"What do you want to be when you grow up? " has followed me everywhere throughout my life, and each time it was asked, my answer has been different. In kindergarten, my five-year-old self enjoyed teaching my friend Emma how to spell “horse,” so I would enthusiastically reply, “I want to be a teacher!” Words like “teacher,” “lawyer,” and “doctor” floated in my head for years. But whenever I blurted one out as my answer, the word never felt right.

 

However, art has been the one thing consistent throughout my life. Even as a toddler, jamming and scribbling my crayons on anything within reach was my expression of self and main source of communication. That love for art developed into a passion as I learned more and more traditional skills. Growing older, I experimented with new art styles and mediums as they allowed me to communicate more with the world around me.

 

In this new language of visual arts, I posed new questions. Each artwork targeted a new query as I became fascinated by the familiarity in the human body between subjects. I drew quick sketches of strangers around me in my sketchbook. Although each person was unique, there was a consistent essence of humanity in their proportions and expressions. Through my portraits, I wondered about the stories of each person and the broader social contexts that defined the human condition. 

 

With these new questions racing through my head, I seek to understand the intricacies and nuances behind human behavior in past artwork. From Banksy’s “Slave Labour” to Fairey’s “Defend Dignity,” I will also explore the complexities of activism in contemporary artwork. In college, I hope to discover the answers to my questions and find new intersections between my passions in sociology and visual arts.

 

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Now, I realize my answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My reply can not be limited to just one word. I want to be an artist. I want to be an activist. I want to be an entrepreneur. My curiosity and hunger for learning is limitless. At college, I will explore all of my passions by challenging myself in new subjects and taking new risks to find my identity. I do not have to fit one specific mold but instead hope to explore the infinite possibilities of what college has to offer.