it and translate it and recognize it, to make sense of it.  My instructor seems to know very much from her own experiences as well as the information from our textbook.  I can tell that I am going to gain a great appreciation and understanding for arts today and why people create what they create.  Maybe I will even become exposed to some new ideas that I never thought I would explore.  I am going to remain a sponge and learn a lot from exhibitions in L.A. or San Francisco, as well as some shows over at UCD and other colleges.  Finally, a class that makes me get off my butt and learn from actual experience and not just ink on a page!  Well, as well as my other class with similar requirements.  Also I am new to blogging and this is my first time, so maybe it's a new way of documenting that I will start on.  Although my nephew and instructor will be my only fans.  This will be a challenging but fun semester that I am looking forward to!!