1. I once attended a local art show at my high school. It featured art from ages 7-18 and expanded my view on how wide the art community really is. It engaged me in all types of art from such a variety of artists and was very humbling. I realized that an artist can come from anywhere, as well as the fact that there are artists everywhere- even in my own small community. 2. My favorite teacher was my sophomore history teacher, Mr. Blackwell. He was the most energetic and fun teacher I had in high school but is not my choice for typical reasons. Despite the expected answer of it being an easy class, I enjoyed it because he actually challenged me academically while proving that class didn't have to be serious and boring all the time. He made class enjoyable while allowing us to learn deeper than the surface-level curriculum. His class gave me a new perspective on learning and a deeper understanding of history. 3. The meaning and importance of art goes so much deeper than being beautiful pieces to look at and enjoy. Art comes in many forms and has shaped cultures and generations for centuries. From paintings to stories and myths to monuments, art around the world has changed perspectives and lives. If I were to create an event for my community right now, it would be a gathering of Ukrainian artwork to gain awareness for their current situation and bring more understanding to their culture. 4. In a recent painting of mine, I went in with the idea of a portrait of a woman with flowers surrounding her face. After working on it for some time, I realized that it was not turning out how I imagined it at all. The face was too round and I used too much purple/blue tones in the skin tone and I hadn't even started on the flowers yet. I failed to embody my idea and felt defeated for a moment. Then, instead of scrapping my art and giving up, I decided to get creative. I completely changed my vision and shaped it towards what was on the canvas instead of what I originally imagined. I ended up turning it into a portrait of a woman in the shape of a moon with a galaxy behind her. This impacted me greatly because a painting I was struggling with turned into one of my favorite pieces of my art to date. It reminded me of the importance of creativity in art rather than perfect execution, and of my own strength in perservering.

Please see attached link for artwork.

Pabob: a unique name I have never heard outside of my own family- a name that I invented. As a toddler I must have heard my grandmother calling my grandpa by his name, Bob, and stuck it with the word grandpa. He loved the name Pabob, and held the fact that I called him that every day close to his heart. He loved living with me and seeing me grow from a baby to a bratty elementary school girl to a confused middle schooler. I know that he would be proud to see me today, a confident young woman in college about to apply to my dream school, Texas A&M. I wish I could tell him myself how much I miss him, but I will use this essay to tell his story instead. My grandfather was much more like a father to me growing up. In the absence of my father, he taught me how to swim, how to ride a bike, and how to do well in school. He taught me strange things like how to skin a quail for dinner and how to cast the perfect fishing line. Most importantly, he taught me how to be myself, and how to believe in whoever I may be. He was always pushing me to be my best and to accept whatever my best was. He ingrained in me my desire to always strive to be the best version of myself- to always be better than I was yesterday. Pabob was the kind of man I believe everyone should look up to. He was witty, and always amused by something. He was smart and could solve any problem you handed to him. Most importantly, you would never see him without a cheesy grin across his face- he was the happiest person I knew. He was definitely a trickster. He loved to pull pranks on people and get a good laugh out for both of them. I remember being woken up in the mornings by ice-cold water dripping down my neck. At the time, I would scream and flail in annoyance, but looking back I am not surprised at the chuckle it gave him. Even thinking about the many memories like that puts a smile on my face as I am writing them down. I remember sitting in the passenger seat of Pabob’s red pickup truck one day and discussing colleges with him. I was only ten years old, but I had known I wanted to be a veterinarian since the first grade. “Texas A&M is a good vet school” he claimed, “It’s a hard school to get into, but you could do it”. I immediately committed myself to getting my degree from that school, knowing that if Pabob condoned it then it must be good. This was just the beginning of the many times I would follow him blindly to the ends of the earth, always confident in his desire for my best interests. Today, I have maintained that dream of going to Texas A&M and becoming a veterinarian. I have had a job at a veterinarian clinic and volunteered at the Dallas Zoo, and even adopted a rescue dog for myself. I am the first person in my family to go to college, and working hard to keep my grades high. I am currently living up to all the things I talked about with Pabob when I was young. I know that I would not be the person I am today without his guidance in my growing years. Pabob was many things in life- a loving grandfather, a strong dad, a caring husband, a friend to many and a helping hand to all. More than any of those things, he was my biggest role model. There is no one out there I would rather be more like than him. My goal in life is to one day be as happy as he was with everything I do, and I know he gave me the tools to do so. If I don’t get any award out of sitting down and writing this essay for this scholarship, I know that the real reward is sharing his story and the memories I have with him.

In 2016, I attended a photography seminar in Austin, Texas. One day, we were assigned a photo contest and released to pursue our best on-scene shots. Alone on the riverwalk, I saw a man playing guitar that looked like he had a story. I knew it would be the perfect shot, but as a deathly shy girl, I was inclined to keep walking. Nevertheless, I bravely stopped and asked him for his portrait. From my decision, I acquired my all-time favorite photo. It was a small action, but a critical moment for me that I will never forget.

I stood on the stage of my local high school and shyly looked out among the crowd holding my first place certificate. I gazed at my excited and not at all surprised family with a stunned expression. Beside me stood the pencil portrait of an actress I liked: a close up of half of her face showing all the detail of her eye with her hair flowing across the page. The judges had chosen my artwork as the ultimate winner in my local talent show. Before this experience, I had little confidence in my work. It was my high school art teacher that finally convinced me to enter Midlothian's Got Talent. I went in with a casual mindset, assuming it would be merely an entertaining show. I loved to be creative and lay my ideas onto the page, and I heard from many friends and family that I was very talented, but I could not recognize my real potential. Winning first place among an entire community proved to me that I had a gift worth pursuing. It taught me to have confidence in my work and myself. It showed me the value of my creations. Through this revelation, I began my artistic endeavor. I put more energy and time into my paintings and drawings and fell more in love with the arts. I took classes and learned about historical artists and their beautiful creations. I invested in supplies, lighting up with excitement for every new brush or pencil I acquired. Recently, I created a portfolio after finally building up enough pieces to proudly show off as my own original works. I worked for weeks to design a website in the name of sharing my artwork, and posted them onto a site called Redbubble, where viewers can actually buy my pieces in various forms. On the home page of both sites lies my winning portrait from the local talent show. I hope to see these sites grow over time and become a hub for creatives seeking inspiration or enjoyment. I love to create art, but my favorite part is seeing the reactions of people viewing them for the first time. The wonder and joy art creates never ceases to amaze me. That is why I continue my journey in the creative arts. I am inspired by the way my creations affect the people around me and continuously use that inspiration to create more. This cycle of creativity is what I believe drives every artist, and it is that cycle that I hope to sustain in my future. When I look into my future, I see a woman that refuses to lose that child-like wonder found in all humans at some point. I see a woman that has built success upon a career but never failed to put effort into her favorite hobby. I see a woman who has learned to have confidence in herself and her abilities through her talent for art. I see my artwork as a part of my future, but more importantly, I see a future that is happy and lively. That happiness is the sole goal I hope to achieve in my future.