The prompt: Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
Contrasting colors and alternating brushstrokes always lie beneath a simple painting. Like a painting, my world is simple yet complicated, distinct yet ambiguous. The influences in my world have been from all facets of the spectrum, creating the person I am and inspiring the person I want to become.
My world and identity would not exist without the eccentricities of my formative years, which made me independent. Most children are born in hospitals, I was born on a beach. I have 24 siblings, none of whom have anything in common with me, including age. I've only ever had one parent, an extraordinary mother, who headed an adoptions agency. As a child I lived a "privileged" life in a third world country. I had a maid, a nanny, and a butler to do everything for me. A great deal of my youth was spent traveling.I spoke three languages, the languages of my heritage. I used to use all three languages concurrently in one sentence to get my point across. It was easier to use my artistic ability to communicate as a child.
From an early age, I was exposed to a variety of different people. I've lived in, traveled to, and seen the polar opposite cultures of the world. I've gone from a privileged life, to the life of a middle class teenager, to watching my mother cope financially. I've met people of different religions, races, economic status, and cultures. I've had a taste of the larger more diverse world and seen the diversity and similarities between the people living in it. It's in my blood to travel, and search to understand the world that has given birth to: my fascination with culture, a unique perspective, an appreciation of diversity, and an open mind.
My world allows me to view life through a wider lens than my peers and I am well aware of that Growing up, grades were viewed as trivial; knowledge was the key. By junior year, I had lost sight of that and myself. High school was another world, where school was a "game" and the grades were worshiped over the knowledge. The more time I spent in this world, the more my lens cracked, and the more my world disappeared. My lens couldn't bear the atmospheric pressure of that world. Circumstances at home changed when my mother's health began to fall. Traveling was put on hold. I was surrounded by close minded people repeatedly. The "game" began to suffocate me; I became bored, apathetic, and deeply unsatisfied with the person I was becoming. I spent late nights trying to understand my unhappiness. It wasn't until I took an art history course that I rediscovered myself. I, again, found in art, a tool that helped me communicate...this time with myself. In this class, the grade was irrelevant. I was able to understand the connections between history, people, and ideas. The experience helped me to reconnect with my younger self and rediscover myself, once again. My lens was replaced; this one was stronger and able to see the world, my world, more clearly than before.
The connections of the world have always intrigued me. I am blessed to live in the world I do and have a good understanding of who I am and where I stand. However, I know that my world is still limited. I desire to expand my mind, gain insight, and use art to explore, develop, and share ideas and observations. My world has driven me to want to study philosophy, anthropology, psychology, and art. I want to see what lies beneath all the other paintings.
Contrasting colors and alternating brushstrokes always lie beneath a simple painting. Like a painting, my world is simple yet complicated, distinct yet ambiguous. The influences in my world have been from all facets of the spectrum, creating the person I am and inspiring the person I want to become.
My world and identity would not exist without the eccentricities of my formative years, which made me independent. Most children are born in hospitals, I was born on a beach. I have 24 siblings, none of whom have anything in common with me, including age. I've only ever had one parent, an extraordinary mother, who headed an adoptions agency. As a child I lived a "privileged" life in a third world country. I had a maid, a nanny, and a butler to do everything for me. A great deal of my youth was spent traveling.I spoke three languages, the languages of my heritage. I used to use all three languages concurrently in one sentence to get my point across. It was easier to use my artistic ability to communicate as a child.
From an early age, I was exposed to a variety of different people. I've lived in, traveled to, and seen the polar opposite cultures of the world. I've gone from a privileged life, to the life of a middle class teenager, to watching my mother cope financially. I've met people of different religions, races, economic status, and cultures. I've had a taste of the larger more diverse world and seen the diversity and similarities between the people living in it. It's in my blood to travel, and search to understand the world that has given birth to: my fascination with culture, a unique perspective, an appreciation of diversity, and an open mind.
My world allows me to view life through a wider lens than my peers and I am well aware of that Growing up, grades were viewed as trivial; knowledge was the key. By junior year, I had lost sight of that and myself. High school was another world, where school was a "game" and the grades were worshiped over the knowledge. The more time I spent in this world, the more my lens cracked, and the more my world disappeared. My lens couldn't bear the atmospheric pressure of that world. Circumstances at home changed when my mother's health began to fall. Traveling was put on hold. I was surrounded by close minded people repeatedly. The "game" began to suffocate me; I became bored, apathetic, and deeply unsatisfied with the person I was becoming. I spent late nights trying to understand my unhappiness. It wasn't until I took an art history course that I rediscovered myself. I, again, found in art, a tool that helped me communicate...this time with myself. In this class, the grade was irrelevant. I was able to understand the connections between history, people, and ideas. The experience helped me to reconnect with my younger self and rediscover myself, once again. My lens was replaced; this one was stronger and able to see the world, my world, more clearly than before.
The connections of the world have always intrigued me. I am blessed to live in the world I do and have a good understanding of who I am and where I stand. However, I know that my world is still limited. I desire to expand my mind, gain insight, and use art to explore, develop, and share ideas and observations. My world has driven me to want to study philosophy, anthropology, psychology, and art. I want to see what lies beneath all the other paintings.
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