“Give life from your pen; or rather, tablet, stone, or even bare body. Become a portal into a unique thought, emotion, or even a whole new reality.” This is my self-made approach to the purpose of art, and what draws me create. I'm the youngest child of a first-generation Nigerian-American immigrant family, yet I happened to be one of the siblings born in Maryland as a second-generation immigrant. As a person who had to wield two cultures while growing into my adolescence, I've become adjusted to learning multiple ideals, practices, and, most intriguing to me, mythos. I use Foster's definition of mythos in his book How to Read Like a Professor: being the stories integral to a culture such as common myths or religion. This granted me an open mind because I realized an open mind allowed my brain to become a sponge that absorbs wide arrays of cultures and information that would boost my creativity to a greater realm. This open-mindedness also supported my ability to process the inequalities I was surrounded at a young age: inequality of circumstance in Nigeria, the unfairness of my parents' education not transferring to America, and even my home culture's patriarchal views that my sister constantly fights. Through my life experience teaching me the value of carrying an open mind, I've learned that I should always open the chance to listen to others as a chance to improve myself in the case I'm proven wrong. However, more impactfully, I had to understand that there's no such thing as purely just authority: in respects to religion, idols, or even my parents. In this ever expansive world, no-universe, there's an incalculable number of cultures, discoveries, ideas, and arts. Which makes living a brilliant experience, and is why why everyone's right to contribute and experience must be protected. A world that radiates the virtues of self-expression, champions the ideals of equality, and spreads the brilliance of freedom: that is a world that my art intends to capture. From my relatively short life I've lived so far, I've resolved my will to create a world where every person's expression in art and life are celebrated, in this ever so complex universe. Inorder to have such a world to not be restricted to my mere fantasy, but manifest in reality, there's no more powerful way than in art. Via speeches, story-telling, or captivating illustrations, art has the ability to preach, empower, and inspire societies to achieve otherworldly achievements. Specifically, I'm working for my art to reach the peak in literary and visual arts, I'm working to create my own narrative in the form of a published comic series. Even though, people with my skin-color are not well known in the comic industry, that will not stop me from creating my own business to publish the world's next most sold comic series of all time. Through my comic series, my art, my expression, I will light the world with the ideals to champion a world for everyone made by everyone.

The essence of art is to capture an idea to depict in any creative whims a master so chooses; atleast, that's is how I came to view art. As Einstien once stated, "Creativity is intelligence having fun." As a follower of this discipline, I take all that I learn about people, experiences, or observed facts or discoveries to use as fuel for my creativity. In my journey as an artist, I've came across various mythologies that I couldn't help but to source as inspiration for my art. I've heard of scienfic phenomena in our non-fiction reality that've sounded even more unrealistic than fiction. Simply through conversation, exploring people's past, and coming to learn of other's and my own emotions, I've been but forced to record in my journal, knowing how priceless said interaction were for an artist to capture. In this universe, there are infinite colors, shapes, and perspectives that a finite artist can not hope to capture it all; however, that's the beauty of love art. From what I've gathered in the short time I've been i this universe, is the perspective of how everyone lives in their own flavor of a reality, which is the idea I everso deeply wish to capture and develop in every instance I pick up a pen, pencil, or a brush. To learn all that I can, to gain a piece of other's reality into my own, to project my own universe onto any page, that is what guides my art.

I reminisce about an age blurry to me. I strolled my way through the labyrinth that is my house, and it was then a sparkle caught my eye. This cartoony bible radiated from the sunlight poking from the window behind it. Little did I know that for me to unlock the seal of that book, to chase that sparkle was to unlock a seal to my heart, was to have that sparkle that once caught my eye spark into a passionate blaze that fills my soul. The warm touch of the waxy plastic cover felt all too natural in my soft hands, and for the first time in my life, I just read. This was not like the other times I’d read; I wasn’t compelled by my church or family during bible studies, nor was forcefully assigned reading by my teacher. Through my own calling to the page, I grasped the child’s picture Bible, made my way to the dark brown leather couch near it, and sat to read the legendary tales of Noah, Moses, and Samson. I read that fateful book cover to cover more times than I can remember. Before I knew it, I needed more, I siezed a child’s book of cartoonishly depicted Romans, and read fables scattered around my house. However, my hunger only grew, which had led me to draw my own stories. Unbeknownst to me, this was my origin in my passion to be a comic book writer and artist.

“Star Light, Star Bright,” by Dorothy Parker is not the most sophisticated piece of work and is far from the most impactful piece of literature. It might not even be my favorite poem; despite it all, it contains the four first and foremost lines attached to my soul. To others, it may be a simple nursery rhyme, yet I find myself entranced by the mere allusion of the first four phrases. To me, it captures the childish wonder that wavers as people mature, it captures the deep desperation derived from the dare to dream, it captures me: the desire, the need, to be the star that shines so bright at night. For me, the desire goes beyond the realm of dreaming; rather, I want it to be a vision of my future, my destiny. Despite what the world claims to be “a waste of time,” “A waste of talent,” “A waste for a valedictorian.” Can a Valedictorian not dream? Lawyer, politician, scientist, engineer, doctor, those are all beautiful dreams, yet dreams that become nightmares for too many who had their light dimmed out by the imposition of such occupations. Such worldly pressures only serve to clip peoples wings: turn their dreams into dirt. However, through my visit to Grinnell College, for the very first time, I’ve felt a universe that excelled in propelling people to their own unique heights. In my visit, it started with a simple conversation with 2 of my potential football coaches, in which I revealed my grand dream, my sparkling wish, my burning desire: creating a comic book. More specifically, I’m working towards creating the new best-selling comic series in the world. I champion the idea that stories carry a profound power to impact people just in it’s own unique manner a politician or surgeon can’t achieve. My single greatest desire, the star that I’m reaching out for, is to demonstrate the potential the combination of both the visual and literary arts can have. In the current state of the comic industry of Western society starting to stagnate under the dominant reign of Marvel and DC, I seek to create my own comic book business that emphasizes each talented stars’ creativity outside the bounds of the current Western comic industry. This had led me to Grinnell college, an institution with an open curriculum offering the peak adversary for the arts, business, and computer science. Even though I’ve remained cynical of higher institutions for all my high school years, at Grinnell I’ve felt a spark, I’ve made lifelong associates in a short time, and I’ve witness a realm in which the people don't, just believe in their own, but the whole communities’ potential to be as vast as the night sky. At Grinnell, I have a family, full of brilliant stars ready to light the world with their dreams, which is the canvas my comic series will capture. Although I am accepted, this scholarship will grant the financial aid I need for my star to shine.