Art is a special interest of mine, years of practice and dedication placed into a creative I truly enjoy has been a wonderful journey ever since I picked up a pen. Creativity was instilled in me growing up, I enjoyed collecting sketchbooks and art materials to create these wild imaginations that were flooding my mind with curiosity and wonder, I began to draw many things such as monsters and ghouls or robots and cartoon characters. These pieces began messy and crude but over time I taught myself through art books, cartoons, music, and my knack for observation.
As a kid i was quiet, isolated, and prefer to be by myself, I always closed myself out from people due to my fears and trauma which lead me to become sad, enraged, and frustrated that i cant truly express myself the I truly want to. Then, i discovered a painting from a certain artist, the painting presented a branch of an almond tree blossoming its flowers in a bright blue background. I was entranced by its beauty, the complex lines and its bright colors inspired me to express myself in a new way, a way that was enjoyable and challenging enough for me that id be hooked for life.
Books upon books about their history and lives gave me the know how to create art, but not exactly the skills to do so, I decided then and there to follow my dream of art and to express myself in the way they do, to create pieces that gives me happiness and to inspire others to follow the arts and to help others express themselves. For the first couple of years since i began it was rough and challenging. I had unsteady hands and a gnawing fear of perfection, that i must create a piece that i approved of. I nearly gave up many times thinking that maybe the arts wasn't for me, but then i realized something.
Vincent Van Gogh, a tragic artist who thought his works were nothing but insignificant and bleak painted the most famous pieces of our time such as the Starry Night, Almond Blossoms, Cafe Terrace at Night and his many self-portraits had never truly given up at creating art. He was riddled with fear and anger for his craft, but he transformed those emotions into loud and vibrant pieces that still are remembered up to this day.
When i realized that i suddenly saw the world in a much different color, it was like a dewdrop fell Infront of me and blinded me with color and inspiration in that very moment. I began to understand art was truly for me and i began to fall in love with it every single day since then, I picked up a pen and began my 16-year journey into honing my craft and using it to shape the world as i know it.
I used many mediums to create so many pieces of art, starting from a sketchbook then to a canvas and now a digital tablet. Medium after medium i practiced and did my best that i won many awards in art competitions i was apart of, it finally clicked on me that the arts were my talent, my joy, and my expression to show the world that i can shape it and prove to myself that i can do it.
To close this essay, I wish to pursue an art degree for college and to work for a graphic design job so i can keep learning the craft i truly love and the craft i worked hard for.
Growing in Confidence
Music has always been a huge part of my life. It started when I was five years old and I became fascinated with piano. I started taking piano lessons once a week and instantly fell in love with the instrument. From that point on, I fell in love with music too. I began singing in choir as well as teaching myself guitar and ukulele. I only struggled with one thing.
In the music world, fear of judgment and criticism can make any musician lose confidence. Since I was little, I would never perform in front of anyone and I still struggle to do it now. As I grew older, I realized that this fear of performing in front of others was something I needed to work on. I started in choir when I was in eighth grade and I have grown so much in confidence thanks to my teacher. She has helped me tremendously in gaining the confidence that I needed to perform in front of others. She knew that I had the vocal talent to perform and did everything to help me with this fear. When I first entered that choir class, I was very shy and made sure no one could hear me when we were singing. Since that first day, I am now able to do solos in the class with confidence. I realized that that fear of performing went away when I was with people I was comfortable with. I knew that my confidence could only grow with lots and lots of practice.
I started voice lessons when I was in tenth grade outside of school. Since choir was typically only classical music, I started working on a completely different genre with my voice. I decided to shift to musical theater. This was a huge learning experience for me as the vocal technique is very different from classical training. I loved working on something new and expanding my vocal abilities. The only problem with singing musical theater was that I had no acting experience. That’s when I decided to join the school’s musical. I auditioned for the musical and ended up landing an understudy role for one of the leads and a spot in the ensemble. This was a shock for me as I had never had any experience with theater. I remember being very nervous because I realized that if I had to go onto stage as a lead that would mean that I would have to perform and sing in front of people. I had only ever sung in front of a class of around fifteen people. However, I knew that I could do it. I knew that I had gained so much confidence from my teacher and my friends. Although I never got to go on as a lead, I had the best experience being in the ensemble and getting to perform with a family.
As I began thinking about what I wanted in the future, I realized that I loved the singing aspect of musical theater, but I wasn’t strong enough with my acting skills. I shifted my focus to wanting to do something with commercial music. I started thinking about how I could have a career in singing background vocals for someone or possibly producing music. I knew that this was exactly what I was looking for. Everyone’s musical journey is different and I’ve learned that I want to share my talent with others. I have grown so much in confidence through the years and I couldn't have done it without my amazing choir teacher and friends.
