Keith Haring's art transformed the way I viewed art as an object. His crazy designs, bold colors, and fearlessness in the face of adversity really inspire me. He is an artist that isn't afraid to challenge people's ideas and make entirely new things. I believe that is what the best creators do, they change the world.

I believe that society can most effectively empower women by doing our best to remove most major power imbalances on a societal level. All forms of discrimination are always in favor of a ruling class. Whether it's sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, or racism it benefits those in power. In reality, these forms of discrimination only exist to justify gross acts of injustice and inequality. There is no real reason for something like sexism to exist other than to put men in a position of power over women. The kicker is that many men and even some women have tried to rationalize this behavior through logic instead of identifying it for what it really is: a logical fallacy. People will try to argue that patriarchies exist because men are just objectively better at leading so it only makes rational sense for men to be in charge. However, despite being a massive conflict of interest for only men to decide who is the most qualified, that conclusion is hardly even true. A patriarchal society cannot be a meritocracy because patriarchy does not care about who is the most qualified person, it cares about who is the most qualified man. Similarly to other civil rights movements, the only way to ensure a society is rid of inequalities is to redistribute the assets that the ruling class holds. While ideally significant change could be achieved through legislation and voting for candidates that represent your interests, this has historically proven to be largely ineffective. The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. There should be real consequences for being sexist, men should be blacklisted throughout their careers for that type of behavior. However, due to the nature of most industries, men are not punished because they are protected by their own. It is also not enough to try to become as empathetic as possible to men so they feel guilt or compassion. The most effective way for marginalized communities to achieve equality is to become organized and protest in a variety of ways. Strikes, riots, and embargoes have all been effective ways of forcing the ruling class to listen to the demands of a marginalized group. A society that empowers women cannot be one that relies on the depowering of any community. We would not live in a society that empowers women if we still allowed racism, homophobia and a massive wage gap. We would only live in a society that empowered white or rich women. It is essential to remove the systematic structures of inequality in order to achieve equality for all women. This will not only create a society that empowers women, but a society that empowers everyone regardless of their gender. Once these structures have been removed it is then essential to create new structures that protect the basic rights and privileges of women in order to prevent a power imbalance from happening once more.

I am proud to be a lesbian because just by existing I defy both the patriarchy and traditional gender roles. I exist outside the power system of domineering straight men and would never change that even if given the choice. I would choose to be a lesbian every single time because there is power in my community and power in my identity.

In high school, I was still coming to terms with my internalized shame. Even though I had been out as a lesbian for a few years, I had still grown up in a Hispanic Catholic culture that actively disapproved of same-sex attraction. I vividly remember thinking and saying homophobic things as a child. When I realized who I was, I thought that would be it. I was completely wrong. I realized that I had to come out not just once, but throughout the rest of my life to everyone I met. I felt ostracised by my peers and family. I remember being told by my parents that my grandfather could never know because he was violent and unstable. However, I would still be forced to interact with my grandparents, which was a huge source of anxiety for me. I began to think that everyone who ever cared about me before didn't even really know who I was. Their love was self-serving, and they really only cared about the idea of me. I became disconnected from all of my relationships and didn't engage in any friendships in school. It felt like there was this invisible barrier between me and everyone else. It wasn't until I went to a pre-college in California that I really started to love myself. I was roommates with a bunch of other LGBT people and I finally felt like I was fully accepted for who I was. Having a sense of community really made me feel like I truly belonged. I believe that one of the best things you can do to make a difference socially is to normalize being LGBT. I was part of a program called Student Voice where myself and other minority students regularly did panels speaking about our experiences. I will proudly be gender-non-conforming and be outspoken about being a lesbian. I dare others to even try questioning the way I live my life and I openly criticise homophobia and transphobia. Even something simple like mentioning that I have a girlfriend to strangers or even the middleschoolers at my job makes a difference. I know firsthand how powerful of a tool shame can be and I will wield it against archaic and oppressive belief systems.

One of the best days of my life was when I received the news that I was a Young Arts Winner. Young Arts is one of the most competitive national high school art competitions in the country and the fact that I was one of the winners absolutely blew my mind. I had worked so hard on the portfolio that I submitted and it had all paid off. Once you are a Young Arts Winner you are invited to Young Arts Week where you spend a whole week in downtown Miami taking master classes with professionals in your field. I also got to meet dozens of other Young Arts Winners from all different disciplines of art which was amazing. There were so many talented people and I got the opportunity to work with a few of them. It was such a crazy week, we would leave the hotel at 9 in the morning every day and we would stay in our master classes until 10 at night. We were all so excited though we really didn't even feel that tired. At the end of the week each discipline had their own show or exhibition prepared and we got to see each one. The art exhibitions were awesome, but my favorite had to be the concerts and spoken word performances. This experience really put me in a position where I was surrounded by other artists like myself who wanted to do art for the rest of their lives. I felt so supported and it really solidified my choice in pursuing higher education in the Visual Arts. It also taught me that art is not something that exists in a vacuum, it lives, breathes, and grows through experience and interaction. So many new ideas and techniques were opened to me just by collaborating with writers, dancers, and musicians. I learned how truly passionate people can be for their craft and I felt like my determination to make art was doubled. The best part is that as a Young Arts Alumni I can work at Young Arts week and even take some of the master classworkshops that they offer. In the future I would love to return to the Young Arts association as an employee and share my knowledge with the new Young Arts winners. For my own artistic career, I wish to create new development in the field of computer-based painting that has not been attempted before. My vision for my future in the arts is to create a real-time strategy multiplayer game within Minecraft that emphasizes player interaction and creative buildings to create meaningful events and relationships. The game mode will reward and encourage growth in aesthetic decisions for the player's buildings. My art will then transform into a documentation of the history of my player base. I intend to use game this to inspire future generations to create and use their creations to interact with others.

I grew up in a Panamanian/Cuban household. After becoming homeless my mother and father had to join the military to support themselves. However, before being deployed, my mother became pregnant with my older brother and had to leave while my father was on base in the states. Shortly after I was born, my father was in a near-fatal on-base accident that left him disabled. After this, my family moved to Miami, Florida to be closer to our family. At first, my mother homeschooled us while taking care of my father who was still unable to walk and dealing with a traumatic brain injury. Later on, she became a teacher and enrolled me and my brothers at the school she worked at. There she made sure we received the most out of our education and taught us responsibility and a good work ethic. Growing up my mother was such a central role in my life. Without her, I don't know what kind of person I would be. Every decision I make I do to make her proud. She has unwaveringly supported my interest in art throughout my life and at one point worked three jobs for the better part of a year so I could go to a pre-college in California. She has been the biggest supporter of my education and is one of the smartest and most compassionate people I know. I want to be able to get a job good enough to support her just as much as she has supported me. One of my career ambitions is to teach at the collegiate level while working at a studio. Through my art I wish to motivate others to pursue their interests and have a creative outlet through video games. I believe that online multiplayer video games can be a fantastic way of connecting groups of people from all over the world. My vision for my future life and career is to create a real-time strategy multiplayer game within Minecraft that emphasizes player interaction and creative buildings to create meaningful events and relationships. The game mode will reward and encourage growth in aesthetic decisions for the player's buildings. My art will then transform into paintings that document the history of my player base. I intend to use game this to inspire future generations to create and use their creations to interact with others.

A variety of topics interest me, video gaming, philosophy, interpersonal connections, and politics. I initially became interested in art as a child when I wanted to draw my favorite Pokemon in a realistic style. I spent weeks researching different types of bats to synthesize a new creature in my drawing. I found this process invigorating and I believe this was the defining moment that led me to pursue an artistic career. While the end product is not something I would be proud of now, this process taught me that I found the research and creativity necessary for projects like that intrinsically rewarding. Since then I have further pursued this path and I now research things like epistemology and how it relates to video games like Minecraft. To me being an artist means being actively intellectually engaged with my life. My artistic practice drives me to research topics that interest me and challenge myself to try new things. This enriches my life by adding aesthetic and intellectual appreciation to everything around me. I can appreciate the finer qualities of seemingly mundane things like textures and patterns that I see through my day-to-day life. This connects me and my practice to the interesting questions and topics that will hopefully engage my viewers. In turn, the art I make also represents me and shows my processes of thinking and engaging with different media. Whether I find interest in a new movie, book, or video game I can always relate it to my main interest of study. I believe that it is important for the future of my artistic and personal development to be genuinely invested in any subject matter to create personally authentic pieces. In one of my current projects, I utilize unusual methods to make my pieces. Through polygonal generators and a projector, I try to recontextualize how paintings should be made. The randomized polygon generator brings an ungoverned element to the process, and the projector ensures that the forms have an almost automated vibe to them. My specific area of study attempts to bridge the ontological gap between reality and fiction. I wish to create new development in the field of computer-based painting that has not been attempted before. My vision for my future in the arts is to create a real-time strategy multiplayer game within Minecraft that emphasizes player interaction and creative buildings to create meaningful events and relationships. The game mode will reward and encourage growth in aesthetic decisions for the player's buildings. My art will them transform into a documentation of the history of my player base. I intend to use game this to inspire future generations to create and use their creations to interact with others. This scholarship will assist me in achieving my career aspirations by allowing me to fund my projects on a larger scale. Right now I am limited in funds and can mostly do smaller works. With a larger budget, I can work on a large scale, use a lot more paint, and even explore other ways of producing content such as 3D printing and more in-depth education for coding/game development. I would also like to start a new sculptural project where I can 3D print custom Minecraft maps. These model cities could be attached to paintings or just remain as sculptures. I will also be able to reduce my work hours so I can spend more time on my projects without having to split time between school and work. For my senior year at my college, I want to create a successful body of work that will allow me to be accepted into an MFA program. I must reach this point to receive scholarships that will help me pay for my MFA. You can view my portfolio at https://enieves.crevado.com/forms-and-knowledge.

Education has been a major cornerstone of my life. My mother has been a Florida educator throughout my entire life and has taught me many things. As a person who grew up in poverty and an abusive household, my mother beat the odds, excelled in school, received a full scholarship to a university of her choice, and is now has a secure high-paying job as a principal. She never wanted her children to grow up in a house without air conditioning or without access to clothes that fit us. I learned from her that through determination and planning I could make the most out of my education. Taking her advice I started planning what I wanted to do for my higher education starting in middle school. I set my goal to obtain a Master's in Fine Arts (MFA) so I could teach on the collegiate level as well as curate in galleries anywhere in the country. In high school, I became an AP Scholar with Distinction to get a head start and save money on my college courses. I achieved all of my goals for my higher education so I can set myself up to be as qualified I can be in my field and be financially stable. I believe that it is of the utmost importance to be passionate and knowledgeable throughout your life. I think the worst thing you can do is to waste your intellectual potential by living a passive life. Even if I watch something like a TV show I like to analyze its aesthetic properties and consider what makes it so effective for me personally. I do not want to live a physically or mentally sedentary lifestyle not only for my health but for what I can give to others. I want the contributions in my field to benefit and enrich both my own and other people's lives. Although I have barely started my career, I try and volunteer for not-for-profit organizations that provide free or cheap concerts or galleries to my local community. One of the organizations I have volunteered for to achieve this goal is Compositum Musicae Novae (CMN). I am most passionate about my artistic practice. In my artistic practice, I utilize unusual methods to make my pieces. Through polygonal generators and a projector, I try to recontextualize how paintings should be made. The randomized polygon generator brings an ungoverned element to the process, and the projector ensures that the forms have an almost automated vibe to them. My specific area of study attempts to bridge the ontological gap between reality and fiction. I wish to create new development in the field of computer-based painting that has not been attempted before. My vision for my future in the arts is to create a real-time strategy multiplayer game within Minecraft that emphasizes player interaction and creative buildings to create meaningful events and relationships. The game mode will reward and encourage growth in aesthetic decisions for the player's buildings. My art will them transform into a documentation of the history of my player base. I intend to use game this to inspire future generations to create and use their creations to interact with others.

A variety of topics interest me, video gaming, philosophy, interpersonal connections, and politics. I initially became interested in art as a child when I wanted to draw my favorite Pokemon in a realistic style. I spent weeks researching different types of bats to synthesize a new creature in my drawing. I found this process invigorating and I believe this was the defining moment that led me to pursue an artistic career. While the end product is not something I would be proud of now, this process taught me that I found the research and creativity necessary for projects like that intrinsically rewarding. Since then I have further pursued this path and I now research things like epistemology and how it relates to video games like Minecraft. To me being an artist means being actively intellectually engaged with my life. My artistic practice drives me to research topics that interest me and challenge myself to try new things. This enriches my life by adding aesthetic and intellectual appreciation to everything around me. I can appreciate the finer qualities of seemingly mundane things like textures and patterns that I see through my day-to-day life. This connects me and my practice to the interesting questions and topics that will hopefully engage my viewers. In turn, the art I make also represents me and shows my processes of thinking and engaging with different media. Whether I find interest in a new movie, book, or video game I can always relate it to my main interest of study. I believe that it is important for the future of my artistic and personal development to be genuinely invested in any subject matter to create personally authentic pieces. In my artistic practice, I utilize unusual methods to make my pieces. Through polygonal generators and a projector, I try to recontextualize how paintings should be made. The randomized polygon generator brings an ungoverned element to the process, and the projector ensures that the forms have an almost automated vibe to them. My specific area of study attempts to bridge the ontological gap between reality and fiction. I wish to create new development in the field of computer-based painting that has not been attempted before. My vision for my future in the arts is to create a real-time strategy multiplayer game within Minecraft that emphasizes player interaction and creative buildings to create meaningful events and relationships. The game mode will reward and encourage growth in aesthetic decisions for the player's buildings. My art will them transform into a documentation of the history of my player base. I intend to use game this to inspire future generations to create and use their creations to interact with others. This scholarship will assist me in achieving my career aspirations by allowing me to fund my projects on a larger scale. Right now I am limited in funds and can mostly do smaller works. With a larger budget, I can work on a large scale, use a lot more paint, and even explore other ways of producing content such as 3D printing and more in-depth education for coding/game development. I will also be able to reduce my work hours so I can spend more time on my projects without having to split time between school and work. For my senior year at my college, I want to create a successful body of work that will allow me to be accepted into an MFA program. I must reach this point to receive scholarships that will help me pay for my MFA. You can view my portfolio at https://enieves.crevado.com/forms-and-knowledge.

A variety of topics interest me, video gaming, philosophy, interpersonal connections, and politics. I initially became interested in art as a child when I wanted to draw my favorite Pokemon in a realistic style. I spent weeks researching different types of bats to synthesize a new creature in my drawing. I found this process invigorating and I believe this was the defining moment that led me to pursue an artistic career. While the end product is not something I would be proud of now, this process taught me that I found the research and creativity necessary for projects like that intrinsically rewarding. Since then I have further pursued this path and I now research things like epistemology and how it relates to video games like Minecraft. To me being an artist means being actively intellectually engaged with my life. My artistic practice drives me to research topics that interest me and challenge myself to try new things. This enriches my life by adding aesthetic and intellectual appreciation to everything around me. I can appreciate the finer qualities of seemingly mundane things like textures and patterns that I see through my day-to-day life. This connects me and my practice to the interesting questions and topics that will hopefully engage the viewer. In turn, the art I make also represents me and shows my processes of thinking and engaging with different media. Whether I find interest in a new movie, book, or video game I can always relate it to my main interest of study. I believe that it is important for my artistic development to be genuinely invested in any subject matter to create personally authentic pieces. In my artistic practice, I utilize unusual methods to make my pieces. Through polygonal generators and a projector, I try to recontextualize how paintings should be made. The randomized polygon generator brings an ungoverned element to the process, and the projector ensures that the forms have an almost automated vibe to them. My specific area of study attempts to bridge the ontological gap between reality and fiction. I wish to create new development in the field of computer-based painting that has not been attempted before. My ultimate goal for my current project is to create a real-time strategy multiplayer game within Minecraft that emphasizes player interaction and creative buildings to create meaningful events and relationships. The game mode will reward and encourage growth in aesthetic decisions for the player's buildings. My art will them transform into a documentation of the history of my player base. I intend to use game this to inspire future generations to create and use their creations to interact with others. You can view my portfolio at https://enieves.crevado.com/forms-and-knowledge.