Undergraduate / 'My transient living situation' - UC 1 [2]

On January 25th 1994 at 11:15 AM, I was pulled headfirst into this world and greeted by sighing spectators and fluorescent lamps. I'll spare the graphic details so that whoever reads this will keep their lunch intact. The first nine years of my life included constant quarreling with my brother, the show Rugrats, and faint memories of summertime family barbeques. The majority of my childhood memories are shrouded in time, yet something so simple as the smell of chlorine can invoke vivid recollections of swimming in the backyard to escape the hot, dry Las Vegas air. As the memories grow more recent in my mind, reality seems to replace the pleasant and ambivalent recollections of the past. After the divorce of my parents, I found myself being introduced to my "new" mom or dad as frequently as the arrival of the seasons. This required patience and adaptation, but my youthful ignorance kept my disposition at a healthy elevation. For the most part, I remained indifferent to the turbulence that ensued between my parents; however, the constant quarreling over time began to compromise my mother's emotional stability. The prevalence of alcohol, the capricious mood swings, and the faint crying that could be hear behind the locked doors of my mother's bedroom were the first indications of troublesome times. Me and my older brother, who I share a two year age gap with, were forced to assume several of the responsibilities that had gone neglected. Tasks such as getting food, transportation to and from school, and the presence of a role model had gone ignored. These hardships began to reflect in the behavior of my brother, who began acting out in school and demonstrating his frustration and anger on others and me. At 11, he moved to Delaware to live with relatives and attain some stability and I remained in Las Vegas, alternating through various relatives' homes. As a teenager, I chose to enroll in a magnet school across town. Needless to say, a lot of my time was occupied with long bus rides and homework. My transient living situation continued as I spent the majority of my 7th and 8th grade year sleeping on the couch of the house in which my mom was renting a room from. I auditioned for The Las Vegas Academy where I attended high school. I found this school to be a very enlightening experience. The Grammy winning music department, in which I majored in percussion and Jazz studies, helped facilitate my musical interests and talents. The academic rigor and the lofty standards I set for myself helped occupy my time, while my brothers time unfortunately became occupied by addiction. His chemical dependency illustrated the juxtaposition of our lifestyles and the importance of perseverance and self-reliance. Indeed, we both still have plenty of time to learn and I am fortunate that I can ascertain important life lessons from him. I hope that pursuing a post secondary education at any of the University of California schools will help stimulate my educational aspirations and be a catalyst for a passionate life.

Undergraduate / 'introduction to Jazz' - UC prompt 2 [3]

Taking my seat in front the clamor of an audience conversing and drinking always stirs a jittery and electrified feeling within me. I however; am not in midst of the audience, I prefer my seat to be on stage. The scenario is always similar, I take my seat behind the drums as a guitarist, pianist, bassist, and saxophone player take the stand. After a brief piano introduction, which sets the pace and feeling of the piece, the saxophonist and guitarist establish a melody supported by myself, the bassist, and pianist. As the musicians navigate through the initial melodic structure, one performer will step forward to share his creative declaration. In order to participate in their musical proclamation, we must follow the twists and turns of the solo while simultaneously registering their actions with other musicians. While following the harmonic framework of the song, the soloist can choose to weave a melodically complex tapestry with acute orchestrations or take a visceral approach to it and play sparse and rhythmically intense notes. In comparison with more popular genres of music in modern culture, Jazz possesses the unique characteristics of dialogue, improvisation, and instinct. Jazz, and music for that matter is a form of art and all forms of art require empathy. As an artist I am improvising in that moment and as jazz legend John Coltrane once put it, "My music is the spiritual expression of what I am- my faith, my knowledge, my being". From my first introduction to Jazz, I developed a bias toward it and specifically drums. I am fortunate that I have had the opportunity to use this medium of expression for the last couple years of my life. I've been lucky to be part of one of the most prestigious high school music programs and also to attend camps at Stanford University where I was able to play with and learn from some of the most talented performers and educators of the Jazz idiom. Jazz has instilled several important values that are applicable to not only music; hard work, passion, originality, discipline, and empathy. I have employed these universal traits in everything from social to academic situations. Even if the prospects of becoming an acclaimed musician do not come to fruition, as is the case for most people, I can always take with me all of the lessons and memories that this art form has instilled in me.